The World of Neko Case Concert Review

Jason Lytle

Clowes Memorial Hall’s auditorium was scattered sparsely with music patrons to hear Jason Lytle’s group open for Neko Case. It was obvious the headliner was Case; however, the few people in the audience wanted to root for the underdog, the opening band.

Jason Lytle’s group appeared on stage — each holding two beers in hand. They exhibited the Seattle grunge style of un-trendy-ness somehow equals trendy. The drummer looked like Tom Hanks in Castaway — but that look sells. The clean-cut 1950’s alternative/pop group has no place in the 21st century, that is, unless they started their career through the Disney Channel.

The drummer was highly intuitive to the other players, and his rhythm was perfect like a metronome. Their music was very Grey’s Anatomy as if after each episode ABC would try to sell the record for the group. Jason’s voice was the somber singing that so many collegiate coffeehouses would pay to hear. However, it seemed that the band cared more about drinking their beers than playing their music. After every set they would each reach for their beers and take a unified swig. If only their music had been as uniformed.

Neko Case

After the intermission, the auditorium quickly filled up with Neko Case fans. When she appeared, they screamed — and as soon as she began singing, I knew why. Her voice was so incredibly unique that it forced the listener to enter her world. Her voice exhibited a southern sense of pain and pride, which is strange since she only spent a short amount of time in Alexandria, Va., when she was growing up.

The group gave a real show by not only speaking directly to the audience but also by combining images with her music on a large projection screen. Her band was unpretentious in appearance and treated the stage as home. Kelly, the background singer, was so comfortable that she sang in her bare feet. Case even brought her dog on stage, which sat with the background singer for one song, had an obvious case of stage fright and disappeared from the stage for the rest of the concert.

The musicianship of the group was incredibly solid — not one falter, not one flat note. It offered the audience a spectrum of instruments, some of which are very rarely used in today’s music (i.e. the banjo, zither, etc.). So frequently do groups opt out of the traditional standing bass and go for an electric one — it was nice to hear the deep baritone notes of the instrument again. Her group’s sound was one of a kind and unique to itself. After every set she would use her charming wit and keep the audience’s attention as she strapped herself into one of her arsenal of guitars. She would then belt out another tune and even used the microphone as an added feature to her voice. By slowly tilting her head away from the mic as she sang a long note it would create a decrescendo.

Her music and talent was so real, unlike the mass production of pop star cookie cutters, it made me believe in the musicianship of my generation once again. Some people have it, and some people don’t. Neko Case has it.

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by Tory Flynn