Neko Case with Lucy Wainwright Roche at the Columbus Athenaeum
My friend Judie had purchased a pair of tickets to see Neko Case in Columbus on Saturday, October 19, but then she had a chance to take photos at the Rock Hall inductions the same night. I was happy to snag her tickets. We dropped Birdie off at M's sister's house, then had a nice sushi dinner out by ourselves at Akai Hana, which is typically (and correctly, so far as I can tell) rated as one of the top, if not the top, sushi places in Ohio.
After dinner we were off to the Columbus Athenaeum, which was originally built as a Masonic Hall. It's a really interesting space. The show was upstairs in a medium sized room that had a stage on one end, high lecture style seating on all sides and standing room only on the floor, which felt a bit like a volleyball court. The acoustics were great.
This was the first show I'd been to since the smart phone era began were cell phones were explicitly banned in the auditorium. People were allowed to bring their phones in, but the staff was warning everybody that they would be kicked out if they took their phone during the show, let alone if they started taking video. It was rather pleasant not having to see a sea of screens during every song. I'd be down for making all shows cell phone free, to be honest.
The opening act was Lucy Wainwright Roche, half-sister of Rufus Wainwright who I saw way back in 2004 with Guster and Ben Folds. She came out on stage along with her guitar for a set that was half singing, half confessional therapy session. Lucy talked a lot about her life, her time in college at Oberlin, her dog and her baby. She invited questions from the audience and only dodged one question ("What are you reading right now?" "That's a really personal question for people I just met") and talked candidly about the social challenges of belonging to a family full of singer-songwriters. She only sang seven songs, and I suspect by the clock she talked more than she played. Somehow, this ended up being charming more than irritating. She closed with a moving acoustic cover of I Won't Back Down. I'm not moved to seek out more of her music, but it was surprisingly fun.
Then it was time for the main event. This was the fourth time I'd seen Neko Case solo, but the first since 2014. Prior shows were:
- 2005
- 2007
- 2014
I'm honestly not sure why I hadn't seen her since 2014 (ok, from 2014-2019), given that all of those show summaries linked above talk about how awesome she was. I assume some of it was scheduling, and more if it was my preference for things I haven't seen when I have a choice between two gigs, or a desire not to drive all the way to Kent (she's been playing the Kent Stage in recent years). For this show she didn't have new music, just a greatest hits album and an upcoming memoir. It didn't seem to matter, because once again she blew the crowd away. The closest I have to a complaint would be that the show lacked Kelly Hogan, who wasn't in her usual backup singer spot. Maybe she was still touring with Mavis Staples.
So far as I'm aware, Neko Case has never had a hit single. Despite a string of critically acclaimed albums, most people I've encountered still have never heard of her. That's their loss, because she has a fantastic voice, her band is tight, the songs are heartfelt and literate. Every time I've seen her has been excellent, or better.
For historical purposes, Neko also performed as a member of the The New Pornographers 2 of the 3 times I saw them:
- 2003
- 2014
- not 2017.
Which means I've seen her six times so far, with more to come I'm sure. The merch table had copies of all her solo albums on CD, so I supported the cause by purchasing signed copies of first two albums, The Virginian and Furnace Room Lullaby. I also bought Canadian Amp, which is an old EP. I wouldn't have bought the EP, but the completism problem I have manifested itself, and let's be honest, Neko deserves the money.
On a side note, this was at least the third Masonic Hall that I've seen a show at. I've been to a few gigs over the years at the Cleveland Masonic Temple and a few more at the gigantic Detroit Masonic Temple. The Athenaeum, or at least this room of the Athenaeum, is much cozier than the two larger halls and sounds a lot better.
M and I drove back to her sister's house while listening to the (unfortunately bad) ending of the ALCS. The next day we hung out with her family and had a great meal at Anne's Kitchen. Birdie and M dozed in the backseat while I drove us home, and I was treated to the beautiful Ohio fall foliage during the golden hour.
PS - while writing this I found out that Neko Case and Nick Cave did a Zombies cover for True Blood, which is the television version of one my favorite trashy vampire books, so now you get to find out too. Hear She's Not There.
PPS - I've now been to 11 concerts with 16 bands/musicians in 2024.
After dinner we were off to the Columbus Athenaeum, which was originally built as a Masonic Hall. It's a really interesting space. The show was upstairs in a medium sized room that had a stage on one end, high lecture style seating on all sides and standing room only on the floor, which felt a bit like a volleyball court. The acoustics were great.
This was the first show I'd been to since the smart phone era began were cell phones were explicitly banned in the auditorium. People were allowed to bring their phones in, but the staff was warning everybody that they would be kicked out if they took their phone during the show, let alone if they started taking video. It was rather pleasant not having to see a sea of screens during every song. I'd be down for making all shows cell phone free, to be honest.
The opening act was Lucy Wainwright Roche, half-sister of Rufus Wainwright who I saw way back in 2004 with Guster and Ben Folds. She came out on stage along with her guitar for a set that was half singing, half confessional therapy session. Lucy talked a lot about her life, her time in college at Oberlin, her dog and her baby. She invited questions from the audience and only dodged one question ("What are you reading right now?" "That's a really personal question for people I just met") and talked candidly about the social challenges of belonging to a family full of singer-songwriters. She only sang seven songs, and I suspect by the clock she talked more than she played. Somehow, this ended up being charming more than irritating. She closed with a moving acoustic cover of I Won't Back Down. I'm not moved to seek out more of her music, but it was surprisingly fun.
Then it was time for the main event. This was the fourth time I'd seen Neko Case solo, but the first since 2014. Prior shows were:
- 2005
- 2007
- 2014
I'm honestly not sure why I hadn't seen her since 2014 (ok, from 2014-2019), given that all of those show summaries linked above talk about how awesome she was. I assume some of it was scheduling, and more if it was my preference for things I haven't seen when I have a choice between two gigs, or a desire not to drive all the way to Kent (she's been playing the Kent Stage in recent years). For this show she didn't have new music, just a greatest hits album and an upcoming memoir. It didn't seem to matter, because once again she blew the crowd away. The closest I have to a complaint would be that the show lacked Kelly Hogan, who wasn't in her usual backup singer spot. Maybe she was still touring with Mavis Staples.
So far as I'm aware, Neko Case has never had a hit single. Despite a string of critically acclaimed albums, most people I've encountered still have never heard of her. That's their loss, because she has a fantastic voice, her band is tight, the songs are heartfelt and literate. Every time I've seen her has been excellent, or better.
For historical purposes, Neko also performed as a member of the The New Pornographers 2 of the 3 times I saw them:
- 2003
- 2014
- not 2017.
Which means I've seen her six times so far, with more to come I'm sure. The merch table had copies of all her solo albums on CD, so I supported the cause by purchasing signed copies of first two albums, The Virginian and Furnace Room Lullaby. I also bought Canadian Amp, which is an old EP. I wouldn't have bought the EP, but the completism problem I have manifested itself, and let's be honest, Neko deserves the money.
On a side note, this was at least the third Masonic Hall that I've seen a show at. I've been to a few gigs over the years at the Cleveland Masonic Temple and a few more at the gigantic Detroit Masonic Temple. The Athenaeum, or at least this room of the Athenaeum, is much cozier than the two larger halls and sounds a lot better.
M and I drove back to her sister's house while listening to the (unfortunately bad) ending of the ALCS. The next day we hung out with her family and had a great meal at Anne's Kitchen. Birdie and M dozed in the backseat while I drove us home, and I was treated to the beautiful Ohio fall foliage during the golden hour.
PS - while writing this I found out that Neko Case and Nick Cave did a Zombies cover for True Blood, which is the television version of one my favorite trashy vampire books, so now you get to find out too. Hear She's Not There.
Click to viewPPS - I've now been to 11 concerts with 16 bands/musicians in 2024.