Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Last night, I went to Cat’s Cradle to see Okkervil River. I intentionally left my camera at home. I have so many pictures left from the weekend to process, and I have so much else to do that I thought my photography habit could use a night off. Okkervil River were amazing, but I was expecting that. They sound excellent live, and I was going to say that the sound quality at the Cradle last night was better than I’ve ever heard. However, this is probably more a product of the fact that instead of standing near the stage where I can get the best pictures, I stood in the back. The sound is just better back there. The engineers are aiming to make the sounds they hear best, not the sounds just in front of the speakers. Only insane people stand there, right?!

The really nice surprise was Jonathan Meiberg. He is the keyboard player for Okkervil River, but he is also the front man for Shearwater. While the whole Shearwater band didn’t play, Jonathan Meiberg did a solo set with backing by Scott Bracket, the O.R. trumpet player. When we first walked in, I was struck that he was singing in this falsetto. It seems ballsy to use such an intimate voice in a place like Cat’s Cradle. It seemed so earnest, much like many of the crooners and even the activists of the late 50s and early 60s (or maybe Richard Thompson, if you’re looking for something a bit more contemporary). My first thought was “Either this is so cheesy and earnest that I will hate it and will be rolling my eyes soon, OR I love it.” It took about a minute to realize that this intimate, intense performance was actually very much in the second category: a truly amazing and gutsy performance. Even in the Cradle, a place generally dominated by cocktail lounge volume conversation (especially back by the sound board), the audience seemed to be listening carefully and attending to every note. The addition of the sustained trumpet over the wash of sound coming from his voice and guitar reminded me a lot of the band James’ incredible album Seven. Jonathan Meiberg moved from the first voice I heard (the intimate falsetto) to positively anthemic, passionate vocals and back again. So much emotion. It was more evocative than I’m used to when out at a local gig. This is (dare I use this word) special. It’s something to seek out and listen to over and over. It’s more than just a “Yeah, that was really good”.

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Originally uploaded by howrad

While I was there I picked up a Shearwater CD and have been listening to it ever since. It’s really something. I’d listened to a few of their songs a while back because I saw they had some of the same members as Okkervil River and my friend Lalitree seemed to listen to them a lot on Last.FM. She was right. This is worth spending your last $12. It’s that good. Who needs groceries when you can listen to something like this:

I am posting this song so you will hear it and love it and want to buy more. I won’t leave it up long – maybe a week or so. This is a band worth supporting with dollars!