Tuesday, 22 Apr 2008
Set: Heaven & Earth/Use It/Stacked Crooked/Showstoppers/My Rights Versus Yours/The Laws Have Changed/Twin Cinema/Challengers/Electric Vision/Testament/Unguided/Mass Romantic/Jessica Numbers/Adventures In Solitude/Myriad Harbour/Spanish Techno/Bleeding Hearts Show
Encore: Don’t Bring Me Down/The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
We already have Jodi’s recap up from The New Pornographers and Okkervil River show in Chicago, and by all accounts it sounds pretty similar to what we got last night at the Orpheum Theatre in Madison.
As far as a set list goes it was pretty much an evening of greatest hits, which I certainly can’t complain with. I’ll never tire of hearing “The Bleeding Hearts Show,” which remains my favorite track in their diamond filled catalog. This was my first time hearing material from Challengers live, which really cemented my appreciation for that record. I’ll concede the stage looks a little bare bones sans Neko and Dan, but that didn’t stop the band from putting on a great power pop rock show. Kathryn Calder was unstoppable last night, she’s really become a driving force in the group of tantamount importance.
Gotta give a big hat tip to Okkervil River for opening things up and performing and equally impressive set including a Beach Boys cover. It was certainly a treat to have Will Sheff join The New Pornographers for “Myriad Harbour” on guitar and vocals - an admirable stand in for Dan Bejar. Overall, it was hard to tell if you people were digging it, not much movement or crowd reaction, perhaps it was because it was approaching 200 degrees inside the venue.
Big thanks to Ryan Miller from 102.1 Indie Soundcheck for hanging out with us and scoring us some awesome seats! What did you guys think? Were they better than the last time they played Madison at the invite only/VIP Jack Daniels show at the High Noon? How much did you miss Neko and Dan? What were the highlights of both sets? Is Gold Digger Blonde Ale the worst beer to ever touch your lips? Gross. We’ve got a comment section for you guys to speak up!
Photos: Ed Oliver & Ryan Matteson
Previously: 5 Questions with Will Sheff of Okkervil River
Myspace: The New Pornographers
MP3: The New Pornographers - “My Rights, Versus Yours”
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Myspace: Okkervil River
MP3: Okkervil River - “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe”
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:08 am
Really really really missed Miss Neko Case.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
NP without Dan and Neko is not really NP, but I knew that coming in. Personally, I think Okkervil River put on the better show; they had tons more energy and better showmanship.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 am
Okkervil once again did an amazing show! They work so hard at making sure to give the audience a great performance. Thankfully Will didn’t spit sing on the crowd as much as he usually does. Can’t wait to see them at Austin City Limits!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 am
Okkervil were great, the guy on drums was enormous. I liked a lot NP but it was my first time so I don t know how they are with Neko and Dan. However I fell in love with Kathryn. Maybe you are right about the quite crowd and the temperature. It was terrible.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:32 am
okkervil river stole the show in nashville. maybe thats just cause i missed neko case.
also, that beach boys cover (sloop john b) is on their latest album.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:55 am
I was blown away by Okkervil — what a great set they had! And NP’s sans Neko and sans Bejar were still great. That’s a tribute to Kathryn, who more than holds her own. The fact that Neko wasn’t there didn’t ruin it for me in the least. That ELO song has got to be a hard song for a band to pull off live, but they had the talent and the vocal range to make it work. I loved AC’s line, “Whatever song you’re shouting out, I can promise you this one is a million times better”….something along those lines.
But come on Neko….I love you to death, but if Leslie Feist can have a gimpy ankle and still do her thing on the Orpheum stage, you should be able to sit down and play your tamborine and sing for an hour and a half, right?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:56 am
I thought both bands were great.The crowd was loud and rocking down front.Okkervil’s drummer is Travis Nelson,who lived in Madison about 10 years ago and played in the Coolhand Band with his brother Troy.
it was insanely hot in the theater…wish it would have been at The Barrymore.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Okkervil River once again rocked my socks off. By the end of their set, I remarked to my compatriots that I had already gotten my $22 worth.
This marks the third time I’ve seen them in Madison sans Ms. Case and Mr. Bejar. Hopefully the next time the full lineup will make it. Kathryn continues to get better at singing the Neko parts, but she’s still no Neko. (And I say this as a fan of Immaculate Machine.)
And “Don’t Bring Me Down” was a phenomenal cover. Great, great show.
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought that Okkervil put on the better show. The word that kept popping in my head about the NP set was “professional” and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
My only complaint about OkR is that they should’ve ended their set with the second to last song (Unless it Kicks?). That would’ve been a tremendous closer, and would’ve left us wanting more.
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Ditto as above. Here’s the formula:
Okkervil River - (Meiburg from Shearwater) > NP - (Neko + Dan)
And as far as Gold Digger, everything at the Orpheum sucks balls because they don’t clean their taps. Try it at a normal place, or in a bottle and you will look down at your feet and they will be bare, for your socks will have been blown off.
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
My wife thought NP tended towards The Partridge Family and I thought Kathryn Calder just is not able to bring it up like Neko. We’ve seen the band with and without Neko and Dan, this version is more of a good NP cover band. OR, on the other hand, has become stronger since the last time we saw them in town and seem close to truly putting together a classic.
As far as the venue, who cares about the marquee, fix the plumbing and get a real stage!
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 pm
didn’t see the madison show, but i will concur with the Nashville comment previously posted- okkervil stole the show. Granted i might be completely biased, seeing as i didn’t even own a NP record until about a month ago and have been into Okkervil for almost 2 years now, but still. I think the biggest things going again NP, for me, was the fact that carl had his amp up very loudly and the first few rows of people were stuck with no vocals for their set, even though Okkervil sounded perfect.
[review of the show should be post on my blog very soon, too. =) ]
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Okkervil River was lame. Like maybe Guster, only without the finger-drumming gimmick to make it at least temporarily interesting. Lots of go-nowhere songs with a few mediocre ones mixed in. I don’t agree with Dave that boingy singers and other such theatrics are what make a good show.
The NPs were unbelievable. I was expecting to hate the show when I found out Neko wouldn’t be there, but Kathryn Calder did a sensational job with the material (and is somehow even more gorgeous than Neko). Obviously she is not Neko, but she was a more than adequate stand-in and I wasn’t feeling at all let down afterward.
If you think the NPs sound like the partridge family you should not be allowed into the show or to buy their albums. It’s melodic pop music–that’s as far as that comparison carries.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I really thought TNP were great. I did miss having Neko and Dan there but I felt like the rest stepped up and put on a great show — much better than I had feared when I learned that neither would be there.
Being someone who was not a huge fan of ORs recorded material (not like I hated it or anything, just sayin’) - GREAT live show. Way way exceeded my expectations and I’ll definitely see them again.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Okkervil puts on a better show and their records have more emotional depth. that comes through in their sets. I love TNP, but they are a straightforward power pop band. they are not the type of band to really move you live. that is not to say that i didn’t really enjoy their set. and Calder was much better than i expected. She cannot match the soaring vocals of Case, but i kind of fell in love with her, nonetheless.
and as for Okkervil, I loved the way the Wrens guitarist was playing, sort of a double-jointed half-assed Pete Townsend. i dug it.
And yes, it was f-ing hot in that place. and the Spotted Cow was gone by the start of the NP show. that was distressing.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:22 am
I’m glad to see that some people enjoyed the Okkervil set because my impression was that it was just barely mediocre. Maybe it was where I was sitting or maybe it was the heat, but after the show I had to pop Black Sheep Boy in my car’s CD player to remind myself why I liked that band. Their set opening for the Decemberists at the barrymore a couple years back was phenomenal and I felt that this show just didn’t live up to my expectations.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Glad to hear you’re still loving music Ryan! Maybe I’ll check these guys out at SummerCamp in a month.