Neko Case at The Forum

Neko Case
Angel Olsen
Lucy Wainwright Roche
The Forum, 12 December 2013

Out again on a cold, wet and windy December night to The Forum, scene of my last concert from last year, Mark Lanegan, and now my last gig of 2013. Like Lanegan, Neko Case is more than worth braving the weather for even if this is the biggest venue I've seen her in for some time (and sadly I notice later that she hasn't sold it out, with the balcony empty) and there are two other intriguing acts on the bill for what promises to be a fantastic night of music and mischief.

First up is Lucy Wainwright Roche, who I must admit I am unfamiliar with but I am interested in any female singer-songwriter Neko deems worthy of touring with her and hope for the best. Roche, it turns out looks incredibly like a friend of mine from school that for a moment I actually do wonder if she had changed her name and taken up singing but it turns out Lucy belongs to one of the most beloved singing families: her father is folk legend Loudon Wainwright III, her mother is Suzzy Roche of the folk-rock trio The Roches and her half-siblings are Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright. That is a lot to live up to and while she doesn't quite impress me the way both Rufus and Martha did the first time I saw them live there's no doubt she has a pleasing voice and a definite talent for melody. She also does a pretty good cover of the Robyn hit Girlfriend. Boy, does she talk though, I think she chatted away almost as much as she sang and although she came across as likeable enough with tales of Neko teasing her and touring by herself I must admit I wished there was less chat and more music.

The next act I was really excited to see: Angel Olsen, a singer-songwriter who I just discovered too late this summer to see live so it was a lovely surprise to see her name appear on the bill a few weeks before the show. Olsen's album, Half Way Home, is a thing of beauty, something like the lo-fi starkness of early Cat Power and the sweet melancholy of Mary Margaret O'Hara's sometimes crooning sometimes emotive voice, yet utterly it's own thing too. I couldn't wait to hear how these songs translated live and how that unique, haunting voice of hers sounded in the flesh. Unfortunately by the time Angel Olsen came to strum her electric guitar the place had filled up with Neko fans who were more interested in talking (including a rather loud pair next to me) and the effect of some of her quieter, more ethereal songs were lost among the chatter. It was a real shame because Olsen's voice is every bit as striking and moving as I had hoped it would be and there were moments I knew would be incredibly atmospheric and transportive in a smaller more atmospheric venue with a more attentive audience. Hopefully I will get that chance early next year when her new album is due out. She plays a few numbers from it tonight and it sounds like it will be one of the year's best. Later in the evening Neko calls Angel Olsen "awesome" and she's not wrong.

There's one thing Neko definitely inspires and that's devotion and the anticipation for her arrival on stage builds to cheers, urging her to come on.  And soon enough we see that blaze of red hair looking bigger and wilder and ever. Along with her understated black t-shirt and leggings and her little more rock starish silver and black boots, she's wearing a mini-skirt, such a rare occurrence it seems that the excited talkative blocks beside me exclaim "mini skirt!" upon seeing it. Along for the ride is her usual excellent band that includes the hugely talented multi-instrumentalist Jon Rauhouse and the always wonderful Kelly Hogan on backing vocals. The banter between Hogan and Case is almost worth the admission as usual and although things at times get very silly it never interferes with the dark, country noir feel of the songs. In fact the show opens on a very atmospheric note blending the moody sounds of Where Did I leave That Fire, a mixture of strange noises and spacey vocals, with the upbeat yearning of Middle Cyclone's opening track, This Tornado Loves You, and it, of course, sounds magnificent.

Last time I saw Neko earlier this year her new album, the brilliantly named The Worse Things Get The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight The More I Love You, had yet to come out and while it was thrilling to get a first taste of some of the new songs from it, it is always wonderful to again hear them once you've heard the album, digested it, discover your favourites and let it become your soundtrack for a little while. It's funny how songs like Night Still Comes, Bracing For Sunday and City Swans already sound like old favourites with Hogan's beautiful harmonies perfectly complimenting Neko's powerful yet smooth as silk voice.

The majority of tonight's songs naturally come from the new album but they are nicely spaced with older numbers that are always great to hear from The Tigers Have Spoken to That Teenage Feeling to The Pharoahs to Set Out Running, which goes all the way back to 2000's Furnace Room Lullaby, the album where Neko finally found her unique sound. Not surprisingly there's great cheers for Hold On, Hold On, maybe the closest thing she's ever had to a "hit", certainly the nearest thing she has to her signature song.

All through this Neko stands, her head thrown back to reach the tall microphone, her arms stretched beside her as she closes her eyes and dives into each story she sings from Friday night girls to tigers pacing in cages. It's hard not to get lost in the moment with her.

The songs can be dark and filled with anger or sorrow but there's also many moments of real beauty and every word is filled with heart. And of course between songs Hogan and Case always keep things light-hearted, whether it's Neko complaining of "shedding like a reptile" or Hogan mishearing Neko's introduction as "you gave Justin Bieber a blowjob!" they always keep things entertaining. At one point Neko suggests they sell their bodies to finance their tour, while Kelly wants to have a bakesale, "a bakesale of ass", Neko counters. While introducing The Pharaohs, Hogan tells us it's about Neko's first imaginary boyfriend, to which Case replies matter-of-factly "I'm still with him!" It's hard not to love them.

Neko does play guitar on a few songs, mainly the older tracks, but she breaks out her Jazzmaster guitar for the single from the new album Man and it is a riot of pure punk rock joy. It's easily the noisiest, rockiest thing she's done in her solo career (she of course was a member of an all-girl punk group Meow and is part of the indie supergroup The New Pornographers, who are equally rocking) and it is hard not to jump up and down, it is so loud and fun and ten times better that the already great record version.

Two nice moments also happen in the encore. The first when Neko fulfills a request from a super polite audience member (Neko is particularly impressed by this and their diction) and gives us an always welcome I Wish I Was The Moon, surely one of her greatest songs and of course it sounds wonderful and so perfect on a night like this. Even though they are in danger of going over the curfew we are also treated to a tremendously uplifting version of new song Ragtime, which again sounds even better and more epic than the album as Neko, Kelly and the band sing the chorus trumpet parts, much like in a New Pornographers song, and it is a brilliant, joyful mix of voices singing different parts and harmonies. I just can't imagine anyone at the end of this gig not being completely won over by Neko Case and her band, it, as ever, proves she's one of the best singer-songwriters around today and it's always worth catching her live.

Angel Olsen