New Pornographers with Okkervil River at the Cannery Ballroom

For a Friday night, this one already had one strike against it. It was pouring rain like the monsoon season of some remote island country, and me without my umbrella. Then we arrived at the Cannery only to find out that Neko Case had dropped out of the tour due to a foot injury a day or so before the Nashville show. That was strike two.

Like a band with some place else to be, Okkervil River took the stage right at 9:00, and the big disappointment began. Will Sheff turned out to be one of the least engaging front men I've ever seen. It wasn't so much that he wasn't trying, but rather that he was trying too hard to convince me he was worth my attention. The thing is, I didn't need to be convinced, and all he succeeded in convincing me of was the exact opposite. His movements were unnatural and forced at best, and down right absurd at worst. At no point did I actually believe Will Sheff felt his own music.

Fortunately for Sheff, the rest of Okkervil River seemed to be more concerned with actually playing their instruments, but unfortunately for the audience, Sheff's antics only prevented his band from successfully supporting their singer. Their performance did manage to get better as it went on, but the damage had already been done. Sheff's overcompensations not only hurt the band's performance as a whole, but actually managed to change my opinions about Okkervil's 2007 album, The Stage Names. The best thing I can say about Okkervil's performance is that the unexpected support of guitarist Greg Whelan of the Wrens for the duration of Okkervil's half of the evening actually seemed to add strength and balance to the band's performance. Too bad it wasn't enough.

I can't explain how grateful I was when the New Pornographers took the stage. Here was a band with no misconceptions of their role as entertainers. A.C. Newman, wearing the shirt and beard he probably woke up in, led his band through song after song of nonstop, high-energy, indie rock. This was exactly what I came to see. As a matter of fact, the band performed brilliantly, even without Neko Case, and her presence was hardly missed. I mean, she wasn't there, and you certainly noticed that, but from the moment the band kicked off their first song, you suddenly didn't care. This certainly speaks volumes for Kathryn Calder, who more than filled the gaps left by Case's absence. Highlights included epic performances of "Electric Version," "Testament to Youth and Verse," "Twin Cinema," "Sing Me Spanish Techno," "Use It," "The Bleeding Heart Show," which many people will recognize as the song from the Phoenix University commercial, and an unexpected but well-received cover of "Don't Bring Me Down," which sounded EXACTLY like ELO's original studio recording.

There was certainly a suprising lack of material from the Pornographers' most recent album, Challengers, but that really didn't matter much. The band's energetic, no-nonsense performance more than made up for any complaints anyone might have had about the set list, as well as the poor weather and the lackluster performance of the night's openers, Okkervil River. No hard feelings, though. Near the end of the night, A.C. Newman admitted to enjoying Okkervil's presence and invited Sheff on stage for a brief collaborative effort. With The New Pornographers as his backing band, Sheff was actually slightly less irritating, but only slightly.

It was certainly a night of highs and lows, but for the most part it was money well spent. Especially considering the Cannery Ballroom is one the worst sounding venues in Nashville. Overall it was a good night. If you've got a chance to catch the last leg of this tour, do it. Maybe Okkervil will have their shit together when you see them. One can only hope.