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Opening act Jen Cloher has received great press and reviews for her second album, Hidden Hands, released mid last year. One reviewer even compared it to Neko Case’s own Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, making her a natural choice to accompany Neko on her Australian tour.

Now, it’s no secret that these two reviewers share a general distaste for the world of Blues & Roots (aka; Bloots), preferring their Folk to be prefaced by “Alt-”, but the Neko comparison combined with Cloher’s own Top Ten Albums of the Decade, make us wish to High Hell that Jen had bought her band, The Endless Sea along to show us what she’s made of. I mean, I Don’t Like The Bloots, but C’morn! 8/10 of Cloher’s Top Ten are Awesome! We’re talking Neko Case’s Fox Confessor, Beck’s Sea Change, PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City, Gillian Welch, Wilco, Art of Fighting, Cat Power, Augie March.... We have the same influences, but express them in very different musical terms. We are intrigued.

Cloher’s set was solo-esque, and evoked the likes of Mia Dyson and the best aspects of Kasey Chambers, with the accompanying banjo inviting comparisons to Gillian Welch. The crowd were sedate, but with an 8pm start, who can really blame them, especially on a Saturday night? It was a solid set, but as we said, we’d love her to bring the band next time!

And so on to the incomparable Neko Case. We fell in love with Neko last year, with the release of Middle Cyclone, and the appearance of People Got a Lotta Nerve on Rage. Maybe it’s the draughty barn at her Vermont farmhouse; maybe it’s the deserts of Arizona, but a fascination with the natural world pervades her lyrics and, it would appear, her life. Only natural, we suppose, for a woman who claims to have spent her formative years being raised by her pets.

Case has been labelled ‘stroppy’ by earlier reviews of this tour (total gear freakout can do that to a person), but we found her to be warm and engaging on stage—trading frequent jokes and banter with vibrant backup singer, and lead music-box handle-turner, Kelly ‘sorry about the nipples and balls, Adelaide’ Hogan. We heard all about the museum (the shark film is Neko’s favourite part), and how good dinner was. Incidentally, Neko, if you’re reading this: ‘those’ billboards used to say ‘HAVE LONGER LASTING SEX’, until someone complained about the ‘S-Word’ being plastered all over town in giant red letters! Now we Make the Love.

The set itself was sensational, with Case’s beautiful voice winding around the room like a dirty little red-headed angel. She walked out onstage wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and could still out-sexy any of those ‘ladies’ from Sex and the City. She was preceded by an announcement through the PA that no recordings or photos were to be taken (apparently the message played at all the shows in Australia), but relented shortly after the announcement, stating “just don’t let me see the cameras; they make me nervous!”

The set opened with a one-two-three punch of Blacklisted’s Things That Scare Me, Fox Confessor Brings The Flood’s Maybe Sparrow, and Middle Cyclone’s People Got A Lotta Nerve. Which of course turned everybody in the room into a puddle of gooey mess. After we’d managed to re-solidfy, she played a heartfelt set consisting mostly of songs from Middle Cyclone and Fox Confessor… which was gratefully lapped up by a packed band room.

Neko appeared to have a genuine fondness for our town, and that feeling was obviously reciprocated by the adoring crowd. The mood was light-hearted between songs, and the performance almost perfect. Kelly Hogan (who reminded us of a much prettier Jerome Benton – google it, kids!) reacted with glee when Neko hit one wrong note, apparently a rarity on tour with Neko. We didn’t hear it. The only minor quibble we had was not being able to hear Neko’s guitar during the set. It’s not like she’s Courtney Love, Mr/Ms Sound Person!

Neko was supported by three gigantic bearded blokes (and one young-looking Canadian lad), one who we swear had just got off the sleigh from delivering presents to kiddies to strap on a bass. Rockin’ Santa was awesome! After taking a few songs to suitably warm up, the performance was heartfelt and honest, which is always appreciated. Neko and band played for about an hour and a half, coming back for an encore beginning with a beautifully sparse rendition of Vengeance Is Sleeping, and brought the band back to play what was apparently the drummer’s choice: Star Witness. After thanking the crowd, she finished up with a cover of The Shangri-Las song SUTC Train from Kansas City. It’s a little too early to call this gig of the year, but it was certainly a wonderful night, and one we’ll hold close to our hearts for a while.

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