Rilo Kiley meets Avalon, Boston

Remember that twerp from Boy Meets World, Joey the Rat? If when I was 10 you told me that in eight years I would see him in concert chanting through a ukulele solo, I would say "Yeah, and I might have a chance with Topanga." Well, last night, at one of the Avalon's final concerts, not only did I jump to the bopping guitar of Blake Sennet (Joey the Rat), but I gazed at another child star hotter than Topanga stealing the show: Jenny Lewis who acted in everything from Growing-Pains to Golden Girls. Along with bass and drums, Lewis and Sennet make up Rilo Kiley, an L.A.-based indie-rock quartet whose catchy, quirky love songs rattled even the Green Monster across the Street.

First, don't let Mr. Feeney tell you different: size matters. My reunion with the greatest show on the TGIF lineup and one of the greatest indie acts today almost fell flat, as I trekked to the show without a ticket. Within a few minutes of walking behind Fenway I spotted a scalper, but the big guy wouldn't budge. I offered him 30, and he said, "double that and maybe we have a deal." Ten minutes passed. Forty? "Come on kid, it's gotta be 60." If he had an average stature I would have talked him down, but as he peered down at me with his fridge of a body, I cowered down the sidewalk. Size matters. Finally, after waiting for a half hour, I approached him just before the show opened.

"Fifty," I asserted.

"Fine."

But size matters within a show too. If you're taller than 6 feet and stand anywhere in front of the back row, people will pester you. As I planted myself in the center, people weaved their way in front of me, and for the majority of the show I had to stand sideways.

All that, however, washed away as Rilo Kiley jammed and hummed and smashed in a dynamic, wondrous hour-and-a-half set. From a band named after a 19th-century Australian football player, you would expect an imaginative display on stage. With lighting that varied from spastic strobes to the dim purple lighting synonymous with high school prom shows to; songs that varied from euphoric sing-a-longs (their breakthrough hit "Portions for Foxes") to dismal ukulele solos ("Ripchord"); and outfits that varied from the tux of Sennet to the striking, sparkling, gold hot pants and mock-tux tanktop of Jenny; they wowed the crowd. From Rilo Kiley's blistering opener "It's a Hit" to the encore "Does He Love You," the crowd twisted and swayed and shouted along, awe-inspired.

Blake's swirling riffs as he jumped with his guitar and Jenny's soothing croon have catapulted them from the swamp that so many child stars get stuck in. They have kick-ass musical talent. Combined with a full band, their magic shatters the majesty not only of any '90s rerun, but also of almost any act today. If I were Feeney I would give Rilo Kiley an A-.