LOCATION: The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI
LINEUP: Karin, Linford, Jack, Wade, Dale
REVIEW BY: Various Listees
Dan:
this was an awesome show, i had only experienced them in an acoustic setting, but they translate well into everything... recordings, acoustic, full band, you name it (not that i doubted, mind you). they played to a very enthusiastic crowd, and they played well. the show was awesome, and kim taylor just keeps getting better - i can't wait for the disc to come out next spring (she hopes spring). okay, they played a few new songs, keep your ears open for 'all i get for christmas is the blues'. they had to cut 'latter days' from their encore, but they made up for it with a 5- or 6-minute jam of 'jack's valentine'. Don Smith:
What a fun show! I was amazed when Karin said they had only had two rehearsals with the band prior to this gig, and that Kim and Karin hadn't ever practiced the times they sang together. They sounded great. Sure, there were some rough edges, and a couple of "who starts this song?" moments, but to me that only adds to the charm of a live show. There was a lot of relaxed on-stage banter, some of which got pretty personal (including one bit that just kept getting more and more risque, until Linford announced that the next song was called "Darlin', Christmas is coming", and the whole crowd just collapsed in laughter. Karin said something like "and now I have to sing after that?". Linford claimed he had never thought of the double entendre until that very moment.). Mike, the sound mix guy (who OtR stole from Cowboy Junkies -- not like that's ever happened before ;-)) was very very good, and the band sounded great. Kim Taylor sang backup on a few songs, and the harmonies were very nice. Kim has a deeper voice than Karin, and it really complements and fills out the sound of the vocals. I was impressed at how well the drums were mixed in. They were *extremely* loud when we were setting them up, but they were perfect during the show. Clear without ever dominating. And Dale is an excellent drummer. Sadly, he is no longer in both OtR and Sixpence. He's on Sixpence's infamous next album, which is all finished, but in legal limbo because of the demise and reshuffling of various record companies. Dale had no idea when or even if it would ever see the light of day. Meanwhile, "Kiss Me" is in two *more* movies. I think they're trying to find out how much milage you can get out of one song. :-) But back to OtR. Jack was in fine form on the guitar; very playful. In Jack's Valentine, Linford encouraged him to play a solo, so he played the same note, over and over and over, just modulating the rhythm. Very funny. Wade was subtle and supportive on the bass; never drawing attention to himself, but never hitting a wrong note, either. Linford was totally trapped in his keyboard setup. He had keys on three sides of him (he joked during sound check about having a "spinal tap" moment; playing opposing keyboards one with each hand at the same time... which he then did do during the show!) and an amp and a monitor blocking the third side. Getting in and out of there was a real challenge. Especially when Karin played a solo piano number called "Ohio". It was very elegant and evocative; an anthem to growing up in a small town in coal-mining country. She joked about usually liking to write piano songs, but with Linford around, "why bother?" I hope we see more of these. I had a lot of fun being a part of the show. The Ark is a totally volunteer-run non-profit club. Well, there are a handful of staff that manage the place, but the mechanics of getting each show done every night are all handled by volunteers. There are sound tech volunteers and house volunteers, who work the concession stand, usher, and clean up. I've been volunteering there as a sound tech about once a week since May, and it's a lot of fun. It was particularly fun on this show, since I got to help my friends out. I snuck out of work at about three to help load all that equipment in (and there was a *lot* of it. That Hammond organ ain't a featherweight.), which we finished about five-thirty. Luckily, Mike handled the sound check. I don't think I'm good enough yet to have dealt with that kind of complexity in the time we had. I think it's the most complex set up I've worked on yet. It was fun to figure out how to wire it; like a puzzle. Despite having started at three, we were still finishing Kim's sound check five minutes before the house opened at 7:30. There was a bit of a crisis with Linford's Hammond, or rather with the Leslie amplifier it was attached to. The amplifier actually spins its speakers around to modulate the tones. At first, it would only spin at its fastest setting. Michael Shelata (who is the other Ark sound techie who was working with me last night) managed to track down in the phone book a guy named Herb in Livonia who is some kind of professional Hammond organ fixer. He talked them through the whole ciruitry system until they found a voltage modulater that had fallen out when we were loading it into the elevator (we tipped it on its side). Put it back in, and presto, problem solved. Way to go, Herb! So if you ever need a Hammond organ fixed, I heartily recommend Herb in Livonia. :-) So, I ran the sound board during Kim's set, and then Mike took over for OtR. I also ran the lights for the whole show. It was great fun to do the lights for a band I actually know well, because I could actually do a dynamic light show. Usually I just set up some combination of lights and turn them on or off as needed, but with OtR, I could play a bit, changing the color scheme to match the mood of the song, shifting the focus of the light for solos (like just lighting the piano area for "Ohio"), that sort of thing. I was all ready and poised to hit Linford with a solo spotlight in "Jack's Valentine" when the rest of the band drops out and he says "trip myself and fall upon your fabulous sword"... but they didn't do it that way. Sigh. Linford said it would have been a real "rock star moment". :-) It took a lot less time to pack it all up than it did to load it in, but I still didn't get home until 12:40 am. But it was a great night. Here's the set list: If Nothing Else When I Go I Radio Heaven (kicked a$$! Karin was "screaming my damn fool head off", as she put it afterwards) Anything At All Faithfully Dangerous Darling, Christmas is Coming (new song; Kim on backing vox) All I Ever Get for Christmas is Blue (new song) Silent Night Curse These Dreams (Jack's song, sung by Karin) Holy Rain (Jack's song, sung by Jack w/ Karin on backing vox) [at this point, everyone but K&L left the stage] The World Can Wait (very spare version, with just keys and Karin. Very powerful.) Ohio (Karin solo piano) Green Clouded Swallowtail (Jack & Linford came back, and both played acoustic guitar to accompany Karin's vox) [full band came back] Lucy Miles Helpless (new song; Kim on backing vox) --- [Encores] Jack's Valentine Pilgrim (cover song; I didn't catch who wrote it. Kim on backing vox) And that's it. It was a good crowd; very attentive. I got to meet a couple new Listees (Hi Burrell! Or is it Burrill? Sorry.), but I think there were more of you there that didn't come say hi. :-( See y'all tomorrow! Steve Cunningham:
I'm new to the list, but I thought I'd post a brief review of last night's show, which I taped and will offer up to this group soon, i promise, so please don't bombard me with emails. It was the second time I'd seen them, the first being in July of 2000. They had a full band this time, as opposed to the four-person drummer-less lineup that toured last year. I didn't think the addition of the drummer and the general step away from the "folkie"-ness of the last show I saw completely worked at a tiny place like the Ark, but musically the show was great. They opened with "If Nothing Else" and went into "When I Go," a new full band version that went surprisingly well. The other "Films..." highlight was a mid-set version of "The World Can Wait" featuring just Linford's piano and Karin's vocal, probably her best singing performance the whole night. A couple of new Christmas songs which were fairly decent, given my general loathing for Christmas music (I mean, come on, on the cheeziness scale, Christmas music is right below 80's hair metal). I will post the exact setlist when I transfer the DAT tape, but a few other songs were "Lucy," "Ohio," and a cover of Neil Young's "Helpless," which I had never heard of OTR playing, so that was a nice surprise. They did two of Jack Henderson's songs, one sung by Karin and one sung by Jack. The encore was a cover which Karin said was "from a movie" but didn't say which one, and I'd never heard of the song before, if anyone knows what this was, please tell me. It was decent, a much more folk/country vibe, but not as interesting as OTR's own compositions. The show ran for about 2 hours on the dot, although there was significantly more time between songs than at any other show I can remember. Karin and Linford were both in good spirits and talked to the crowd frequently, and Kim Taylor sang with the band on a couple of songs (including "Helpless" and the encore). I'll post some more thoughts later when I'm more coherent and I listen to the tape. Burrill:
i'll keep this short: i met dan. i met don. but i did not meet den, din, or dun. or sometimes dyn. but i did talk to jay & co., located in dexter, mi. the show was fantastic. i like kim taylor's music very much. i also liked hearing her sing backup. i wore my "mind the gap" shirt, and linford drawled that out in the middle of some of the banter. of course, he might not have noticed me at all and that might have just been a random thought, but i like the other option better. linford temporarily changed the jack's valentine lyrics to read: "i need you and stuff ... merry christmas." dale baker looks like he's straight out of "that thing you do." the baker shaker looks like a big light bulb. is it just me, or is jack's hair shorter and neater than it used to be? (don't tell me i'm just shorter and neater than i used to be.) don, i didn't catch who wrote pilgrim, either. i'm not sure she gave the songwriter's name. oh, and the show was fantastic. i know i said that before. i'm already looking forward to next december's ark show. so there had better be one next december. not that i wouldn't like to have them back at the ark before december. but i'm getting used to this.