Rocky Road

Posted by Ron Stewart (A) on August 22, 2016 at 09:57:55

My wife and I had the pleasure of attending the case/lang/veirs concert in Nashville a few weeks ago. We don't attend many concerts, so we try to get the best seats we can when we go, even though it costs a lot more. We were first-row center for this one and could literally lean forward and touch the edge of the stage.

In case you don't already know, case/lang/veirs is a (sadly one-time) collaboration between Neko Case, k. d. lang, and Laura Veirs. They released an album of the same name a few months ago and just wrapped up a corresponding tour.

They put on a great show, performing all but one song ("Inside the Armory" if I remember correctly) from their album along with solo material and covers: Neil Young's "Helpless," "Constant Craving," and "Sorrow Nevermore" by lang; "Man," "Hold On," and "Margaret vs. Pauline" by Case; "July Flame" and "I Can See Your Tracks" by Veirs. They also gave a rousing performance of Patty Smith's "People Have the Power" in the second encore.

k. d. lang is a treasure. Barefoot and clad in what looked like pajamas from Chairman Mao's winter collection, she prowled the entire stage. When she wasn't singing, she was dancing, playing to the crowd, or just soaking in the others' performances. She owned that stage and had the audience eating out of her hand the entire time, and her voice is simply magnificent. It's very smooth and can go as loud as she wants to take it without ever sounding hard or strained.

I can listen to Neko Case all day long, and it was a treat being ten feet away from her, watching her sing, face to the heavens. When the band performed "Man," the concert turned from a mid-tempo, mostly sedate event into a full-fledged rock concert.

Laura Veirs was new to me, but she wrote and sang lead on two my my favorites, both tributes.

"Song for Judee" is about Judee Sill, an early 1970s singer who struggled with drug addiction and ultimately died from an overdose. The song's chorus is, "You loved the Sons of the Pioneers/And the Hollywood cowboy stars/You were just trying to put a hand to where we are". Before singing, Veirs pointed out that the Sons of the Pioneers had once performed at the Ryman. As she sang, I could almost see the ghost of Sill behind her, with the ghosts of the Pioneers behind her.

"Best Kept Secret" is hands down my favorite song on the album. It's a catchy tribute to a guitarist named Tim Young, and he actually plays guitar on the album. I can only imagine what a treat that was for him. It reminds me of what Camera Obscura might sound like if they ever got happy.

My favorite moment of the concert came after "Georgia Stars", the closing song (before the inevitable encores). Laura Veirs is easily the most reticent of the three performers, but she transformed into a head-banging, thrashing guitar goddess during that song. In the process, she managed to fling her glasses halfway across the stage. Neko Case retrieved and had some fun with them, and the three of them shared a laugh about it. I could also see Veirs demonstrating proper technique to the others. It was just a nice, genuine moment. (See the last sequence of photos below.).

Anyway, if you're a fan of any of the artists, or even if you're not, you might want to check out the album.

Here are some photos from the concert. If you want to see more, go to my case/lang/veirs flickr album

Ron