The Other Paper, Columbus OH
November 10, 1994

CONCERT REVIEW: MELLOW AND ENTICING

So after an incredible week of music, how does one spend a mellow Saturday night? Why, by listening to Cincinnati's Over the Rhine at the Newport.

Hey, it was a show where you could sit down, so right there I had a reason to go. Most of Columbus was drunk and throwing up on High Street, although one idiot alcoholic was bothering one of my favorite waitresses until I did a little Clint Eastwood number on him. But that's another story. Suffice it to say, mellow doesn't make me any less macho.

Anyway, Over the Rhine was just the band for the mood I was in: relaxed and seeking sounds non-abrasive yet textured. Plus, I was hungry for more fine female vocalizing, which OTR's Karin Bergquist amply supplied.

Guitarist Ric Hordinski took care of quick, understated melodic leads that said more with six notes than most guitarists accomplish with a half-hour's worth. The resulting gentle and folkish rock puts OTR somewhere between the Pretenders and 10,000 Maniacs, which is a very good place to be.

Of course, they did their fabulous radio hit, "Happy With Myself?" and a well-chosen smattering of tunes off the first album, Til We Have Faces, most notably "Sea and Sky" and "Paul and Virginia".

Bergquist is a fine singer, and OTR will probably command more attention in the future thanks to "Happy." They seem too down-to-earth to be professionally aggressive about success, though. Instead, they're letting the music do the enticing.