-Neko +Okkervil River = pretty good show (New Pornographers @ Riviera 4/20)

This was my second date with A.C. Newman's rock machine, and it wasn't as hot as the first one. And, it actually had nothing to do with the absence of Neko Case (who broke her ankle and had to leave the tour last week.) I just think that after last October's show at the Metro, my hopes were a little too high.

I love watching this band. I love A.C. tight little stomp-and-pivot style of cranking out each song. I love Kathryn Calder's nonchalant posture at the keys. But I like being a little closer to them, and from the balcony at the Riv, they just looked, and most of all sounded a little too far away.

I think the Riviera suffers from some sound issues. This was my third time there, and I don't think I've ever been too impressed with the acoustics. And tonight, during both Okkervil and NPs, there were a lot of issues with feedback, and fuzzy muffled vocals.

I still enjoyed myself though, and it was nice to be more familiar with the new album, (Challengers), than I was at the show in the fall. "Adventures in Solitude" and Myriad Harbor (with Okkervil's Will Sheff filling in for Bejar) her highpoints of the show, as well as, I thought "Sing Me Spanish Techno," which I didn't care for much until recently. But that's funny how sometimes a song takes a year or more of play before it finds the right spot in your ear. They did fine without Neko - all they were missing really were her vocals, her tambourin-ing, and her glow - but that gave us all a chance to focus more on the rest of the band. Who knew the drummer had such a nice falsetto. Kathryn Calder was a little more centerstage this time too, and held her own on all the female vocal lines.

Another highpoint, was their performance of what has to be the perfect cover song for the New Pornographers. One thing this band has mastered are the Ooohs, aaahs, hey-aahs, doo-das, and the like, and during their encore, the busted out a flawless version of ELO's "Don't Bring me Down." I was pretty impressed.


Okkervil River itself was fine. I wish I'd had a chance to see them at Schubas last year... this place ws too big for me to enjoy them for the first time. It was good to hear a handful of familiar tunes off the new album, and I was quite satisfied that they closed with "Westfall," since that was the first of their songs I ever heard, and it remains my favorite.

So, my final word on NP, take two is that while I missed the energy and intimacy of the Metro show, this one was still enjoyable. And I'm still wanting more. I just read on NME that they'll be at Lollapalooza. So far, I haven't heard that rumor anywhere else yet, so I won't hold my breath. But that would make me a very happy gal.