Take Me To The River

In my last blog, I mentioned how it had been a year since I had last blogged. That was in May 2007. I became disinterested in writing these things for a multitude of reasons, mainly because it just felt somewhat futile. We’ll leave it at that in the interest of brevity. However, after seeing Okkervil River perform at Les Saints this evening, I knew that this particular show would mark a (perhaps temporary) return to blogging.

“So why is Jon returning to blogging now?” you’re asking. That, or “why does Jon continue to pump this tripe out for no money whatsoever?”. It’s one of the two. There’s a simple answer if you were asking the first question. If you asked the latter to yourself, shame on you. This was just one of those shows that as a fan of rock and roll, just frankly inspires you to go home and write about what was just witnessed and what it meant to you personally. The challenge for me is to keep it brief.

I’ve actually seen a ton of good music since that the last time I chose to blog: Wilco at Massey Hall in Toronto, Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Gogol Bordello in New York City on New Year’s Eve, The New Pornographers, The National (who I think are the preeminent overrated band of this decade), Lee “Scratch” Perry, Alejandro Escovedo, Radiohead, Oasis, and I’m sure a few have slipped through the cracks. As good as any of these were (Ryan Adams & The New Pornos in particular), none of them made me say to myself “go home, sit in front of your laptop and get all those opinions, thoughts and feelings onto jonselig.blogspot.com! So, with that said, here I am at 1:45am writing about that show I saw tonight, because it was just THAT inspiring a thing.

I discovered Okkervil River in late 2007 when a couple of bloggers I check out often enough couldn’t stop gushing over their 2005 release “Black Sheep Boy”. It was described as “you need to own this CD”, which is a very different statement from “I enjoyed this CD”. So, on a trip to Boston, I picked up “Black Sheep Boy (with a 2nd disc included that was an “Appendix”), along with 2007’s “The Stage Names”. No sense in reviewing those two selections here, but let’s just say that almost a year later, both these discs are still in my regular play rotation, along with their very recent release, “The Stand-Ins”. I was extremely disappointed this past spring, when they toured with the New Pornographers and chose to bypass Montreal. Needless to say, when I heard they were coming to town, I did not sit on my ass when it came to getting a ticket for this one; I was all over it like Jack Layton on a microphone.

Okkervil River is a hard band for me to describe when people ask me to describe them (which only happens when I mention their name). There’s nothing overtly different about them, but they are very unique to me at the same time, simply because their songs are damn powerful and compelling. Maybe that’s another reason why I’m making my return to the blogosphere; I want to take the time to properly describe their sound to the masses (or to the three of you who are actually reading this….).

Musically, there’s really quite a bit there. At the heart of it all is an intense, somewhat-snarling dude with an acoustic guitar. Will Sheff is a pretty darn intense songwriter and performer. Did I mention that he’s intense? If I didn’t, please take note. His most memorable songs (and there are many), can be described as angst-ridden anthems. There are no shortage of hooks, memorable lyrics, punchy choruses, and “it” moments in his songs. Surrounding Sheff is a six-piece ensemble that includes several multi-instrumentalists, and an unconventional drummer who knows every lyric to every song (and yet for some reason, doesn’t have a microphone in front of him). Other than Sheff’s acoustic (and the bass & drums), one can see and hear electric guitars, mandolins, keys, trumpets, accordions, percussion, and violins. A few artists that can be found buried within the Okkervil sound: Wilco, Nick Drake, Johnny Cash, Old 97’s The Clash, The Smiths and I STILL don’t even know who else. It’s melodic, American-style rock-roots music, with a punkish edge, loads of angry, angst-y lyrics & vocals, and an absurd hook-y/catchy goodness. Some of it can be downright dark, disturbing and depressing. And no, that use of alliteration in my last sentence was not intentional. I’m not one to really pay too much attention lyrics, but at some point, I will have to sit down with this band’s liner notes to really try and dig into what it is they’re singing about. I know it’s not typical pop fare. Sheff likes to use his songs as vehicles to demonstrate his broad vocabulary. They use some, uh, really, uh…. big….words in their songs!

Sheff has this outright weird look in his eyes – like “Stand back! Don’t mess with me, you sheepish hipsters (who comprise the bulk of my visible fanbase)!!! I have an acoustic guitar in my hands, and am NOT afraid to use it!!!!!!”. He looks like he’s had 8 cups of coffee, a few shots of bad tequila, little to no sleep, and just rolled out of bed after being awoken at 8am by his own annoying doorbell after going to bed three hours earlier. He’s unshaven, unkempt, and he & the band choose to perform in buttoned-down shirts, worn-out suits, and loosened-around-the-neck skinny neckties. I don’t know how they perform such an intense (there’s that word again) show dressed this way. It must get pretty hot. It must be said, however, that the fact that Sheff looks out of his mind more often than not is, in my mind, the mark of a great performer. He sings with a sense of urgency, a bit of panic, and emotion. Moreover, they have oh, so many of those “it” moments which as a rock fan, you begin to anticipate the very moment you hear the opening chords to whichever powerful tune they’re playing.

There’s no point in running through the setlist. The bulk of it was from the aforementioned last three albums. All of it kicked ass. A few highlights for me included “Black”, “John Allyn Smith Sails”, “All the Latest Toughs”, “For Real”, and “Unless It’s Kicks”. This band was a well-oiled machine from the first notes, taking very little time in between songs. It was all pretty seemless, punchy, and the crowd was loving all of it.

While at the center of it all, Sheff does his best to ensure that the show isn’t all about him. He makes it a point to shine a spotlight on his bandmates and what they do for the band. He moves around the stage to rock out alongside each bandmate, and shows them all some love in some way over the course of the evening.

Lastly, it needs to be said that the right crowd usually contributes to a great show. I’ve been to shows where the artist is putting forth a gorgeous acoustic number, and there’s always some yahoo hooting at some point during the song, ruining it for the rest of us who just want to listen to the delicacy of it all. When Sheff did one of his morose, quiet acoustic numbers, the crowd didn’t utter a peep, and we were able to hear every note and strain in his voice. Thank you Montreal Okkervil River fans, thank you.

Don’t miss this band next time they’re in your town, even if you don’t know their stuff. However, if you do choose to invest time and or dollars into their music, you’ll more likely than not be bragging to a friend about some band you just discovered all on your own.

And with that, ladies and gentleman, is the conclusion of my un-retirement. I must say that it’s been satisfying. I may have to do this more often.