LOCATION: Smith's Old Bar, Atlanta, GA
LINEUP: Karin, Linford, Mickey Grimm, Jake Bradley
REVIEW BY:
Encore 1:
North Pole Man
If A Song Could Be President
Encore 2:
Hush Now
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Dan L:
Quite simply, this show was amazing. Karin's vocals were as strong as ever, Linford was having a grand ol' time on the keys, the entire band seemed to feed off the crowd's increasingly vocal approval of the performance. Talk about having fun with songs. A drum solo like I've never heard, too! They were incredibly funny as well. Karin's mention of being "verbally accosted" by people riding in the "fur bus" kinda set the tone for the night (use your imagination for the fur bus thing, but Karin tied it in nicely with her "Fur Explosion" joke smile.gif
They set a nice balance of very new and Ohio/Drunkard's Prayer. One cool (pun not intended) thing was that it was in the upper 30's at showtime; very unseasonable for Georgia, and they joked about that and played several "cool" songs. Setlist follows.
There is no way anyone recorded this, unless it was soundboard. This
place was - excuse my language - assholes and elbows. I can't fathom how
anyone gould get equipment into this place. I had to use yoga positions
to get pictures. But the crowd was great, very enthusiastic, and it's only
been in Atlanta that I've seen them give two encores. As my wife remarked,
it's amazing that for a band that flies so far under the radar, to fill
up places like OtR does is simply amazing.
jcork:
I was introduced to OTR when I subscribed to Image Journal last year
and received a copy of Ohio along with it. The CD alone was worth the price
of the subscription... some artists, some CDs take a while for me to learn
to like, but I was immediately cut to the core by OTR. Fr. Luigi Giussani
said that he was "wounded by beauty" after listening to Tito Schipa (an
Italian folk singer) as a teenager, and I wasn't sure what he meant until
listening to OTR.
On to the concert... We had our first child 2 and a half years ago, and the only time we've asked a friend to babysit for us was when U2 came to town a year and a half ago. We now have 2 kids (the second is 7 months old), so I felt like we really needed a break (and I really wanted to see OTR). We asked friends to babysit the kids, had a really nice dinner at Nakato and went to the show.
Since I've only heard the one CD, I didn't know all the songs, but it didn't bother me (unlike some other concerts I've been to). Listening for what was coming next was in itself a joy. My wife hadn't listened to the CD as much as I had, but she was completely blown away as well. The venue was perfect... it got a little crowded, but was still cozy. It felt to me as if it were someone's living room. All in all, an amazing show.
jholland:
The winter cold returned for a visit to Atlanta and it put Over
the Rhine into a winter mood. The wind howled outside, but inside Smith’s
Old Bar it was warm and packed full with as many people as the upstairs
room could hold. Over the Rhine seems to be steadily building a fanbase
in the Atlanta area and it would appear that it has outgrown the small
room that has held many previous Over the Rhine show.
Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist brought a Georgia connection with them to the show. Athens native Jake Bradley, formerly of the Vigilantes of Love, played bass guitar, electric guitar, and upright bass on many of the songs while the talented Mickey Grimm played drums. Detweiler switched between keyboards and bass guitar on songs while Bergquist provided her trademark vocals. In between two albums, the band played some of the cold weather themed songs from their winter (it’s not fair to say Christmas) album Snow Angels and gave the audience a preview of song of their new songs from the upcoming album The Trumpet Child.
The night started out a little subdued with slower songs from their previous albums, but by the time they reached the title track for the upcoming album, the band was rollicking. Grimm displayed his considerable chops on drums on the song and the crowd was starting to get excitable. Over the Rhine even gave a nod to Jake Bradley’s hometown with a cover of R.E.M.’s “The One I Love”, a slow burn song featuring powerful vocals by Bergquist on the chorus.
The band obliged the crowd with an encore of the steamy song “North Pole Man” to warm up the cold night and then a new folk ditty name-checking some of their favorite musicians in “If A Song Could Be President.” They didn’t stop there, coming back for another encore, feeling the winter mood with a tounge-in-cheek cover of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” leaving the crowd with a wry grin on their face for the evening.
Rebecca Nelson-Denmark:
After being a loyal OtR fan for the last 16 years, I was finally able to experience their performance live. What a spectacular experience! As a local Atlantan I was impressed with the crowd turnout as I've never met anyone here locally who even knows who they are - where have you all been hiding?!?! smile.gif
I felt for the most part the show was perfect - my only complaint was the immense rudeness of some of the crowd. I will never understand why people cannot just mind their own business and enjoy what they paid to see. Several times I had a man push past me never failing to comment why my husband and I were in "his way". Unbelievable.
Hopefully next time they come through ATL they can play a larger venue. I think the Variety Playhouse is a grand idea!
Nevertheless, I was in tears when I heard Karin belt out the first set of vocals. This was an amazing musical experience I will never forget.
Thank you to everyone who was polite and kind and enjoyed the show every
little bit as much as I did.