LOCATION: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH

LINEUP: Jack, Karin, Linford

REVIEW BY: Drew Vogel

* New intro piano music that I'd never heard before.
* The Seahorse
Very piano-driven, quite etherial. Nice to hear this new
interpretation of this song.

* Bothered
...from BESIDES. Linford played a flowery piano intro to Bothered. It
was nice, but didn't add anything to the song, IMO. To me, it sounded
like Karin might have been saying, "Don't be bothered by the spheres"
or "Don't be bothered by these fears". Jack provided a little 'edge'
with his guitar behind the piano and vocal, to nice effect.

* Etcetera, Whatever

* Moth (new)
I hadn't heard this one before (it's been a while since I've seen OTR,
obviously. Query Brucie as to why... Drew has returned!). It is my
hope that this is the direction in which OtR is headed. I loved the
song.

* Little Blue River (Happy Birthday, Hazel!)
Still a persistant favorite that hasn't been 'officially' recorded.
Karin dedicated it to Kevin, halfway around the world. Karin went into
a long vocal at the end, including "The Healing Has Begun", and wished
Hazel Henderson a happy birthday...

* Goodbye
This song has completely failed to capture me.

* June
Awesome to hear this song again. Jack provided appropriate guitar work
on this, and I recall leaning over to my companion and saying that the
band was sounding tight.

* Anyway (new)
Karin explained the history of this song as being inspired at the
first meeting between herself and her half-sister (Rose) at the
funeral of their father.

* Circle of Quiet
A little more driving than the recorded version, but glad to see OtR
casting an eye toward older music as well. IMO, Ric's version of this
song that he does with MONK rules supreme...

Comments about the first set: Not much talking or interaction
from/within the group. Just lots of music. They seemed like three
disconnected people who just happened to be doing the same thing at
the same time... Sorta impersonal. Strangely enough, Linford barely
spoke at all during the show...

BREAK 11:20-11:45

* The World Can Wait (?) (new)
Karin and Jack came out, under Linford's watchful eye near the bar,
and played this new song. Karin on piano, Jack on guitar. It was a
nice song.

* Needle and the Bruise (?) (new)
A song that Jack wrote. My notes say, "Very torchy". Karin's range is
highlighted in this song, and her diction (a constant problem) was
extremely clear in this song. I do hope that this makes it onto a
recording.

* All I Need Is Everything
Simply AWESOME. I leaned over to my friend and commented that this
song could be the theme song for control-freaks.

* Orphan Girl
By request. Gillian Welsh is an amazing songwriter.

* Lucy
By Jeff's request (who's Jeff?). IMO, this song as performed last
night lacked the simplicity of just Karin and her guitar. The piano
and backup guitar detracted from the poignency of this song.

* It's Never Quite What It Seems (An American Dream) (new)
Vocally cascading, this new song was quite good.

* Faithfully Dangerous, like you've never heard it before
If you can imagine Faithfully Dangerous crossed with the Addam's
Family theme, you're in the ballpark. Or as OtR described it, it's
like pulling an insect apart for fun. Or burning ants with a
magnifying glass. Or, a love song gone bad. There was a "Strangers in
the Night" coda, and at the end a little "You Are So Beautiful". I
hope someone had a DAT for this one!

* Jack's Valentine, like you've never heard it before
After much convincing, Linford finally agreed to speak this song.
Apparently, Karin was slated to do it, but Linford was convinced and
did it himself, and what a time it was! Linford was like a kid on the
playground with his piano -- he was making us laugh with the
melodies/discords he was hitting, and just entertaining the hell out
of us. When he and Jack got into "dueling instruments", it was
incredible. The only thing missing, IMO, was the "dueling banjos" song
we all know so well... Particularly funny was Linfords long glance at
the stained glass windows decorating Canal Street during the "Down
here by the stained glass window..." Awesome long jam. Anyone DAT this
one?

* Latter Days
Usual piano intro to Latter Days, and a nice version of this song.

12:40, left the stage.

Encore
(after MUCH verbal abuse (in fun) of Jack by Karin, who said that the
reason he didn't have a microphone was because he'd give it right
back, and then into the song...)
* Go Down Easy
Tremendous song, done well.

Comments about the second set: It was as if we saw two bands at Canal
Street between the two sets. The second set was far more personable,
even playful, than the first one. It was the OtR I know and love.
Almost as if someone reminded them at break that they were playing for
a safe, hometown crowd than knows and loves them, and then they
relaxed into the second set. I saw much more interaction, from glances
between the bandmates, to the joking between songs, and that helped to
personify the group.

=-=-=-
Comments on the night...
So nice to finally meet all those that I've been corresponding with.
Great to see Bruce and Chris again... I appreciated the distances that
many people travelled to attend the show -- Wisconsin; PA; Texas; CA;
Indiana; and many more... I wonder if the band knew what a lot of
effort went into those attendees...

I enjoy Canal Street as a venue and think it is an excellent intimate
showcase for OtR. The smoke was a bit ...pervasive... and my throat is
raw...