Over the Rhine @ The Ark/Ann Arbor, MI (12.05.2010)

OK, The Kent Stage & The Ark are such a killer back-to-back set of venues for a tour, both legendary Midwest venues.

The Ark, after only my second visit, has quickly become one of my favorite places to see a show, a great intimate room with really nice, warm acoustics. It is staffed by some of the nicest, most helpful people that I have ran across in my short time of doing this, what makes this so special is that outside of one or two paid staffers, everyone working the club is a volunteer. The Ark is a not for profit and the people are there simply because of their love of quality music and their desire to see it succeed in their community. Kudos to them for their hard work and effort.

Kim opened once again tonight, delivering another wonderful set. While I have always loved Kim and her performances, these past two nights she seems so much more comfortable and confident and that came across strongly in her music.

OtR came out and hit the ground running, the energy was evident from the second that they hit the stage (and still evident hours after the show ended). The Ark is a very intimate club, no seat is more than about 20-30 feet from the stage, due to the stage positioning and Linford’s grand piano (this has been a great addition to all of the shows, Linford has had a grand piano @ every show instead of his usual keyboard rig), he joked about beaing “seated in the third row,” which basically, he was.

In short, the show was perfect in every way, the set, the setlist, the venue, the crowd. I honestly, do not know of any way it could be improved on. The band really jelled, they were tight, yet with a good bit of improvisation that seemed to take it all up a notch. There were numerous little eye glances from Linford during the songs to all of the players seemingly encouraging them to “go for it,” which they did, bringing huge smiles from all involved in return.

Conventional wisdom would tell you that as thye continue to play together, it should only continue get better, but based on this show, I really wonder if it is possible. Yet, I’m betting somehow, they will.

The venue for tonight in Columbus, seems to be the best so far of the tour, it is beautiful and sound check is starting as I’m finishing writing this, the acoustics are fantastic.

This run of shows leading up to the Taft make for some stellar, back-to-back nights. Kent -> The Ark -> The Lincoln -> The Bomhard -> Old Town School is possibly the best consecutive run of venues that I can remember.

The Lincoln Theatre tonight and home to Louisville tomorrow for a couple of days.

Setlist/The Ark:
Laugh of Recognition
I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time
Trouble
Bluebird
All I Ever Get For Christmas
Northpole Man
Undamned
Rave On
Oh Yeah By the Way
We’re Gonna Pull Through
I’m On a Roll
The King Knows How
Only God Can Save Us Now
Snow Angels
Days Like This (w/Kim)
All My Favorite People
-E-
Ohio
Infamous Love Song
No Kill Shelter

Kim Taylor (supporting OtR) @ The Kent Stage/Kent, OH (12.04.2010)

I just wanted to do a little follow-up, another of my favorite artists, Kim Taylor, opened for OtR @ The Kent Stage (and The Ark on Sunday night).

It had been too long since I’ve seen Kim play and she delivered a wonderfully stong 6-7 song set, possibly sounding the best I have ever heard her. She blew the crowd away (we sold out of her limited supply of CDs before her set even ended) and at the end of the night the owner of the venue was talking about wanting to get her up there to headline her own show, saying simply…”it’s time.”

One of the highlights of the night was her performance of “The Chipmunks” Christmas song, “Christmas time is here” where she was joined by the audience in singing most of the song, along with her joining OtR on “Days Like This” (which she wrote) from “The Long Surrender.”

Over the Rhine: The Kent Stage/Kent, OH (12.04.2010)

Saturday, December 4th: The Kent Stage/Kent, OH

If it’s December, cold as hell, and snowing in Kent, OH it must be time for OtR to hit town.

It seems to be a tradition. And a good one.

This was my second time to this legendary Midwest venue in north Ohio, and while it it a bit ragged around the edges, it is a great place to see a show. Kent is the home of Kent State University and a reasonable drive from many larger cities; Cleveland, Akron/Canton, Pittsburgh and always seems to pull in a really nice crowd for OtR. Also, they have been playing the town since their early days and built up a loyal following.

Kim Taylor opened the evening with a wonderfully stong set, it had been way to long since I had last seen Kim and it was great to see her play again. She was also a part of one of the more stunning parts of the night, joining OtR on “Days Like This” (which she wrote) from “The Long Surrender.” It was incredible. Beautiful.

Tonight was a typically great show for the band here, they obviously love playing this room and in this town and the town loves them. They seemed to take it up a notch in every way, obviously feeling more comfortable as a unit and the three “new guys” are settling in with K & L and Nick, the music and the overall vibe quite nicely. They also seemed much more comfortable stepping out a bit and improvising, often drawing huge smiles and grins from Linford and Karin.

The setlist was very similar to last night, which I think will be the trend for this run, I would expect the sets to be a majority of material from “The Long Surrender” & “Snow Angels” with 5-6 others dating back to GDBD rotated in and out of the set.

This is going to be a fantastic run of shows, mark my words.

Setlist/Kent:
Laugh of Recognition
I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time
Trouble
Bluebird
All I Ever Get For Christmas
Northpole Man
Undamned
Rave On
Oh Yeah By the Way
I’m On a Roll
The King Knows How
Only God Can Save Us Now
The Trumpet Child
Snow Angels
Days Like This (w/Kim)
All My Favorite People
-E-
Ohio
Infamous Love Song
No Kill Shelter

On to Ann Arbor…

Over the Rhine: The Palace Theatre/Marion, OH (12.03.2010)

Friday, December 3rd: The Palace Theatre/Marion, OH

On the trip to the airport in LA, Karin, Linford and I discussed me possibly joining them on the December tour to help with merchandise and to photograph and document this round of shows. Fortunately, I was able to work things out and join them on their journey through the midwest. I made much the same trip with them last year and had a great time and have been looking forward to since we talked about it a month ago.

Now, the time has come. My bags are packed and I’m headed north.

I arrived in Cincinnati at 9:30 AM and met up with every one at St. Elizabeth’s, hugs we’re shared by those who knew each other well and hand’s were shaken and introductions were made to those that had never met. This trip has a big crew going out, there are eleven of us total, the band is consists of; Karin, Linford, Nick Radina (percussion, cuatro, guitar), joined by New Yorkers Andy Boerger (drums, Andy has played/toured with Tom Waits and Norah Jones and is currently with Ani Difranco), Tim Luntzel (bass, formerly with Norah Jones, Rosanne cash and also currently with Ani Difranco) and Jason Goforth, of Nashville (harmonica, lap guitar, pedal steel). JP Scott is tour managing, Michael Larcey (front of house) and Michael Borngiano (monitors) are along as sound engineers, Greer Barton is on merch and assisting JP and I’m also doing merch along with photographing and documenting the tour.

As we loaded the van and trailer, you could tell a nice bond has begun to form among the band, they had been in Cincy for a few days rehearsing and everyone seemed to be in great spirits and looking forward to the adventure that was about to unfold and playing this music together in front of a live audience.

We hit the road and head north in the cold and light snow.

We arrived in Marion in the early afternoon. The show was actually in a ballroom next door to The Palace, and odd set up with a small stage and a high balcony around the perimeter of the room. Marion was chosen to open the tour to give he band a chance to settle in and get comfortable together before hitting the more traditional and larger cities/venues afterwards.

The plan worked perfectly, the audience in Marion was mostly new to the band and their music. They were great, very “in” to the show, quiet and respectful yet, warm, appreciative responsive at the right time.

The setlist was mostly pulled from “The Long Surrender” & “Snow Angels” and sounded great. The “new” guys complimented the songs and Karin, Linford and Nick perfectly. There were a lot of smiles on stage as things were tried, and you could tell we were at the beginning of something special. Stay tuned, or better yet, come to a show…

Setlist/Marion:
Laugh of Recognition
I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time
Trouble
Bluebird
All I Ever Get For Christmas
Northpole Man
Undamned
Rave On
Oh Yeah By The Way
I’m On a Roll
The King Knows How
Only God Can Save Us Now
Snow Angels
Days Like This (w/Kim)
All My Favorite People
-E-
Ohio
Infamous Love Song
No Kill Shelter