Neko Case charmed a standing-room-only audience Saturday night with a delicately twangy performance in Lansing.
The Temple Club was the perfect backdrop for Case's spiritually charged melodies. Her voice bounced off the stained glass windows like angels bumping into each other midflight toward heaven — quite spectacular.
What was so smoking?
Besides Case's voice and solid guitar strumming, her backup band was dynamite.
It's not very often there's a stand-up bass and pedal steel guitar taking it to the bridge, like what was going on behind Case.
Her band set the perfect spacey mood with classic country instruments. All that was missing was a fiddle, but the banjo solos were so amazing, there's no room to complain.
The set list also was very well thought out, taking a couple of tunes from each of the Virginia-born songstress' solo albums.
Two of the highlights were "Deep Red Bells" from the "Blacklisted" album and the last number of the night, "John Saw That Number," off her latest album, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood."
The gospel influence looming over "John Saw That Number" fit Case's divine vocal strength and range. And the song was a great way to end a magical evening, leaving audience members with a warm sense of satisfaction and amazement.
If that wasn't enough, Case came through with a Bob Dylan cover — "Buckets of Rain" — toward the middle of the set. The decision to cover this Dylan tune was a great choice because it's a lesser-known song and corresponded well with the somber, yet heartfelt feel of the night.
Another striking aspect of the performance was the way Case demanded the attention of the audience. People just stood around in silent awe waiting for Case to show off her musical flair.
What was so nonsmoking?
Smoking was banned on the entire second level of The Temple Club. Case is allergic to smoke and had to have an adrenaline shot before the show.
The crowd was very courteous towards Case's nonsmoking request — there wasn't a single match scratched or Marlboro puffed upstairs.
It was actually very nice to walk out of a show without feeling like a chimney sweep from "Mary Poppins." And any precaution to keep Case's voice in tip-top condition should be followed.
One problem with the show was some audience members felt like it was their right to dictate the set list by yelling out song titles. And since Case is such a polite figure on stage, she never said, "Hey, buddy, I'll be picking the songs tonight," which she should have.
Audience members screaming out song titles should be subjected to excessive poking. Choose which songs you want to listen to while listening to Case's CDs, and at her own concert, let her choose the order— duh!
Overall, it was an enchanting concert put on by a magically talented musician backed by an awesomely complimentary band — hip hip hooray.
