“How many roads must a man walk down ’til he learns / He’s just a jerk…” Jake, or MJ, Lenderman has a knack for fusing the sarcastic wit of 90s indie rock with the (reputedly) more profound influence of the greats of 20th-century songwriting; à la Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Warren Zevon. He returns to Brisbane to play The Princess Theatre, almost a year (to the month) after playing Jet Black Cat’s Seasonal Fruit Festival. This time, however, he’s playing to (mostly) sold-out audiences, on the back of his critically acclaimed 2024 record, Manning Fireworks. Lending support is Way Dynamic, the Melbourne-based project of singer/songwriter Dylan Young.

Way Dynamic’s breezy pop-rock had a handful of bodies moving and a couple of heads bopping during their thirty-minute set. Taking the stage just after 8 p.m. the band clearly enjoyed their time in the spotlight and did their best to entertain those who arrived early enough to catch them. In Apple Shampoo, Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 sings about having “…a walk-on part in a background shot, from a movie I’m not in.” Tonight, MJ Lenderman was the movie and Way Dynamic the extra, their breezy, good-time vibes provided a fitting entrée the evening, but it was clear from the get-go that the audience wasn’t there for them.

Lenderman and his band (The Wind) walk on to the sounds Yo La Tengo’s Ohm. The song opens with a line that could easily slide into Lenderman’s lyrical repertoire, “ Sometimes the bad guys go right on top / Sometimes the good guys lose.” They open with Rudolph, a track that contains no small amount of black humour —mixed with childish nostalgia— wherein the titular reindeer is run down by a drunken Pixar character, “Deleted scene of Lightning McQueen / Blacked out at full speed.” Lenderman’s strengths as a lyricist lie in his ability to infuse profundity with a wistful sense of the everyday and the surreal. Like The Simpsons at its peak, his songs are capable of both warming and breaking your heart, more often than not, within the same line.

Thus begins an almost two-hour set that covers the length and breadth of Lenderman’s entire career. Very few artists his age —26— can boast of the ability to perform for two hours; with the majority performing for little more than an hour. His performances have come to embody the spirit of a different kind of artist, from another time and place. One cannot help but draw comparisons to The E Street Band, another group of (formerly) young men who built a reputation on the back of their Herculean feats of musical endurance. Like Bruce Springsteen and his cohorts, Lenderman and The Wind are a well-oiled machine; veteran road dogs who are well studied in the bloodsport that is rock ’n’ roll.

Hyped artists —and Lenderman is currently one of the most hyped— can have a hard time delivering the goods, particularly night after night. Unlike many of his peers, he performs a different set each time, mixing up tracks and incorporating various covers and B-sides to keep his band (and the audience) on their toes. Tonight’s show contained the entirety of Manning Fireworks, with its nine songs sprinkled throughout the set, alongside several tracks from his breakout Boat Songs and other previous releases.

Across the 21 songs performed, there were no slumps and plenty of highlights. Almost all the tracks off Manning Fireworks were met with a rapturous response from the audience; many of whom knew all the words. She’s Leaving You and the album’s title track proved particularly popular, as did his —recently released— cover of This Is Lorelai’s Dancing In The Club. Toontown, one of several songs performed from Boat Songs, was an early standout, but personally, it was the songs played at the end of the show that left the biggest impression. Bark At The Moon segued, via an extended instrumental jam, into a particularly powerful rendition of No Mercy that left me speechless. After taking a brief break, Lenderman performed a solo cover of Smudge’s The Outdoor Type, before being joined by the band to close out the night with Rip Torn and Knockin’.

I’m not going to lie, it took me a little while to get into Manning Fireworks, which I viewed as a somewhat disappointing follow-up to Boat Songs. In the lead-up to the show, however, my opinion gradually began to change, especially when it came to the album’s lyrical content. Now, after seeing Lenderman live, with The Wind behind him, I am convinced that he has the potential to join the ranks of his heroes as one of rock’s greatest songwriters and anyone who missed this show, missed out, period. In 1974 Jon Landau remarked, "I saw rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen.” Now, fifty years later it’s time for The Boss to pass on the torch.

Words and Photo by Nick Stephan