In July, the Lemonheads played a rare all-ages show at the Paradise in Boston. I traveled to the show with a few friends, because my first taste of the Lemonheads the week before at Tower Records had been surprisingly sweet. They played a short set at Tower and after the show, I even had a brief chat with Mr. Dando and got his scribble on my C.D. case. So, having thoroughly enjoyed my first taste, I went back for the whole thing.

The Lemonheads' ever-changing line-up has settled on Evan Dando on guitars and lead vocals, David Ryan, on drums, and Juliana Hatfield (formerly of the Blake Babies) on bass. Hatfield opened the show with songs from her solo album, "Hey Babe." She was a strong beginning. Her sugar-like voice echoed loudly off the walls of the tiny club. She is a multi-talented and brilliant musician and her set was amazing.

After Hatfield left a pleading crowd, Dando, Ryan, and Nick Dalton (a replacement bassist since Juliana couldn't possibly play two sets) started off with a new song from their current album, "It's a Shame About Ray." They then played a variety of songs from their four other albums. They even played their cover of "Frank Mills" from the musical, "Hair." Dando is a great musician and basically a nice guy, which shows in his music. He played a children's song he was working on called "Being With Me."

During the concert, Dando was very in touch with the audience and often made jokes. It was good to see them in such a small club because it gives you an opportunity to see the band close-up. I even sat on the side of the stage. They were actually normal-sized, not doll-sized. The show was very powerful and energetic. The band sounded really strong and together. It was very evident that they were actually a talented band and not a studio creation. The Lemonheads played a wide variety of new and old songs as well as those never heard before and still managed to pull off an entertaining and solid performance. n