Neko Case
Date: February 11, 2005 Wrapped in the Depths of These Deeds My latest Neko Case live experience marked the first time that I saw her backed by the Sadies; and this change made for a very different performance. Neko's song selection and stage demeanour were affected by the band behind her. As always, though, her incomparable voice led the way, making for another very strong concert. Although the opening act, Visqueen, failed to make a great impression on a then-sparse crowd, the floor filled before the Sadies came out to deliver a 40-minute warm-up set without Neko. The band immediately proved to be in fine form, working through their full catalogue of albums, laying down one killer song after another. The band's pacing was very brisk, with Dallas Good pausing only to crisply identify each song by album. Even a broken string from Travis Good scarcely slowed proceedings; and with the fierceness of his playing, on both guitar and fiddle, any equipment snags were justified. The band never missed the mark during their abbreviated set, with highlights including "Loved-on Look" and "Higher Power." When the Sadies returned after a break, they were joined by Neko Case, who wasted no time setting the tone with a soaring take of "Favorite." Sharing the stage with the Sadies definitely influenced Neko's choice of material. The setlist was heavily weighted towards newer songs, particularly those found on the recent live album, The Tigers Have Spoken. That album was also recorded with the Sadies, so hearing those songs performed by the band seemed natural, whether they were written with the band ("If You Knew" and "The Tigers Have Spoken") or not (such as "Soulful Shade of Blue" and "The Train from Kansas City"). Neko also performed several unreleased numbers, that promise to be found on her next studio album, as well as a pair of songs from the stellar Blacklisted, the title track and the delicate "With Bees (Outro)," which was particularly haunting. My favourite moment, though, was a tremendous rendition of an older song, "Furnace Room Lullaby." While this song has always sounded great in the past, when the band hit the instrumental stretch, it was the first time that I felt that the music of the song matched the intensity of Neko's striking voice. The Sadies gave the song a new depth; and the excellent sound quality heard throughout the night allowed each instrument to make a sharp impression. Despite a slight cough, Neko still nailed the towering finish, making for one of the best performances that I have heard from her. Consciously or not, Neko seemed to adhere to the Sadies sense of pacing, generally avoiding the goofy digressions of past concerts in favour of sharper song transitions. While she did take the time to introduce her music (a process that involved the phrase "this is a sad song" with notable frequency), the stories were kept to a minimum. Nonetheless, Neko's stage presence remained engaging and she was obviously enjoying playing with the band. The one exception to the businesslike tempo came when Travis not only broke another string, but also lost its bridge peg, leading to an extended break halfway through the set. However, the delay was far from a fatal blow, as several of the night's best moments came on its follow-up. While it seemed strange to hear "Make Your Bed" without a lap steel guitar, it was a treat to finally hear the song played by its cowriters. The most raucous segment of the night was its conclusion, as the band swung its way through the twangy "Rated X" and the pounding "Loretta." While Neko Case certainly gave a different performance with the Sadies, and she and the band had to overcome a major technical snag, her latest Montreal concert was nothing short of another triumph. <--Prev (Bright Eyes) | Next (Sarah Slean)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |