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This was my fourth time seeing NEKO CASE perform (not counting her appearances with THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS ) and as usual, she was excellent. Although the set started out a little slow and a bit listless with the opener “Maybe Sparrow” (from 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood) and “People Gotta a Lotta Nerve” (from her new album Middle Cyclone), it quickly energized afterward and the energy level remained consistently high throughout the night.
The highlights were many, including the title track from Middle Cyclone as well its “This Tornado Loves You”, but the show really shined when she played some of her older material. In particular, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood was well represented, with Case and her ace band (including backing singer KELLY HOGAN ) playing “Margaret vs. Pauline,” “Hold On, Hold On,” “That Teenage Feeling” and even the little-played “Star Witness” (by audience request).
Even better were selections from 2002’s Blacklisted, her career zenith. In particular, “Deep Red Bells” and “I Wish I was the Moon” are the album’s best original songs (it also consists of incredible covers of “Running Out of Fools” and “Look for Me (I’ll Be Around)”) and choosing to play these songs was definitely a smart move.
It was my first time seeing opener CROOKED FINGERS , though I’m by no means unfamiliar with them or more to the point, their leader ERIC BACHMANN . I’d previously seen him play twice with his old band ARCHERS OF LOAF in the ‘90s and much more recently, we saw him play a solo show opening for AMY MILLAN a few years ago. However, this was my first time seeing him under the tag of his long-running nom de plume Crooked Fingers. Although nowhere near as rockin’ as Archers of Loaf and occasionally a bit annoying with his BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -channeling intonations on several tracks, it was mostly an enjoyable set of mellow, singer-songwriter indie with some mild psychedelic/experimental flourishes (for lack of a better way of describing it). It’s not a million miles from what, other younger, more popular bands like GRIZZLY BEAR are doing, though a bit more satisfying to these ears. On their latest album Forfeit Fortune, there’s a duet with Neko Case on the closing track “Your Control”. They performed the song, but failed to bring Neko out, thus wasting a golden opportunity. Still, this is a very minor quibble with what was a very enjoyable evening of music.
