LOCATION: New Zealand International Arts Festival
LINEUP: Karin, Linford
REVIEW BY:
Some mini reviews of the best South By Southwest bands I saw.
****Over the Rhine**** I've waited ten years to see this group whose 2001 album "Films for Radio," has been next to my bed since its release. I hadn' heard from or of them in years and assumed they had broken up.
Not so.
Songwriters Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler have put out several albums since then and toured the world, but this is their first SXSW. And good news: they play San Francisco's Great American Music Hall on May 11.
Consider them this way: if you are a now a fan of Lucinda Williams or Van Morrison, but had never heard them before some critic ranted about their virtues, how happy would you be to finally catch up to either one? That's how I feel about this Cincinnati duo, whose one album I have is on my Desert Island best of all time, always in active rotation in my home.
And when I saw them Friday at Antone's blues club, they were even more magical. Bergquist, who plays guitar and sings, has one of the finest, most passionate and at times over the top voices I've ever heard.
She takes it from a delicate whisper to a loud, feverish wail that threatens the microphones. She draws you in, like the trip to the top of the highest roller coaster, and then sends you down flying. The lyrics are rich. Need I say more than just that title: Films for Radio. It's brilliant and way, way, way too unknown, no doubt the result of being overlooked by all those huge national media chains based in Cincinnati. And they have had some recognition from other artists: they opened for Bob Dylan and Adrian Belew, toured with Cowboy Junkies and backed Margo Timmins.
This show will thrill singer/songwriter fans who are looking for that
gem no one knows about yet.