Okkervil River @ The Bottleneck, 09/12/08

Torrential rain and clouds the National Weather service described as “tornadic” provided far too high a percentage of the excitement on the Bathysphere’s latest trip to Lawrence. Okkervil River, on the first night of the “Stand Ins” tour, played a serviceable set to an appreciative crowd in the dark (see below) and cozy confines of The Bottleneck.

The grandeur of the Lollapalooza set (link), where I had my awestruck introduction to the band, just wasn’t there this time, although I gather that Lollapalooza wasn’t Okkervil River’s best showing. Perhaps the element of surprise is key.

Their last two albums have been so self-reflexive that it’s hard not to think of Okkervil River in concrete terms. Will Sheff has more in common with you than not. This is probably true of most musicians; the difference is he has spent the last couple years employing his considerable lyrical talent to debunk the rock star aura. And once you’ve absorbed his message, that the people on stage rely on formula and have the same inconsequence as anyone else, the fun of seeing a concert is somewhat dampened. The best shows are put on by those who kick ass and know it.

Sheff is self-conscious. His stage manner befits someone whose employment is more tenuous than his. He is the front man of an increasingly commercially and consistently critically successful band, yet he goes so far as to care if people talk in the back during a quiet moment. This awareness of the audience has its benefits – “Unless it Kicks” is great live because he works so hard to make everyone clap. If he thinks pop stars are frauds, it’s the sincerity of the fans he finds worthwhile. So I’m really failing to play along when a middle-aged man yells, “You got it” during a standard instrumental bridge and I can only laugh.

Some tuning issues may have been a side product of the fact that this was the first live appearance of songs from the new album. The lighting, as I mentioned, sucked, and maybe that’s why so many people thought it wouldn’t be annoying if they took pictures with the flash. They were wrong, but we made the best of it by getting at least one shot lit by someone else’s flash. The picture above, taken at 1AM in front of The Bottleneck, is great because it gives us a chance to be both better than them (it's OkKervil, guys!) and immature (F for Friday. Get it?).


The official recommendation at this point was that we seek the nearest underground workbench to crouch under. Lacking this, we forged on.


(I think that's loyal reader Nick on the right. -Zach)







Setlist
"Title Track"
"Plus Ones"
"Pop Lie"
"Singer Songwriter"
"The Latest Toughs"
"On Tour With Zykos"
"A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene"
"Calling and Not Calling My Ex"
"Blue Tulip"
"Black"
"Lost Coastlines"
"Black Sheep Boy"
"For Real"
"Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe"
"Unless it Kicks"
(Encore)
"Girl in Port"
"Another Radio Song"
"Okkervil River Song"


Album/Song Distribution
Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See (2002): 1
Black Sheep Boy (2005): 6
The Stage Names (2007): 6
The Stand Ins (2008): 6

T-shirt Roundup
Against Me!: 1
Arcade Fire: 1
The Beatles: 1
British Sea Power: 1
The Flaming Lips: 1
The Great Gatsby: 2
Iggy Pop: 1
Love Garden: 2
The National/Barack Obama: 1
Okkervil River: 4
The Replacements: 1
Ween: 1
Wilco: 1

[review by Kiernan Maletsky; photos by Zach Noland except tornado action by Kiernan]