I usually like to jump around chronologically, which -- after Wilco's YHF demos, circa 2000-2001 -- would've meant something either really old or really recent. But since securing my ticket yesterday to see her show with Rufus Wainwright in August, I've had Neko Case on the brain. (Truth is, I frequently have Neko on the brain -- but that's another story.)Some things are so sublime that they don't require a lot of explanation. Here's Neko at the top of her game, with her crack band (which means you get steel guitar god Jon Rauhouse and our lovely homegirl Kelly Hogan in the bargain), in the UK to support her second album, Furnace Room Lullaby. Several songs from that record get a workout, as do a few country, soul and gospel covers, including a goosebump-inducing take on Aretha Franklin's "Runnin' Out of Fools". This was Neko's only live appearance on the late John Peel's radio program, recorded in September of 2000 in front of an audience at the BBC studios in Maida Vale, London. In a matter of 35 minutes, she has them eating out of her hand. Lucky them.
Artwork:
Front cover
Disc (if you're so inclined)
NEKO CASE & HER BOYFRIENDS - BBC Studios, Maida Vale, September 13, 2000
(Sound is a little trebly, but the genius shines through.)
01 Set Out Running
02 Make Your Bed
03 Stinging Velvet
04 Favorite
05 Twist The Knife
06 Bought and Sold
07 Furnace Room Lullaby
08 Look For Me (I'll Be Around)
09 Runnin' Out of Fools
10 Lord, Don't Move That Mountain
11 Bowling Green
RELATED: Buy Neko's corset! (The one in the cover art.)
