Ohio-based Over the Rhine came to town recently and played a well-attended show (most especially for a Sunday night) at the Cedar Cultural Center.
The bad news was that it is only April and it was starting to get a little warm in the infamously prone-to-AC-outage Cedar. The good news is that no one really seemed to care - it was an incredible show.
Opening for Over the Rhine was Lucy Wainwright Roche. If you were wondering, yes, she is related to Loudon, Rufus, and Martha - and the Roches. Her stage set up was a simple affair - it was her, her guitar, and a microphone. The room, however, was completely taken over by her charming personality. In terms of her stage presence, there were echos of the Colin Hay show at the Cedar almost a year ago. The music is simple and thoughtful, with lyrics slightly tinged with melancholy. Between songs - Lucy was full of witty and downright stories about her life. Even though the air fairly buzzed with anticipation for Over the Rhine, there was still some disappointment when Lucy left the stage at the end of her set. Hopefully she will be back in the Twin Cities soon.
Over the Rhine, which primarily consists of husband and wife team Linford and Karin, were joined by a standup bass, drummer, and slide / harmonica player. Linford & Karin repeatedly thanked their band (as well as the rest of their crew) throughout the evening - and had good reason to. The entire show was tightly woven, yet freewheeling, Americana blues rock. Even the dying piece of equipment on stage that interrupted the show on a regular basis (this was the last show of the tour, therefore it made little sense to replace it) didn't distract from the powerful spell of Over the Rhine.
Stand out track were the ever popular "Trouble," as well as "The King Knows How" from the new Long Surrendar album. In his interview with Examiner, Linford discussed how this new album was meant to be a surprise - the pair flew out to the West Coast without preconceptions of what they would be coming home with.
Thankfully, The Long Surrendar is the kind of surprise you love to open - full of the sounds that have made Over the Rhine so great, but still offering something new. It's nice to see, when performing the songs live, the OtR still seems comfortable in their skin, smiling and interacting with the crowd. Despite the large size of the crowd and the warmth of the room, it was a particularly cozy Sunday night at the Cedar.
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