Neko Case @ Joe's Pub

Neko Case played two sold out shows at Joe's Pub last night. Neko and her band were is a very playful mood as they played through a mixture of old and new material during their hour and half set. Neko's voice and song writing is just amazing in many ways it is reminiscent of Emma Lou Harris and Patsy Cline. Much her sound is made up of country and traditional roots American music but she brings a very fresh feel to this style of music.. Neko's band is as equally talented. She had multi instrumentalist that played banjo, pedal steel, guitars, and a dobro. Neko's in between songs banter was also priceless. Neko would often comment on what people were eating or would ask if it was any good. Overall it was a great show and made me a big fan of her music.

Jeff Tweedy @ TPAC

Jeff Tweedy played his first of two sold out shows at the TPAC last night. The shows are part of the Wall Street Rising concert series. Tickets to these shows were giving away on a first come first serve basis and I was lucky enough to get two tickets. Nels Cline opened up the show with about 30 minutes of improv avant guitar playing. I love Nels palying in Wilco but I wasn't really diggin this set. I am very open minded when it comes to avant/noise music but I just wasn't in the mood last night. Jeff took the stage around 9:00pm. Jeff has come along way in his stage presence and guitar playing. Jeff stage banter was classic as usual. He seem a lot more confident in his acuostic guitar playing than I have seen him in the past. Jeff played through a lot of old and more rare Wilco songs as well as 3 Uncle Tupelo songs. He also played a new Golden Smog song about Jesus smoking crack that was really great. Jeff was then joined be Nels on the dobro for a short three song encore. This was defiently one of the coolest parts of the show. I wish that Nels would have played with him the entire time.

Setlist
Sunken Treasure, (Was I) In Your Dreams, Bob Dylan's 49th Beard, Please Tell My Brother, Summer Teeth, IATTBYH, Remember The Mountain Bed, Blasting Fonda, How To Fight Loneliness
Someday Soon, Someone Else's Song, new Loose Fur song [Whistling Jesus?], New Madrid, Black Eye, I'm The Man Who Loves You
encore 1
Dash 7 [w/Nels Cline on dobro], Airline To Heaven [w/Nels], The Late Greats [w/Nels]
encore 2
Heavy Metal Drummer, Passenger Side, In A Future Age, Acuff-Rose

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The Black Keys @ The Warsaw

The last time I saw The Black Keys was at the Mercury Lounge when they played there two nights in a row. I think this was almost two years ago. So I figured it was about time to check them out again. The Warsaw has to be one of my favorite places to see shows. I love the Polish food they serve before each show. You can get a big plate of food for only five dollars. So I headed over to the Warsaw last Thursday to see the Black Keys, who I missed the night before at Irving Plaza. I got there early enough to get some food and get a good spot on the dance floor. The Warsaw has the feel of a high school gym and the lighting for the concerts there remind me of junior high school dances. The Black Keys came on shortly before 11pm and played until about 12:15am. My only complaint is that their set felt very short. I usually don't complain about how long a band plays but the Black Keys have 3 albums and plenty of material to play an additional 15 minutes to this short set. Their set was very high on energy and the crowd was really enjoying it. They played through a mixture of old and new originals. They also played a lot of cover songs including "No Fun" and "She Said, She Said". Overall the show was fun and I really enjoyed myself. I give it two and half socks off.



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