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Neko Case/Calexico - Boston MA (Wilbur Theatre), 10Nov09


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Oh, I wanted to see Neko with the two Calexico guys so badly but it turned out they were not opening for her in Indianapolis, instead we got Jason Lytle who was good but I was sad about it not being Joey & John.

 

So thanks for the photos.

 

I was glad in that thread where you list your 10 favorite artist from the last 10 years to see you included Calexico. So would I. (Well, that is, if I was a list-maker type person.)

 

On a final and insignificant note ... I'm not a fan of the moustache. :lol

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Nice review! I saw Neko many months ago in Atlanta and have been dying to see her again. She's playing tonight in Charlotte, but I just couldn't make it work (in the immortal words of Tim Gunn). Maybe next time.

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I saw Sonic Youth at the Wilbur last night. The sound there is great, but my friend and I had seats in the mezzanine, and we were both practically crippled by the time we left because of how close together the rows were up there.

 

I was supposed to see Calexico open for Andrew Bird this summer, but the show got canceled. I've missed Neko Case twice in the last two years, too, but I'm hoping to finally see her sooner or later.

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I saw Sonic Youth at the Wilbur last night. The sound there is great

Interesting that you say the sound was great. There is whole thread over here on Bostonist about how bad the sound was. It even links to the ProSoundWeb message board where a guy who appears to be the Feelies' sound guy complains about the venue.

 

I have only seen two shows there: Yo La Tengo (where the sound was not good) and Neko Case (where I thought the sound was good).

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i think the quieter shows sound better there...Will Oldham sounded great, but then again i was about 15' from the stage, center. which is where i ended up at the end of the SY show, for 'what we know' and 'death valley '69' both of which i thought sounded great from there.

 

but at the beginning, i was way over on Lee's side, and it sounded rough; way too much bass and no vocal mix.

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John and Joey certainly have played with Neko before, helping launch her career as part of her band (at least in the studio) on her first couple albums (or so...someone can correct me.) Kelly Hogan has many credits to her name, aside from the Jody Grind also. Sadly she no longer lives in Chicago, but she was a fixture with every band that played the Hideout for many years. It is really nice to know she now has a more than steady (and one that must more than pay the bills) with Neko. What no love for the great Tom Ray?

 

LouieB

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Interesting that you say the sound was great. There is whole thread over here on Bostonist about how bad the sound was. It even links to the ProSoundWeb message board where a guy who appears to be the Feelies' sound guy complains about the venue.

 

funny, i didn't realize that Andy was doing sound for The Feelies. he's a member on a long-time listserv mailing list that i've been on for quite some time as well. it was kinda neat to get a technical insight into this sort of situation.

 

Our road manager told me that when he was in the venue with Mogwai, Live Nation contracted to have stuff brought in and it was "acceptable."

 

i was wondering about that...i thought the mogwai sound was pretty decent, though i went back from the front of the stage to about ~15' back for the latter third, and the sound improved substantially.

 

louieb, thanks for the info on Neko...i don't own any of the early material, but have a recording of that Peel session she did w/ Calexico.

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louieb, thanks for the info on Neko...i don't own any of the early material, but have a recording of that Peel session she did w/ Calexico.

Actually my memory sucks as it turns out. They didn't play with her until Blacklisted. My bad. The Sadies did play with her on Furnace though.

 

Time for bed and a new brain.

 

LouieB

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Interesting that you say the sound was great. There is whole thread over here on Bostonist about how bad the sound was. It even links to the ProSoundWeb message board where a guy who appears to be the Feelies' sound guy complains about the venue.

 

I have only seen two shows there: Yo La Tengo (where the sound was not good) and Neko Case (where I thought the sound was good).

 

Well, let me put it in perspective: the last time I saw Sonic Youth, I was on the rail in front of Lee. The sound was really screwed up--sometimes Kim's vocals would come out of the speakers off to the far left, sometimes it would be Thurston's guitars. It was a mess. The sound was a lot more balanced this time, for Sonic Youth at least. It may have been where I was, though, because from what I've read since then, the vocals didn't sound as clear from the floor. The sound for the Feelies was horrible. All of the vocals sounded mumbled, when we could hear them at all. I completely tuned out because I knew that couldn't have been what they wanted to sound like. It was a shame, because I probably would've enjoyed them.

 

Overall, I didn't enjoy the Wilbur enough to go through the trouble to get there again, at least not when I'm living six hours away.

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When I saw Yo La Tengo at the Wilbur a couple of months ago I was right up against the stage. At one point they brought out an 8 piece string section and I couldn't hear a thing they played. I assumed that I was too close as I was actually behind the speakers.

 

I just got tickets to the Magnetic Fields show at the Wilbur in February and I am right up front for that. I am hoping that because the Magnetic Fields play very quietly the sound won't be as much of an issue.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Kelly Hogan has many credits to her name, aside from the Jody Grind also. Sadly she no longer lives in Chicago, but she was a fixture with every band that played the Hideout for many years. It is really nice to know she now has a more than steady (and one that must more than pay the bills) with Neko.

Love, love, love Kelly Hogan! I've seen Neko several times over the last 10 yrs, and the shows with Kelly were the best, by far.

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Love, love, love Kelly Hogan! I've seen Neko several times over the last 10 yrs, and the shows with Kelly were the best, by far.

Kelly is the perfect foil for Neko (well Nora O'Connor isn't bad either..), in that she has a strong, yet less distinctive voice than Neko's and knows exactly how to sing harmony. Also she says some of the funniest shit ever, which plays off of the equally funny shit that Neko says.

 

LouieB

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