Undoubtedly one of the best concerts of the year and likely the best of the dozen or so Neko shows i've seen. My wife and i are still reeling this morning from the sheer power of what we witnessed last nite.
Things were a bit rocky the first few songs due to some persistent monitor problems that never seemed to get solved, but once the gang got out of first gear it was all over 'cept for the shouting. Just absolutely stunning stuff -- i was pretty much in dropped-jaw mode the rest of the night. In my mind, this was the Ultimate Neko Lineup -- Rauhouse is one of the most amazing musicians you'll ever see, Paul Rigby added tons of spooky, twangy atmospherics (this lineup did the best job yet of recreating the desert noir sound that Calexico and Neko used to such great effect on her masterpiece, "Blacklisted") and Kelly Hogan is the secret sauce that pushes the whole thing into the stratosphere (Neko played a show at the Ave a few years ago without Hogan, or any of her "girlfriends," and that show was a pale shadow of last nights mindblower). The setlist was solid -- lots of new material for the legions of new fans that have gotten religion in the last few years as well as some old faves and obscurities. I was totally floored when she did "Knock Loud" in the encore. Anything from "Candian Amp" is kinda special to me -- i remember patiently waiting to buy my vinyl copy when it was a tour-only thing after she did an opening set for Nick Cave a few years ago at the State Theater in Mpls featuring mostly material from that release. Nick had already started playing and Neko, who was working the merch table solo out in the lobby, took the time to hang with a dozen or so of us freaks while she signed records and raved about her new material while simultaneously providing running commentary about Nick's set ("oooh -- i love this song," "man, listen to his voice!").
And, yes, the "crowd factor" -- which greatly detracted from her near-sold out show at the Ave. last year -- was shockingly not a factor. Indeed, i've never heard such a large crowd in that club as quiet as they were last nite. And thank God for that!"
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