Neko & Merle

Last night Neko Case and Merle Haggard performed at the historic Paramount Theatre in Oakland. While we had great seats (row 7!) we discovered that sometimes sitting way up close but far off to the left under the giant speaker creates not the best overall mix of sound. Oh well, at least we had a great view of the stage. I double dared the ushers to scold me for taking pictures, but they never did.

Despite the lopsided sound, Neko's set was fantastic as usual (though not as wonderful as the packed-with-stage-patter Bimbo's shows last summer.) Highlights -- the great cover of "Look for Me (I'll Be Around) and a few of my favorite Neko songs, "Favorite," "Star Witness" and a sped up swingier version of "Deep Red Bells."

Because of this odd double-bill, the audience was a mix of hipsters, old school country music fans, some rednecks and a few cowboy hat wearing frat boys out for a night of hick music (who the Chef said made him "embarrassed to be white.") However, there were also plenty of regular folks who like good music and during intermission DJ Big Cookie & Damon spotted us, so we had the pleasure of hanging out with them.

Merle hit the stage after his band (The Strangers) warmed the audience up with a few numbers, creating the delayed BIG INTRO which doesn't happen much these days but is very SHOWBIZ. Can't decide if the BIG INTRO is a good idea, but it works for Merle. He came out to a roaring crowd of hoots and hollers and lots of guys making the #1 sign - woo hoo! Perhaps it was then I started to not warm up to him. I'm all for the quitting-your-job-and-drinking-all-day songs, and who can resist the appeal of classics like "Closing Time", "Swinging Doors" and of course "The Fightin' Side of Me" (woooo hoooooo!) But, with the combination of the Branson-esque stage show, the badly written ballads and the semi-creepy uncomfortable vibe between the balding band members and Merle, I just wasn't feeling it. The duet of "Jackson" between Merle and his thirty years younger back up singer wife Theresa ( a hard livin' Chloe Sevigny look-a-like) made me wince. The only thing that could have saved it was if he had asked Neko to join him. Sigh. I do not deny that the man is a country music legend, but I prefer the enthusiasm and humour of Johnny Cash (who we also saw perform in his golden years) --- and Willie Nelson, Bill Monroe, Wanda Jackson, Dolly Parton, they've still got it going on.

Here is Merle doing his best Bob Wills impression.

After the show, we were able to find our uber-creative chopstick sculpture building/Holga camera toting/Chinese menu collecting/artist musician writer friends Indigo & Donna (as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the few good uses for cell phones -- as concert crowd friend trackers.) Indigo & Donna took us to a cafe in Oakland's Chinatown where we ate moon cakes and other tasty bakery items involving sweet beans. We hadn't seen them for a while (as the bridge between the Berkeley and San Francisco can be a staunch divider for procrastinators) so it was fun to catch up and trade stories about falling off horses (ouch), purple smudges, new jobs and being in a cool all grrlz cover band. After one more cup of hot tea the cafe owners kicked us out, which was a lucky thing otherwise we would have missed the last BART train home. Thanks for whisking us to the train station Indigo & Donna -- we made it!

When we got home there was a message from DJ Big Cookie on our answering machine. DJ Big Cookie had designed a t-shirt that Neko Case wore at her last performance in San Francisco (and on the cover of a magazine!) Since then, they had exchanged gushing e-mails to each other. In a very excited voice, DJ Big Cookie said "I'm calling you because on my way out, guess who we ran into?" (happy laughter) "None other than NEKO CASE, who was walking her very best friend to the BART station. (happy laughter) I introduced myself and she HUGGED ME! andshewasreallyniceandreallysweet. Ok Bye Bye."

Hooray for DJ Big Cookie!