NEKO CASE and JASON LYTLE at Massey Hall, Jul 14. Rating: NNNN
Neko Case dressed up right some pretty for her Massey Hall debut, emerging onstage with her five-piece band in a short brown dress set off by sexy red hair and heels (from Brown’s, we later learned). “Oh my God, we’re at Massey Hall! I’m so nervous,” she said. A tomboy at heart, she couldn’t stop yanking up her “gross” nylons, jiggling her leg and playing with her hair in a comically unladylike way.
Her whole show, in fact, teetered between smooth sophistication – those unnerving noir-country lyrics! Those unconventional chords and song structures! That mighty, unforgettable voice! – and teenage-girl goofiness. Backup singing sidekick Kelly Hogan aided the latter with between-song witticisms that were at times hilarious (the one about Dolly Parton and the whorehouse was especially good) but grew tiresome.
Standouts from the career-spanning set included Deep Red Bells, with a dramatic slide guitar solo by Jon Rauhouse and a creepy animated video of shadow-puppet trees, Margaret Vs. Pauline and Prison Girls from Case’s newest, Middle Cyclone. Two encores later, an energetic cover of Sook-Yin Lee’s Knock Loud ended the night.
Evaluating Jason Lytle’s opening set was difficult due to the chatterboxes surrounding me. Annoying, yes (especially in a place like Massey, where you can hear a pin drop), but also evidence that, despite his tuneful, boyish voice and thoughtful songs, the Grandaddy alum’s introverted set was pretty lacklustre.
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