Over The Rhine
at The Rhythm Room
People, people, people – if you are missing out on these great shows, it is because you aren’t listening to me.
I know I told you about Over The Rhine a little late in the day, but the show has been on my public calendar for at least a month. What a phenomenal performance. Fun group, fun venue, fun crowd.
I was worried about not getting a ticket, so I showed up just after 6:00. There was one person in line ahead of me, the very nice attorney I met at the David Wilcox show in August. I had mentioned Over The Rhine to him, and he looked them up. I love introducing people to new music, and it was nice to see a friendly face.
The evening started with a performance by Griffin House, not that I had any idea who he was. Turned out to be a guy and a guitar, one of my favorite set-ups. Unfortunately, he had some sound issues – a little hot on the guitar volume and some buzzing when he was intentionally loud. He did a couple of protest songs which weren’t quite clever or subtle enough to work for me, but they were melodic and well delivered. I enjoyed his set quite a bit, enough to pick up two of his CDs (well, it was one for $15, 2 for $20)
He did this song, The Man That Says Goodbye To You Is Out Of His Mind. It is funny, though the humor was more evident live – you’ll just have to imagine the winking delivery and audience laughter in all the right places.
Over the Rhine was everything I expected them to be . . . and more. Really great live performers. I have seen so many concerts in my day, and one of my biggest pet peeves is musicians who just seem to be going through the motions (or who you wish were lipsynching because they sound so bad live). OtR seemed to be having a blast and I got the feeling they wanted us to be having fun, as well. There were some issues with the mix early on (too much of the instruments, not enough vocals) but they got that worked out.
Karin Bergquist delivers her exquisite vocals in a casual, intimate way. You can almost imagine her singing you torch songs in her living room, something I am sure she does for husband, and original OtR bandmate Linford Detweiler (who was fantastic on keyboards, guitar, bass…). Filling out the band on this tour were Jake Bradley, master of the upright bass, and Mickey Grimm, amazing on the drums.
If this group is coming through your town, do yourself a favor and see the show. You won’t regret it.
BTW: I got a few more of their CDs; two that I bought, and two that were gifted to me. I think I now have seven of their albums. How cool am I? OtR also releases all their albums on vinyl. Does anyone still have a turntable?
Cross posted at Vox