Getting Wet With Neko Case

Here at Seattlest, we love the New Pornographers, but one big reason we love them is our obsession with Neko Case, the female voice of the band. Her alt-country (whatever that is) solo work makes our teeth just vibrate with excitement.

We listened respectfully to opening band, Laura Veirs and the Tortured Souls. With her Patty Griffin-esque voice, she is an acquired taste, kinda like a female Bob Dylan.

Soon, Neko and her three-piece backing band took the stage. Long thick red hair surrounded her as clear strong vocals woke the shivering crowd up with the dark clouds rolling in. However, we are in the Northwest, and it was a Zoo Tunes concert, so people generally sat and listened politely.

Neko belted out one of her classics, "Deep Red Bells," one of the best alt country songs (whatever that is) ever written. Just after apologizing for the potential bad omen song, Bob Dylan’s "Buckets of Rain," the sky opened up and the Northwestern crowd dealt with REAL rain complete with thunder, a bolt of lightning and 6 ounce raindrops, not the usual drizzle that falls on our fair city.

The rain that fell weeded out the "sitters" and threw a bucket of ice water on the remaining die-hard fans. Neko repeatedly thanked the Washingtonians, while some pulled out their Gore-Tex jackets, some dove under their blankets, and others huddled by the food stands looking for shelter. The people that remained actually STOOD AND KINDA DANCED. The rain and dark clouds meshed beautifully with her reverb-infused haunting voice.

Case and her fabulous three-piece backing band broke tradition by telling the crowd that they would tune their instruments and get to playing so no one would have to wait longer than necessary in the cold and rain for more encores. One song she played will be featured on her upcoming solo album, due out in February, which we await with much anticipation.

The shrunken crowd’s applause and emotion brought Neko and her band back for a potentially TRUE encore (after they said they were done). She serenaded the remaining hypothermic folks with the traditional "Wayfaring Stranger." The overabundance of moisture and dreary clouds were perfect compliments to the rich musical landscape of the evening, and made us glad to ignore mom’s advice to come in out of the rain.