Neko Case (Will You Marry Me?) at The Derby

by chris cunningham

[NEKO CASE GALLERY] [VIDEO LINK]

I love Neko Case. And after my holiday in Ireland, that pretty much spills over to all curly haired girls. Except Nicole Kidman. Anyway, she was back in town tonight doing another show at The Derby. It was billed as “With Friends”. Those friends included Jon Rauhouse, Kelly Hogan, and Carolyn Mark. Openers were Ian Moore, and Victoria and Stolie. Victoria and Stolie were quite good for not ever having heard them before. I chatted to them briefly after the show. Stolie asked if I played the bass. I guess she thought I did because she said I was watching her play the bass most of the time. I said no, and then she teased me… “Well, then what were you looking at?” I think she might have been implying that I was looking at her breasts. Granted, they were very nice breasts and resting nicely on top of her bass so I wouldn’t be surprised at me. I dunno, maybe I was. I still liked them, er, the girls, um, their music. Jeez. I did eventually get around to telling her I play guitar. Stolie works for Bloodshot Records and does publicity for Neko, yet she’s also a singer songwriter. Victoria doesn’t work and sings and songwrites too, or something like that. Ian Moore went on next and was amazing. Another one I’d never heard of before. He’s playing at the Knitting Factory next month and I’ve gotta catch that show as I liked him that much. No CD out but he did have a DVD that I bought.

Then came Neko. I love Neko. God I love Neko. God, I love curly haired redheads who sing and are named Neko. If it was feasible to be a Nekohead and just follow her around the country I probably would. If it’s a band you follow around, that’s cool, but if it’s a girl it’s probably stalking. Neko, Carolyn, Kelly, Jon, and some guy on guitar whose name escapes me, came on and sounded amazing. The vocal harmonies were lush and all the songs a bit saucy. Lot’s of standards and gospel tunes too. Next to nothing of her own material. After having seen her twice before I was now armed with the knowledge of where to stand to get the best view. Just to the left of her mic. And that’s where I stood, about two feet from her the whole show. Jon Rauhouse just kicks ass on the steel guitar. Got some video clips of different parts of the show, including Jon ripping it up and some of “Wayfaring Stranger”. I love you Neko Case. You never call, you never write… What’ sup Baby? Looks like I’m going to have to fight for her with this guy [LINK].