LOCATION: Taft Theater, Cincinnati, OH
LINEUP: Karin, Linford, Jack, Terri, Jeff Byrd, Dale Baker, Wade Jaynes
REVIEW BY: Various Listees
Having three acts in a row is a winning extravagance. I heard of
Sixpence None the Richer through the list. I heard their first CD in
April when I visited former listees Jenni and Chris Smith before they
got married (I saw them at the show tonight and went with them to see
Vigilantes of Love in Dayton last week). They were the first of three
acts tonight. I liked the CD then, and I very much liked hearing them
in person tonight.
The second act was Ron Sexsmith. I mostly know of him through
a cover song that Ric Hordinski plays. Tonight was the first that I
heard him. He will have a new CD soon. It is produced by Buddy
Miller. When I saw Viglantes of Love, Bill Mallonee said that one of
his CD's was produced by Buddy Miller, who Bill called a treasure of
american music. The first that I saw Buddy I was amazed as he played
lead guitar for the SpyBoy tour, which Over-the-Rhine opened for in
Covington, KY. Now that I pay attention I notice that he appears in
one way or another with many other musicians. I'd like to see him
as part of a future Over-the-Rhine christmas show. Ron Sexsmith said
that he is being dropped by his label. I never really understood how
labels work and why they drop people. I will try to see Ron again
whether it is in Cincy or some other city, and I will try to listen
to each of his CD's.
Over-the-Rhine had that powerful feeling that I remember from
their earlier days. G. Jack Henderson blends in perfectly with the
OtR sound. I love his mastery of his instrument and I love his use
of a wah-wah pedal. High notes is what my ears are drawn to. I
think that is why I like Karin's voice. Lead guitars and violins
are what I tend to notice most. Jeff Bird's mandoline was great with
Jack's guitar. It must have been difficult to replace Ric Hordinski
on lead guitar. Jack has a different style so he is not directly
comparible. Jack skill and his synergy with Linford's piano and
Karin's voice is strong combination.
The extra power of two percussionists made the band much more
rocking than the intimate trio or quartet. When Jeff Bird was not
playing mandoline he was playing percussion. I could not see the
back row of the band from where I was sitting so I missed watching
Jeff. Wade Jaynes played bass. I was hoping to see Chris Donahue.
Terri Templeton was back. I have not seen her for a while until
the past week. Her harmonies with Karin are an important part of the
new sound.
In the local paper there was a short interview with Linford.
Like the Afghan Whigs who were from Cincy they are finding that the
hometown does not support them as well as other cities that they
tour. Places that they are considering moving to are Nashville and
Toronto. It will be interesting to see what a Christmas show would
be like in those cities. Toronto might be too cold and snowy.
Nashville would be the warmer of the two and easier to travel to.
If they move to Nashville maybe they will have Buddy Miller as part
of their Christmas show. My vote is for Nashville.
Dan Temmesfeld:
it was a wonderful weekend. the show was great. the people were the best part. i didn't catch any of the pre-show stuff. megan and i met some friends before the show at a kick- ass restaurant called Tellers of Hyde Park (a renovated bank). awesome menu. anyway, on to the show... sixpence went on first, which kind of surprised me. i thought ronny was going to go on first. anyhow. they played some of their tunes from their eponymous squint release. they played "love, salvation, and the fear of death" from This Beautiful Mess, which is one of my favorite tunes of theirs. they played some christmas carols, and about half of their hour-long set was new-new stuff from a forthcoming album sometime in 2001. i was bummed that they didn't do their version of "you're a mean one, mr. grinch." ron sexsmith was enjoyable. i had never heard any of his stuff before, other than the song of his that monk/ric hordinski covers quite fre- quently. i probably would've enjoyed ron's set more if i would have known more of his stuff. i'll need to give him more time to set in. as for OtR, they pulled out some tunes that i hadn't heard 'em play in a while- moth, sleep baby jane. they played some new stuff from the forthcoming album, Films for Radio. they played a new-new tune that karin had written. they played some DNOTY stuff. matt slocum from six- pence came out and played cello on some tunes. ron sexsmith came out and sang a song with karin. at the end, all of the performers came out and sang john lennon's "happy xmas (war is over)." they didn't do "like a radio" which was on their setlist (according to rick). i'm kinda glad.
I, for one, thought the Taft show was a blast. The songs were played much more upbeat than they have traditionally been played in the past 5 years. Not sure if it was Dale Baker's influence, or what. Dale set the tempo for a lot of the tunes, and smashed the crud out of each crash cymbal hit. Very nice. Sixpence is groovy; a lot of the new stuff seemed very nice. They mentioned that they hope to have the completed album out by April, and were very appreciative of playing with Ron and OtR. Leigh said that she had written Karin a long time ago, early in their careers, and she was so happy to receive a personal reply. It seemed to me that Leigh was even flightier than the last time I'd seen them live (Oct 98). They performed two Christmas songs, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear". Leigh read lyrics from a book for both songs, and the arrangement of "...Gentlemen" was VERY innovative with Matt playing interesting chord changes on an acoustic, and "...Clear" was really nice. Ron Sexsmith kicked major songwriting butt, and has a strange stage presence. My friend Trish at the concert thought Mr. Sexsmith is cute without being cute, and that seems about right. I could envision his set as boring to people that didn't already know the songs, but at least his between-song talk was fun. There was no real major equipment changes throughout the evening. Sixpence used Linford's Hammond organ and Wurlitzer keyboard, the grand piano and drum kit. Ron used his own acoustic guitar. Karin had sensible blonde hair and about a quarter ounce of clothing on her upper body. In the foggy theater with the ominous blue lighting behind them, her silhouette appeared as though she had forgotten to fully dress. Terry was underused again, but glad to see her there. Possibly the reason Linford is considering moving is maybe they can't find any restaurant in town with food they enjoy - Karin and Linford seem to be vying for some "skinniest spouse in the land" contest. But that's all conjecture. If I would have been a few meters closer, I would have rushed the stage and smashed Jeff Byrd's mandolin about halfway into the show. It's neat and all, but every once in a while through a regular song you'd get that "I'm floating down a gondola in Venice" feel, and one should only experience that feeling so many times in a single evening. Linford said something about "being a great day" or "marking it on his calendar" when Karin says she has a song, and basically complimented her on being a great songwriter, to which she replied "yeah, right!". Then they played "Anything at All" which hasn't been recorded yet. "Sleep Baby Jane" rocked live, very nice. Drums were far louder throughout the song than on Eve or as played live by Brian in the past. "If Nothing Else" had a bunch of "la la la" bits from Terri and Karin at the beginning and ending, and drum pattern changes were all throughout the song, unlike the 'beatbox' thing that was available on their website a few months ago. Someone should tell them that they don't HAVE to have four sets of "la la la" lines in a row all the time. "Silent Night" was similar to the Ric/Karin version on DNotY, but with some keen keyboard/pop bits at the beginning. Matt Slocum joined Karin and Linford on stage to play cello for two songs, "Mary's Waltz" and "Rhapsodie". Karin and Linford apparently played at Matt's wedding. Karin admitted to having two "hairbrained" ideas, and both were executed well. The first was to have Ron Sexsmith join them to sing a duet on Jack Henderson song. Karin said she "loves" Ron's voice. He joined the stage with a sheet of the song's lyrics, looking a little pensive. It was a beautiful song about a couple running away together. And Ron kinda had that look like he might just flee the stage at any moment... The song was called "This Darling Light". The setlist indicated "Like a Radio" would be the second song of the encore. Unless I had a narcoleptic episode or suppressed it like I tried to for "Poughkeepsie", they didn't play it. The other hairbrained Karin idea was the encore, the "Happy Xmas/War is Over" Lennon thing, with Leigh and Ron taking the stage, with their printed lyrics, and singing the song. With each taking turns at verses, Karin's chorus, and Terri's "war is over" background, it was way more fun live than it probably sounds like just reading this. The theater was kinda hazy 'cos of all the smoke billowing out of the ambience-creating smoke machines.J. Marie Hall
the taft show... sixpence. ooh, very nice. i enjoyed their new stuff most especially. i like the addition of keys and rhythm. last time i saw them was 1996 so maybe these novelties aren’t all that new :) ron sexsmith was boyish in appearance but everything but that in voice and sentiment. i wondered if they just grew wiser people in canada. beautiful music and some interesting hip action to boot. i’m now entreated to listen to his cds and get to know it better, the music that is. over the rhine. over the what?! yeah, it was all that. what i offer here is from years of listening to otr’s cds and little more so the impressions have nothing to do with comparing with other shows. “latter days” was still warming, as were the beginning standards. but when they brought in “moth” and “if nothing else,” my foot was definitely a-tappin’. the funk works for them. “sleep baby jane” was entrancing. It was neat to finally hear “rhapsodie” live. i think people get marrried _just_ to hear that song played at their wedding :) as bruce said, the symbols were very loud; and spirits were high. you would’ve spilled your cocoa in there. the latest (i guess) version of “my love is a fever” was a nice showcase for jack, but it didn’t leave me breathless. the encore with “happy xmas” was as karin said...with 3 of the most timid people she knows. it was sweet (as in saccharine, not as in a good soccer maneauver). tall people. yes, very tall. this aspect of their presence was certain to me of 5’0”. linford dashed around between his buffet of claves as i imagine the phantom might. karin sported some of hazel’s threads that would’ve warranted comments from my church choir. but she did look lovely. her mommy sat behind me i think.