Neko Case and the Sadies, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, U.S.A., February 14, 2005
Neko Case, arguably the reigning queen of alternative country music, is a very busy lady. Besides being part of a band called The New Pornographers, who just finished recording a new album, Neko's solo career has been active on multiple fronts. She is hard at work on her next solo disc, despite having released the excellent The Tigers Have Spoken just this past November. That live album was largely written and performed in collaboration with the Canadian band The Sadies , who also have a new album Favourite Colours to tout.
Currently, Case and The Sadies are promoting their respective albums together on tour as a double bill, with The Sadies performing by themselves first and then backing up Neko Case in the headlining set. Their itinerary included a two-day stop at the Bowery Ballroom on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, culminating with a performance on Valentine's Day.
The Sadies showed themselves to be
potent musicians fluent in several old sub-genres of country and rock, but
Neko Case clearly deserved and relished her starring role. For one
thing, as anyone who has heard her recordings can attest, she happens to
possess one of the most moving voices in music. People familiar with her
only through her CD's might be surprised, though, to discover her quirky,
unpredictable sense of humor. Her long conversations with the audience,
and one rather bizarre Valentine's Day stunt, defined her show this past
Monday as much as her music did.
The Sadies took the stage first. Based in Toronto, this quartet
currently bears the standard for the straightforward, two guitars, bass
and drums, no frills whatsoever approach to making rock and roll. Their
set consisted of a series of short, quick songs and instrumentals, heavily
influenced by surf rock and bands like the Byrds. They also reflected a
strong country influence as well, covering songs by Bob Willis and Gram
Parsons, and threw in a gospel number "There Is A Higher Power" for
good measure.
Their prowess as players, and their contribution to the great
sound of The Tigers Have Spoken, were immediately evident in their
performance. However, the Sadies suffer from a lack of a powerful stage
presence; guitarists Dallas and Travis Good seemed to be more comfortable
hiding behind their hair than engaging the audience. In addition, while I
do feel there is plenty of room for back-to-the-basics retro rock in
contemporary music, I didn't get the sense that the Sadies have added
anything to the genres they play that would distinguish them from the
performers and bands that influence their sound. Being familiar with them
only through their work with Neko Case, I felt like I was watching the
Wailers without Bob Marley, or the E Street Band without Bruce
Springsteen. The Sadies can obviously play, but something very important
was missing from the mix.
In complete contrast, Neko Case loves to talk to the audience, and
possesses a peculiar comic spontaneity that, by itself, would justify the
price of admission even if her vocal talents merely ranked as ordinary. I
got the sense that the show was about to start when Bad Company's "Feel
Like Making Love" played through the venue's speakers; something about
the
juxtaposition of that particular song and Valentine's Day seemed like too
much of a coincidence. Just in case anybody didn't catch on, the song was
then played again over the speakers. Case and the Sadies finally took the
stage during the third run-through. Before commencing with the concert,
Case extolled the virtues of that particular song, then described her
feelings about Valentine's Day, "a greeting card holiday about sex and
sheer disappointment."
She may have come across a bit goofy, but it
didn't take long for her to remind everybody of her greatest asset. Neko
Case's voice is simply lethal. After about five measures of the opening
song "Favorite," one of her many songs about broken relationships,
she had
the audience at her mercy.
The material from The Tigers Have Spoken predictably dominated the set.
Case and the Sadies managed to get through the entire album save the last
song, "Wayfaring Stranger." The tight harmonies
provided by the female backing vocalists who performed on the album were missing,
but
hearing Case's sultry voice unadorned and in person more than adequately
compensated for the loss. Case performed a few songs from her back
catalog as well, including "Outro with Bees" from 2002's Blacklisted
and "Make Your Bed" from her obscure 2001 mini-album Canadian
Amp.
She also
spent plenty of time conversing with the audience as well, frequently
returning to the subject of Valentine's Day while introducing yet another
heartbreaker.
She dedicated "Hex" to the single guys, suggesting
that the
song would make them cry in front of the single ladies and up their
chances with them. About halfway through the show, Case introduced her
special guest for the evening, the venerable Garth Hudson. A grayer
version of the hirsute, eccentric musical wizard he was in his days with
The Band, Hudson brought his accordion onstage and performed with Neko and
The Sadies for the duration of the concert. This newly augmented line-up
commenced by covering Hank Williams' "Alone and Forsaken" and The
Band's"
Evangeline." At this point, the group took a brief intermission,
presumably to correct a technical problem. Naturally, "Feel Like Making
Love" was played yet again over the speakers.
Before the music resumed, Case came onstage with another lady, presumably
somebody involved with the tour. After Case tearfully explained to this
other woman why their love for each other must remain unconsummated, the
lady pulled out a plastic knife and poked herself with it, at which point
Case pretended to stab herself as well. A few pools of fake blood later,
The Sadies and Garth Hudson assumed their positions. I was half expecting
them to break into The Rolling Stones -- "If I could stick a knife in
my
heart, suicide right on the stage..." -- but they opted for a gospel song
instead.
A few songs later, the set closed with the punkish "Loretta" off The
Tigers Have Spoken.
For the encore, Case, The Sadies, and Hudson
performed a song called "Train on the Island." Then Case ended the
night
by improvising a Valentine's Day ode to the city of New York and her
audience. The backing music The Sadies provided for this song sounded
curiously similar to "Feel Like Making Love."
Clearly, the experience of seeing Neko Case in concert extends beyond
simply hearing her voice. Her antics add a rare degree of spontaneity
and unpredictability to her performance. Much like Beth Orton, her
flighty banter strikes an odd contrast with her dark songs and her
haunting melodies. People might debate whether that is a good thing or
not, but I at least found it entertaining; in a way, she supplies her own
comic relief. Still, her classic country voice is her calling card, and
all the reason anybody needs to go see her perform.
Neko Case and The Sadies have found common musical ground in their loyalty to older, more traditional styles of country and rock. The Sadies certainly perform with enough competence to do the old styles justice, but Neko Case's special voice and endearingly nutty charm put her own distinct, revitalizing stamp on them. She should remain an essential performer, on disc and especially on stage, for the indefinite future.
