Life has been more than a little nuts lately. I’ve been MIA at Loudvine for the last month due to an upcoming relocation to New York City. But do not worry faithful readers, while this may be my last Los Angeles post for a while, this is not the last you’ve heard from Rachel K. But anyway, on to the show:
Before last night, I had never been to the Greek Theatre. It’s a larger venue, with larger concerts, which means a much larger bite out of my wallet. Usually when I have more cash than normal, I just put it towards more drinks at the smaller venues I frequent (I hate giving my beer money to Ticketmaster fees). But every once in a while, I cough up the money and see a big name play. Last night was all about the superb and tremendous musical stylings of the one and only Neko Case.
Neko Case is one of those genre-defying musicians that gets thrown in the Country section at Amoeba just because she prefers acoustic guitars and the occasional banjo. But listening to her music, she strikes me more as a singer of surreal-folk. Her voice is piercing, gorgeous, unmistakable, and always playing with the images dreams are made of. Even before she came on, I noticed that the stage complimented her music perfectly: a large illustration of an owl with glowing light up eyes stood behind all the players.
So, if you haven’t guessed yet, I am a huge Neko Case fan. I had never seen her live before, so I was that much more giddy about the whole thing. I even got the ticket in a presale and was 5th row center. In fact, I could go through the entire set list, song by song, and gush about every single one. But I will spare you this and just focus on a few top songs/moments of the night:
Case opened with the delicate “Maybe Sparrow” while childlike animations were projected on a back-screen. There was an even mix of songs off of her new album (the best by far was the rich and haunting “Prison Girls”) and older hits. Lush crimson lights bathed the stage as she played “Deep Red Bells” while “This Tornado Loves You” was a bright, musical celebration. Between her and 5 supporting musicians, I counted that 13 different guitars were used over the course of the night.
When Neko Case played “Hold On, Hold On” (which oddly enough was co-written with the rockin’ group The Sadies) it was like molten plasma for your ears. Bittersweet and touching, the song has been stuck with me for a long time. Hearing it live only made it that much more powerful.
Anyway, I’ll stop gushing. It was a fantastic show and lasted a good ninety minutes. The moral of this story is: If you can, go see the musicians you adore. As for those sucky ticketmaster fees? Trust me, last night’s show was worth every last penny.
-Rachel K.
Tags: Neko Case, The Greek Theatre
Neko Case at the Greek. Great venue…greater artist. I first came across Neko’s voice about five years ago when I was surfing through I-tunes and stumbled upon a solo project by John Doe of ‘X.’ She sang a duet with him, and I was immediatly captivated by that voice. Since I first heard her album ‘Fox Confessor Brings the Flood’(2006), then previously recorded projects, I’ve waited impatiently to see her live. Friday nights show at the Greek was everything I had hoped for, and more.
Little known fact: Neko is virtually the only artist working today that doesn’t use voice/sync, pitch-control, or filters of any kind in the studio, and it shows live. That voice pierced the cool night air of the hollywood hills like a meteorite through a glacier.
Playing most of her new album ‘Middle Cyclone,’ I was pleased to see that she included delicate pieces like ‘Magpie in the Morning.’ In the sea of noise that is popular music, discovering Neko’s talent really is “like finding a diamond at the bottom of a drain.” Also, the older collaboration with the Sadies ‘The Tigers Have Spoken,’ from the album of the same name, actually brought a tear to my eye…it’s one of the saddest songs ever written. I was also pleased to see other gems, such as ‘Furnace Room Lullaby”s like ‘Deep Red Bells’ and ‘Wish I Was the Moon.’
The sum total of that experience was that I couldn’t have sent her a request list for a better set, although I would’ve liked a few more songs from ‘Fox Confessor,’ which I regard as one of the top five albums ever recorded by anyone, in any genre, ever. It’s just that good.
So I’ll bid farewell to the scarlet-haired siren who set fire to the Hollywood hills…until next time, next abum, next incarnation…
list of songs from an album…
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