Aimee Mann at Town Hall
photo by Toby Tenenbaum

Aimee Mann & Jonathan Coulton @ Town Hall (pics)

Veteran singer/songwriter Aimee Mann is on tour now in support of her saddest, slowest album to date, the excellent new Mental Illness. She’s been on the road with a string quartet and comic collaborator Jonathan Coulton. Jonathan is opening the shows, and also playing as a member of Aimee’s band (and she returns the favor by playing two songs with him).

Jonathan Coulton’s opening set included songs from his forthcoming release Solid State (available with an accompanying graphic novel). The highlight of his opening set was “Re: Your Brains” an amusing 2009 ode to the American workplace in the wake of a hypothetical zombie apocalypse.

Aimee Mann’s set featured classics from her four-decade spanning career including her Grammy-nominated Magnolia Soundtrack/Bachelor No. 2 suite. Her rousing rendition of “Deathly” with the full string accompaniment closed out the set. She also played songs from Mental Illness including single “Goose Snow Cone” which she, Jonathan Coulton, and her string quartet recently played on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Pictures of the Town Hall show are in the gallery above. Aimee and Jonathan will be back in NYC on June 26 for a Music Hall of Williamsburg show (tickets).

photos by Toby Tenenbaum