Be Here Now: Freedy Johnston @ Caffe Lena, 5/1/10

Go ahead. Call it a comeback.

Singer-songwriter Freedy Johnston never really disappeared from the scene. But he hasn’t really been in the spotlight much, either, in recent years treading water with live recordings and “My Favorite Waste of Time,” an album of covers that stretched from Marshall Crenshaw to the Hollies, from Paul McCartney to Burt Bacharach.

But back in the early ’90s, Johnston seemed poised for the Big Time. In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau hailed ’92’s “Can You Fly” as “a perfect album.” And after the release of ’94’s “This Perfect World,” Rolling Stone declared him to be “the songwriter of the year.”

After a long dry period, Johnston is finally back on track again with “Rain on the City,” his first new album of original material in eight years. He recorded it in Nashville, and it’s a damn good batch of music.

Johnston returns to Nippertown on Saturday night, playing a solo show at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs. And we’re betting that in the cozy, intimate setting, Johnston’s literate, but hook-filled songs will simply sparkle.

Brooklyn’s Rebecca Pronsky opens the show. Showtime is 8pm, and tix are $18 in advance; $20 at the door.

And saaaaay, how’d you like to win a pair of tickets to this show? Yep, we’ve got a pair to give away to a lucky Nippertown reader. Just leave a comment below to enter. We’ll pick a name at random and notify the winner on Friday afternoon. (Be sure to leave your email address, which won’t be shown on the website.)