Johnnyswim at Webster Hall

The son of immigrants who fled Cuba, Abner Ramirez trained as a musician in his native Jacksonville, Florida, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, hoping to study and pursue music as a career. Amanda Sudano's family settled in Nashville after moving between the northeast and Los Angeles, California. Sudano had spent summers as a backing vocalist on tour for her parents, Bruce Sudano and Donna Summer. Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano first met in church in 2001, and after Sudano attended a songwriting workshop held by Ramirez in 2005, they started writing, singing and performing songs together. Although both had been unsuccessful in launching solo careers, they ignited a new spark as Johnnyswim. In 2009, they married and relocated to Los Angeles. Johnnyswim released its third and most recent album, Moonlight, on April 19, 2019.

Since its recent reopening, most concerts at Webster Hall are selling out, and Johnnyswim was yet another success on that list. Backed by a three-piece band (guitarist Jonathan Berlin, bassist Brad Connelly, drummer Devon VonBalson), Ramirez and Sudano performed 10 of the 12 songs from the current album, plus another 12 songs from the duo's catalogue. The songs had a common thread, in that the lyrics painted a vivid canvas of Ramirez and Sudano's deeply integrated lives and loves. The soulful vocal interpretation finely articulated the accompanying gains and losses of those experiences. Ramirez and Sudano sang very similarly, at times blurring together such that it was challenging for a listener to determine whose voice was more prominent. Other moments were more punctuated, as he brought the gruff and she brought the sweetness. The songs along with their spoken introductions often opened a window into the intimacy of their lives. Meanwhile, the understated musicians along the back wall provided accompaniment that touched on pop, folk, rhythm and blues and even bolero. In the end, however, it was Johnnyswim's unique vocal chemistry and positive charisma that made the performance refreshingly uplifting.

Setlist:

1. Flowers
2. Bridges
3. Don't Let It Get You Down
4. Say What You Will
5. Villains
6. The Last Time
7. Lost in Translation
8. Interlude
9. Moonlight
10. Amanda
11. Live While We're Young
12. Adelina
13. Marietta
14. Hummingbird
15. Souvenir
16. Home (in the audience)
17. Touching Heaven (in the audience)
18. Lonely Night in Georgia (in the audience)
19. Diamonds
20. Same Old Thing

Encore:

1. Take the World
2. Ring the Bells