By: Josh Kitchen
Snail Mail, aka 24 year old indie shredding Lindsey Jordan was just ranked #242 on Rolling Stone magazine's new and expanded list of the 250 greatest guitarists of all time. This ranks her higher than Robby Krieger, Andy Summers, and Paul Simon. This puts her in the same echelon as Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Carlos Santana, and B.B. King. In the second of two nights at the Troubadour, nearing the end of her year-long tour behind excellent sophomore album, Valentine (2023), Jordan proved that she belongs in that list.
Valentine is, to borrow the title of her debut LP, lush. It's full of sweeping guitar solos, melancholic angst, stories of stinging romances, twenty-something sorrow - but not without hope. All these feelings were on display at Doug Weston's in West Hollywood. Jordan's voice was crunchy, maybe she was getting over a cold, but it added to the grungy depths of the tracks from Valentine and Lush. Ben Franklin was especially slinky and delicious, and Jordan's playing was impressive.
In a moment of brevity for this 34 year old, Jordan used an opportunity in the middle of the show to reflect on where she is in her career. "Recently we were touring with this punk group, and they told us we've loved you since we were nine. NINE! I'm 24!" Jordan was having a lot of fun, often blurting out non-sequiturs, and even poking fun at Lorde's viral stage moment where she shushed her crowd to display her weirdly evocative vocal stylings. Near the end of the main set, Jordan told the crowd she would be playing a cover, perfect for her guitar playing - "This song is not cringe. That is my hot take." She launched into a fabulous solo rendition of Bush's Glycerine. Watching the show, it was impossible to not agree with her placement on the Rolling Stone list. Snail Mail shreds, and at 24, she's going to be for a long time.
[Shoutout to openers Greg Mendez and Cola.]
Set highlights: Ben Franklin, Glycerine, Valentine, Pristine.
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