Monday, August 29, 2005

Neko commands and nature obeys

Play it: Zoo Tunes - Neko Case and Laura Veirs

Went to see Neko Case last night at the Woodland Park Zoo (Zoo Tunes,) and was pleasantly surprised to find that Laura Veirs was opening. I've been playing the hell out of her latest release (Year of the Meteor) lately, so it was private thrill (no one else seemed to share my delight.) She started out with the prophetic "Cool Water" and proceeded through a wonderful set. I highly recommend the album.

It was 80+ degrees mere hours prior, but by the time Neko Case came on, the black clouds had moved in, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped dramatically. She played a few songs (including the great "Deep Red Bells" and "Soulful Shade of Blue") before apologizing for the weather and then going into the song "Buckets of Rain." Minutes after the song was over, buckets of rain did fall... the kind of rain we don't get in Seattle. Seriously... there's misconception about rain in Seattle. Sure, we get a lot of days of rain, but we never get a lot at once. This was a torrential downpower, a cloudburst in a thunderstorm, and that happens in Seattle maybe once a year or so. Second, rain in August in Seattle is almost as rare. That's the power that Neko Case has on the great NW. She's loved like no other chanteuse, and wields a power over the Seattle-area that's shaman-like, but I'm sure she has no idea of her supernatural abilities, or she would've stuck to indoors and avoided singing "Buckets of Rain."

Anyway, we had to bundle up our lil' Eli and run him to the car, before he became a water-logged mr. grumpy pants (hell hath no fury...)

More reports from the front:
More rgordon's photos (one of his wonderful shots above)
Getting Wet w/ Neko Case
The NINE on Suicide Girls comments on the show
Some random person's live journal
Girl in Greenwood was there

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2 comments:

Shawn Anderson said...

Zoo Tunes - Neko Case w. Laura Veirs

* "Cool Water" - Laura Veirs
* "Secret Someones" - Laura Veirs
* "Magnetized" - Laura Veirs
* "Deep Red Bells" - Neko Case
* "Soulful Shade of Blue" - Neko Case
* "Buckets of Rain" - The Stairwell Sisters

Unknown said...

Great concert. i'd never heard Laura Veirs before, and although the sound was a little weak, she did a great performance and I've since been listening to her a lot!
Kind of bummed she moved to Portland, but I'll look for her shows there when I'm there.
(glad you liked the photo - we seemed to be one of the few in the crowd who were expecting rain and had full raingear!)