I'm pretty jonesed about seeing Okkervil River (NMT) at the 9:30 Club here in D.C. on Monday evening. I saw them there previously on the I Am Very Far (NMT) Tour and was impressed (see your blogger's photo above). Now, I went in with low expectations. I was sure Will Sheff would load the set with slow, obtuse selections that would take the crowd out of play. I was wrong. They opened with just the sort of uptempo, engaging material I would have suggested, and had a good balance between new and old stuff, as well as loud and quiet. Sheff's mid-set solo, acoustic version of "A Stone" was among the highlights (watch on the linked video how just changing chords without strumming provides just enough instrumentation), as was the expectedly brash final encore "Unless It's Kicks."
My expectations are now raised, but I have far too many standout numbers I'd want to hear in a normal set with an opening band (iTunes tells me it's 1.9 hours without breaks). Nonetheless, he's what setlist I'd prefer in an ideal world. I'll post the actual setlist in the comments after the show. If you're in town Monday night, hope to see you there!
On A Balcony ->
Pop Lie ->
White Shadow Waltz
Blanket and Crib ->
A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene
Stay Young ->
The Latest Toughs
It Was My Season
Lost Coastlines
Wake and Be Fine
(mini-acoustic set)
Black Sheep Boy ->
Okkervil River Song
The President's Dead
Where The Spirit Left Us
Calling And Not Calling My Ex
Song About a Star
No Key, No Plan
Rider
All The Time, Every Day
Black
Westfall
Singer Songwriter
Down Down The Deep River
Unless It's Kicks
-- --
John Allyn Smith Sails
Lido Pier Suicide Car
--
Savannah Smiles
Last Love Song for Now
As promised, here's the actual setlist. I posted it to setlist.fm this morning: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/okkervil-river/2013/930-club-washington-dc-1bc78900.html
ReplyDeleteSome comments:
- I was close on "On A Balcony" near the top of the set. "It Was My Season" is both the leadoff track on the new record and sets the theme for the album, so not a bad choice. I prefer something with a little more oomph, though.
-After "It Was My Season," the following four selections were all power, much like their previous show at the 9:30
-My guess of "Where The Spirit Left Us" following a short acoustic/slow set was pretty much spot-on
-I didn't particularly care for "Walking Without Frankie" as the first encore. It's new, strange and loud, not a great encore pick, but they did blend it well into "A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene"
-The only selection from The Stand Ins was "Lost Coastlines," which is a shame. One of "Pop Lie," "Singer Songwriter" and "Calling and Not Calling My Ex" should have been included
-"Unless It's Kicks" is sonic cocaine, and it works fine as the very last song of the night
-I'd really like to hear "The President's Dead" sometime; maybe it's just too ominous to risk playing in DC...