There are only a handful of true rockstars left in the world and Joan Jett is certainly one of them. On Sunday, August 25th, I witnessed that greatness at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Joan Marie Larkin has been doing this rockstar thing for a bit now, and she still has that “It” factor. She changed her last name to “Jett” when she was 16 because it sounded more like a rockstars name. She always knew what she was going to do in life. She was born for this. There were no other options.
Joan is the very definition of what it means to be “punk rock”. I’ve always maintained that being punk is living your life on your own terms. It is not following the herd and doing what “you’re supposed to do”. Being punk is about following your heart and going against the grain. It’s usually a tougher grind but it’s about finding your truth. My 97-year-old grandmother is punk rock.
Fun fact, my grandparents, along with their three children Janet, David (my dad), and Peggy were living in Rockville, Maryland at the same time as Joan Jett, before her family moved to Los Angeles County.
Upon Joan’s landing in sunny California, it was all about pursuing the music and that’s what she did. At age 16 she became one of the founders, and the frontwoman, for The Runaways. The next thing you know (that’s like yada-yada-yada), they are opening for the likes of Cheap Trick, Van Halen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Almost 50 years later (my whole lifetime) I am seeing her doing her thing. She put on a master class in Rock ‘N Roll.
At age 65 she literally ran onto the stage, arms in the air and bouncing and skipping to take her guitar and grab the microphone to greet us. “Thank you for being here”, she told us. No Joan, thank you for being here. Thank you for your dedication and all your veracity and hard work. Then she ripped into it, leading off the evening with “Shooting Into Space”, from her and The Blackhearts new album Mindsets (2023). That’s right, Joan Jett is still writing new music and it’s really fucking good. “Shooting Into Space” starts with the lyrics, “I’m standing at the starting gate/ All lined up for one more race/ I know I got what it takes/ So I guess you’re playing for second place”. Punk Rock!
After that it’s the explosiveness of “Cherry Bomb” ringing off the stained-glass windows of this one-time church built in the late 1800’s. Joan absolutely wails the lyrics as if trying to reach the heavens and her guitar playing is undeniably sensational. The irony of this previously labeled “troubled teen” now playing her music in a House of God is not lost on me.
The people surrounding me are grasping that we are seeing something special too. The fanbase is mostly a collection of the older kids that I used to hang out with. They are the generation between myself and my parents. They don the leathers and dance amongst the pews that align the auditorium. Never second guess how cool that generation is. They were they teenagers of the late seventies and early eighties.
A few songs later Joan takes a break and tells the story of when the Runaways broke up and she was kind of lost and knew the music would endure, but where would her support system come from? She put The Blackhearts together as her backing group and they pressed just a few records to sell at gigs. Radio was the move then and you couldn’t get traction without having a record in the marketplace.
A lot of her “friends” had bailed, because she wasn’t music royalty anymore, but her good friends, the real ones, took those handful of records to the radio stations and screamed to the DJ’s “Why aren’t you playing this?!” A spark ignited and the band started getting a foothold in the industry. The song she played next was inspired by that situation and was, “Fake Friends” (1983). The opening lines hit with angst “When you were down, they were never there/ When you’re all alone, you really get to learn/ If you get back up, they gonna come around/ All the sycophants, they love to make romance”
There aren’t many breaks as the band rolls into a cover of “Everyday People” by Sly & The Family Stone which has us all singing along at the top of our lungs. The song preaches unity and in today’s split political society I find it was a wonderful choice to include in the setlist. Another cover that was perfection was “Androgynous” originally done by The Replacements. Joan seemed to look everyone in the eye when she asked, “You ever felt out of place? Maybe you just didn’t fit in? I still feel like that.” Then they played the tune that made us all feel whole and as one. The music can break down our differences and in that moment we all share a common ideal.
Joan closed out the show by banging out a slew of hits from “Crimson & Clover”, “I Hate Myself For Loving You”, “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Bad Reputation”. The concert had zero flaws. Joan was infectious, the band was exceptional, and the sound inside the venue was immaculate.
I am so glad that I was in attendance to see the Queen of Noise in her element. The show left me with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. I felt inspired as the curtain dropped and the house lights beamed onto our heads. Joan Jett is a treasure to behold and if you get a chance go see her. That sixteen-year-old runaway burns bright in her heart and you can hear the light in her music. She found her truth. We could all be so lucky.
Set List From Joan Jett & The Blackhearts- August 25th, 2024- Ryman Auditorium
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