Concert Review: Okkervil River @ Little Brother’s

So last night was the Okkervil River show at Little Brother’s in Columbus. Doors opened at 8 but I couldn’t get on the road until 8, so I was worried I’d miss some of their set. After an annoying one-lane crawl on 70E past Springfield, we ended up getting at the joint around 9:30.

We walked in right as the first opener went on, some group called the Black Swans, who I hope none of you like because we thought they were pretty awful.

The Black Swans

The lead singer looked just like Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), complete with massive mutton chops. However, his dull, boring, whiny lyrics were a polar opposite from anything I’d expect to come from a Wolvy lookalike. He strummed his acoustic guitar mechanically while his companions (a standing violinist and a seated guy playing electric bass) practiced the art of being stiff cardboard cutouts for the duration of the set. B-O-R-I-N-G.

Finally they went off and were replaced by the lively and most enjoyable Elvis Perkins (and friends). This was a really, really good set: Their presence on stage was very positive and entertaining, but they didn’t allow their casual demeanor to interfere with playing great music. The musical style is sort of hard to put a finger on: The bassist plays on a huge fretless upright, and walked the neck in a classic style that you can’t help but grin at.

Elvis Perkins and crew

Mr. Perkins donned a smallish acoustic Martin and emphatically strummed some really infectious folk-pop rythyms. His odd, nerdy appearance belied what I could tell to be incredible musical prowess; he simultaneously played complex chord rythyms as he soloed via a neck-mounted harmonica, briefly breaking a way to sing a few bars. Obvioulsy he’s not alone in this ability, but his sheer control of the musical flow, his indescribable presence and awareness was really amazing.

A playful bearded guy manned the keyboard and harmonium (which wasn’t turned up enough despite his repeated requests until the end of their set when he got the audience involved). The drummer was quirky and alternated from his seat behind the throne to the front of the stage with a large strap-mounted bass drum, which really brought a couple of their songs to life (as an aside: the drummer looked to me a lot like a young Matt Damon with thick-rimmed glasses and facial hair. My wife swears that the drummer played some retarded guy in a movie, who knows…).

The musical variation was really impressive, from a mild, poetic dirge to lively exciting near-jigs. I picked up their album, partially at the request of my wife who loved them and partially because I was really impressed by these guys. The one thing I wasn’t crazy about was HOW LONG they played! It seemed like their set was neverending! I didn’t check my watch when they went on, but it felt like the set was easily an hour, which to me is very long for an opener - even moreso since there was another opener before them! I really liked the group but near the end I was really wondering when it would end.

Finally they got off stage and Okkervil River started setting up. Let me preface this by saying that I’ve never seen Okkervil River live before, but I’ve been enthralled with their work for the past year or two. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited when Will Sheff walked out, donned in a slightly-cheesy tan suit jacket, dress slacks, tan dress shirt and blue tie, and started adjusting his microphone. After everything was in place, tuned, and ready to go, they returned to the stage and took their places, the room filled with cheering.

Okkervil River

Anyone who has listened to Okkervil River knows the sound. Will’s characteristic soft, emotionally charged vocals can snap to attention in a fury of wailing energy, his vocal chords obviously grating to unleash the intense effect. This actually became a problem, as shortly after beginning their set Will announced that his voice “has been taking a beating on this tour”, and that he hadn’t spoken at all that day in preparation for the set. You could definitely tell it was wearing on him, because even his brief spoken dialogue between songs sounded like his voice was dragging against a cheese-grater. Their were brief moments in some vocally-intense songs when you could hear the effects, but despite this they sounded absolutely amazing live.

What I found really interesting was how relaxed, casual and fun they were on stage: The drummer was entirely jovial for the duration of the set, and I didn’t see him without a smile on his face. He played games with his sticks, twirling them (and losing one!) between beats, tossing broken ones at the bassist, and just having a good time. Everyone seemed to be just doing what they loved, not preoccupied with being Okkervil River, a band with a nearly-cult following, not obsessed with perfecting every minute detail of their live renditions of album songs, just playing - and playing well.

When Will described his vocal maladies he also apologized for the brevity of the set, indicating that he couldn’t keep it up all night. I was worried that we’d only hear a couple more songs from them, but they kept feeding it out for close to an hour, playing such favorites as “For Real”, “The Latest Toughs”, and a suprising treat of “Black Sheep Boy”, the title track of last year’s phenomenal release. This softly sung folk ballad is one of my favorite songs, and despite it’s brevity is quite emotionally stirring. It’s an unlikely choice for a live rendition, but I’m so glad they did, as it turned into a beautiful sing-along with the audience, and left us all that much more enthralled with the group of young men before us.

Finally their initial set came to a close and they walked off stage. Will returned alone with his acoustic guitar shortly thereafter to provide an encore, leaving us with a choice: We could hear “A Stone” or “Red”. Immediately the audience started screaming their choice, and the single syllable titles blurred beyond comprehension to the point that Will said he would use his internal Applause-o-Meter to decide which to play. This was a hard decision for me because both are such beautiful tracks, but I gave my cheers for “Red”. However, “A Stone” won by a good margin and Will began the soft fingerpicked melody, delivering the tender lyrics in a beautifully expressive fashion.

After finishing “A Stone”, Will’s bandmates returned for a couple more tracks, and several members of Elvis Perkins’ bands joined in on horns. Finally they ended with “Westfall”, which people had been screaming requests for during the entire set. It was an excellent choice to finish with, as the sheer energy charged the audience with appreciation for the tremendous set.

When it was all said and done it was 1AM and we were exhausted, and still faced a long drive back to Dayton (during which I ended up being pulled over for expired tags - I honestly didn’t know they were expired!!). But in the end, I’m so glad I went. Okkervil River is truly an inspiration to me, and part of me is now satisfied in experiencing them up-close and in person.

See more pics from this show at my Flickr set.