Tonight at the Disney Concert Hall: Neko Case
Friday, November 16th, 2007
I am a huge fan of the New Pornographers, since stumbling upon “Electric Version” at the L.A. Amoeba shortly after it came out. It was everything I wanted in music all in one album, and I couldn’t stop listening to it! I’d be listening to that album right now if I knew where the disc was. 
I’ve been following the band closely since 2003, and of nearly equal interest to me is the indie rock goddess embedded within the band, Neko Case. I’ve heard plenty of firsthand horror stories about her attitude and treatment of other people, but I’m going to put that aside for now and focus on the talent (and pray I never meet her).
She adds a bit of rough around the edges soul to the Pornographers, and though I love lead singer Carl Newman’s voice, I love Neko’s equally well. I was disappointed that she didn’t sing lead as much on this year’s “Challengers,” and maybe because of that, it took me longer to warm up to that album than it had to “Electric Version” (2003) and “Twin Cinema” (2005). Maybe it’s also because “Challengers” is also a more mellow, laid back album, and I love the hard-driving pop that is the New Pornographers. Either way, the band would not be what they are without Neko, and it shows. When rumors surfaced that she would not be touring with the Pornographers earlier this year, fans everywhere claimed they wouldn’t even show up because it wouldn’t be a full show without her.
In fact, LA Weekly has dedicated a long article to Neko, and how she’s single-handedly bring the soul back to indie music. It does a much better job of discussing her distinctive voice and the impact she has on the music around her than I do, so if you’d like to learn more about her and get a free mp3 out of it, check out the story here.
