The great Nashville troubadour Todd Snider headlined Bowery Ballroom Thursday night, a rare semiseated show at the venue. He performed solo and, as is his wont, shoeless. I find staring at a man’s bare feet to be repugnant, but otherwise was enthralled with the performance. This is nothing new: Snider has been on a serious roll since 2004’s East Nashville Skyline, and it extends through his new The Excitement Plan. (Click here for Snider’s TONY rendition of the album’s leadoff track, “Slim Chance,” performed at Shake Shack.) He’s even better onstage, where his songs bleed into patter and vice versa—a working man’s Jonathan Richman.

Snider’s crowd was appreciative and rowdy, a strange amalgamation of the kind of folks one usually doesn’t encounter at Bowery Ballroom. Read more »