Brian Wilson had cars and surfboards. Lou Reed had transients and smack. Neko Case, another instinctive songwriter with identifiable lyrical obsessions, has weather and animals. That's considerable symbolic acreage, yet Case -- like Wilson and Reed, to name a couple of past masters -- compresses detached observation and wet hunger into distinctive miniatures. (And her gift for melodic surprise rivals even the old Beach Boy's polished touch.) Tides and floods and tornadoes, tigers and foxes and birds of prey -- Case uses a palette of primal forces to access a dreamworld where love, desire, fidelity and loss take living form and peer from tree trunks or circle overhead. In some of her best songs, they also strike and wound. The 50-watt-eyed owl overlooking Case's stage (and her audience) last night at the Uptown wasn't there to advise how many licks will get you to the center of a Tootsie Pop. A Neko Case owl is a predator.
The rest of the night concentrated on this year's nearly perfect Middle Cyclone, with driving arrangements of the few songs with a beat (particularly an extra-Byrdsy "People Got a Lotta Nerve" and a steaming "Red Tide") and shimmering guitar lines replacing the thick piano chords on the album. The loveliest musical conceit on Cyclone, the barn-full-of-pianos Harry Nilsson cover "Don't Forget Me," only gained ache live, thanks to Jon Rauhouse's echoing steel. And those harmonies -- Hogan, a superlative singer with her own album-making knack, blended with and complemented Case to hair-raising effect all night.
Showing 1-19 of 19
ICop Out is really not too bad. I actually did not went to the theater but watched it online, on www.moviez.im - You need to take a survey to unlock the movie but the quality is worth it!
Keep your Frito pie (Sonic? or home made?) and your lame, defensive comebacks.
I just wanted any sort of expounding upon the Lytle set, other than three words. I've been seeing Neko Case shows since the mid-90's, and know what to expect, giant sculptural owls be damned. I haven't had the chance to see Lytle solo since Grandaddy called it quits, and actually was hoping to hear a somewhat respected opinion of the performance, rather than a "meh!" cop out review. You're the one getting paid to post here, not me, so I figured you might actually devote some equal time to an artist with an equally (if not more challenging) back catalog and potential for future releases.
If he's not your bag, that's one thing.
If you didn't see him, that's another.
I just felt like some words could have been devoted to him, instead of critic's sweetheart Neko Case. To each their own.
If you're not going to sign your comments, don't talk to me about copping out.
If Lytle cracks the top 50 in the P&J, I'll buy you a Frito pie.
Nice cop-out, Scott.
Just say that you missed most of the Lytle set, and get on with it. Some of us actually know what to expect from a Neko Case show, and weren't entirely sure what to expect from a Jason Lytle set, and were actually interested in a critical take on it, not just a cop-out, half-sentence "meh" review.
I anxiously look forward to when Jason Lytle is all over the Pazz and Jop poll and you devote 1000 words to his every nuance.
I go to plenty of symphony performances, none of which are sleepy. Lytle's gifts seemed to be under his hat Sunday night. Or under one of his bandmates' hats. There were plenty of hats. There just wasn't anything like a melody or a rapport with the audience or an engagement with his own material.
Sleepy Jason?....I hope you weren't meaning that a guy needs to jump around, wave hands, talk, spin, and all that stuff so music can be enjoyed. I get from that that you don't go to concerts with orchestra (Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Elgar, etc) as they are probably of the "sleepy" type. Jason Lytle is a musically gifted man. His style may be not fast-paced or upbeat (whatever that means), but his music and lyrics are beautiful. Neko Case was superb...her voice is sweet, and her music outstanding.
To Anonymous 4 p.m.:
Yes, really. You said "glazing over," not me.
To Anonymous 4:02 p.m.:
Watch Wayward Blog tomorrow.
If you're starting with Nillson, "Me and My Arrow" is the jam to begin the journey.
nothing about the Jason Lytle set other than it was "sleepy"? Really?
I get that you have a rock-crit boner for Neko. I really do. But seriously, are we that dead set on glazing over an artist who is every bit as interesting but isn't Playboy/No Depression fodder?
Jason, Sean Nelson (Harvey Danger) loooooves Nilsson. He did several live nights called "Nelson Sings Nilsson." Also, I know for a fact that Ben Gibbard digs him.
I obtained several Nilsson albums a few weeks ago and, apart from a few transcendent tracks sprinkled throughout, I'm not really getting his genius yet. Jason, I'd love to see a post that served as an impassioned defense of his music, complete with song recommendations that do not include "Lime in the Coconut." Get to work!
P.S. More contemporary indie artists need to educate themselves in the ways of Nilsson. So far it's Neko, the Walkmen ... not many others.
Her voice (especially when paired with Kelly Hogan's) gave me chills several times through the course of the night. But overall, I would say the show was "pleasant" moreso than "awesome" or "transcendent" or [insert superlative here].
And sleepy is right for Jason Lytle. Song after downtempo song while three guys sat nearly motionless and the fourth shoegazed. Nothing wrong with the band technically, and he has what I could only describe as a pretty voice, but no stage presence or energy at all.
A completely spot-on review of what was one of my favorite shows of the year so far.
Excellent review, Mr. Wilson. The last half of the first paragraph is probably the most insightfulest, awesomest and bestest assessment of Case's songwriting ever.
Those in search of a set list are encouraged to visit Back to Rockville, where the list seems to be mostly right.
http://backtorockville.typepad...
I'm pretty sure she played "I Am an Animal," not "I Am a Handful," which I'm not sure exists as such. I got goosebumps during "Animal," though. Lord.
I didn't realize how short so many of her songs are. According to my iTunes, "Animal" is 2:21, "Nerve" is 2:34, "Magpie" is 2:44. "Tornado" is 3:21. Not counting the 20-plus minutes of cricket sounds at the end of Cyclone, the longest on that disc by far is "Prison Girls" clocking in at 5:26.
I kept getting frustrated when the songs would end so quickly and the banter and instrument tinkering would begin -- couldn't they have just one two, maybe three songs without a minute-long pause between each? But then Kelly Hogan would say something about shanking people in prison or shooting up gravy and I would laugh out loud.
The night's closer, "Train from Kansas City," done especially for us, was cool as hell.
like
dislike
