Wings For Wheels

I didn’t fall asleep until about 3:00 AM Wednesday night.  Normally, this wouldn’t have been so bad, but I had a one-day temp job on Thursday, so I had to be up early, and awake for the bulk of the day.

I was planning to meet Mike at 7:00 in front of the 9:30 Club, where Neko Case was playing.  I hadn’t seen Mike since the Elvis Costello show in May, and he had since gotten my copy of Crystal Zevon’s book signed from a book convention he went to back in New York.  Then I was going to go home, have dinner, then crash while watching the marathon of Elvis movies on TCM.

But around 4:00, Mike sent me an e-mail saying that he now had an extra ticket that was mine if I wanted it.  Well, as long as I was in the neighborhood, right?  Besides, I’d like to get Neko on the show one day, and last time I saw her she was working the merch table.  I figured that, like with Kenney Dale Johnson, I’d introduce myself and ask her who to contact for an interview.  I ran home, changed, fed the cat, and got to the club at 6:15 – plenty of time to be sixth in line and catch a power nap on the sidewalk before Mike arrived.

One of the great things about Mike is that he’ll start up a conversation with anyone (how he lived in NYC for years without getting killed is beyond me) and within a few minutes, sure enough,  we got into talking with the older couple in front of us.  They were in their early-60s and had known each other since first grade!  Almost as impressive was that they’ve continued to seek out new music rather than just listen to what they grew up with and complain about how there’s nothing good out there (which I was doing before I was half their age).

The doors opened at 7:30 and the four of us took up positions in front of the stage.  With the opening act going on at 8:30 and Neko beginning at 10:00, I know I’m going to be on my feet for the next four hours.  This is the only thing I really hate about general admission shows, especially if my back doesn’t cooperate (it’s been pretty good lately), and with the lack of sleep I wasn’t sure how long I could hold out.

But our new friends more than kept awake with great stories about the many concerts they’ve seen over the years, from Janis Joplin and the Allmann Brothers to Lucinda Williams and Cowboy Junkies.  Then she hit us with the shock of the night, revealed after the jump.

Her:  “…And I also saw The Beatles on their first tour of America.”

Mike: “Wow.  Where did you see them?”

Her: “Right here, at the old Coliseum.  I saw them, but I didn’t hear them. I was so upset.”

Her words hung in the air as Mike and I picked our jaws off the 9:30 floor.  Every Beatles freak knows that was their first-ever concert in America.  If you’ve seen the First US Visit DVD, you’ve seen most of this show.  And there was no way on Earth this lady wasn’t telling the absolute truth. 

The opening act was Eric Bachmann, former frontman for Archers Of Loaf, one of those bands I had never got into for one reason or another (maybe because I didn’t even want to consider how they got their name).  Sometimes you see an opening act that’s just starting out and, even though you may like the music, they lack any sort of stage presence.  But Bachmann did a good job connecting with the crowd, and his songs were pretty good, too.  Neko and her multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse joined him for one of the songs, giving us a tease of what was to come.

By the time her set began at 10:00 I was almost done, but perked up when she took the stage.  She was dressed like something from a Tina Turner fire sale – faded loose black dress that revealed plenty of leg, fishnets, and black high heels – and contrasted wonderfully with her flaming red hair   I’m still trying to determine whether she takes an ambivalent or ironic view towards her sexuality, but she looked great.

Before a note was sung, back-up singer and onstage instigator Kelly Hogan, who looked pretty good herself, got things off to a typically raunchy start by sneaking up behind her and grabbing her boobs and saying something about living out fantasies, which became her banter theme for the evening. 

And then Neko opened her mouth to sing, beginning with “Ghost Wired,” and I was captivated.  This was the third time I had seen her (including a New Pornographers concert in 2005), and I continue to be amazed at her siren-like voice (every article about Neko Case has to use the phrases “flaming red hair” and “siren-like voice”).  It’s not that she does anything differently than on her records, but live it just seems to come as naturally as breathing to her.   And it must be said that the same goes for Hogan, whose  harmonies are every bit as beautiful as Neko’s melodies, and she doesn’t get nearly the credit.

Then she hit us with the one-two punch of “That Teenage Feeling,” which I called the Best Song Of 2006, and “Set Out Running” from 2001’s Furnace Room Lullabye, the earliest song of the evening apart from “Favorite,” which first appeared on 2000’s Down To The Promised Land: Bloodshot’s Turning 5 compilation, which was where I first heard her. 

Then came the late-night spooky stuff like “Dirty Knife,” “Star Witness,” and “Deep Red Bells.”  Much of the setlist was from her last three albums: Blacklisted, The Tigers Have Spoken, and  Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (there was nothing from The Virginian) , with a lovely cover of Dylan’s “Buckets Of Rain” thrown in for good measure. 

Apart from a few songs (no “Margaret vs. Pauline,” for example) it wasn’t much different from the show I was at last year that was streamed on NPR (and still downloadable from their site), but in a different order. 

The only downside was the drunk girl near us who kept yelling out “Neko Case!  I love you!”  between songs.  Thankfully, she was ignored from the stage, and after the show, was turned away by Security when she jumped on the stage to try to grab a setlist. 

Unfortunately, Neko didn’t work the merch table, so I’ll have to try to contact her at another time for the interview.  The four of us hung out for a little while later until the crowd thinned down.  Then Mike drove me home, gave me the book (her signature thanked me for our interview followed by “Ah-OOO,” and I was able to catch up on the day’s activities with Kim before crashing.

Here’s a clip of Neko singing That Teenage Feeling earlier this year.  She and Hogan are wearing the same outfits as last night, and it’s shot from the reverse part of the stage from where we were standing.

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Here’s a less me-centric review of the show over at the DCist.

Setlist

Things That Scare Me

That Teenage Feeling

Set Out Running

Maybe Sparrow

Dirty Knife

The Tigers Have Spoken

Star Witness

Deep Red Bells

Buckets Of Rain

I Wish I Was The Moon

If You Knew

Ghost Wiring

Hex

Favorite

Hold On, Hold On

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A Widow’s Toast

Tightly

Lady Pilot

John Saw That Number