She is one of the most petulant artists I have ever seen live. She whines non-stop about pretty much anything there is to complain about, she gets extremely pissy with hecklers - even if they are just yelling out requests. I've seen her solo twice and with the NPs twice and all four times were the same. She was drunk, she rattled on and on in between songs mostly about how tired, drunk, exhausted, really drunk, or hot she was. I have heard many horror stories of her delaying shows, cutting them short, yelling in fans' faces, etc.

I'm all for drunk and disorderly rock stars. Just make it entertaining.

She kind of dissed Lawrence the last time I saw her perform solo there as well - and in my book nobody recovers from that.

So, I love her records and continue to buy them. But I'm never paying to see her live again.

Actually, I may have been thinking of that one when I put down "Thrice All American" above

I looove this song. I love how proud she is of where she is from and the little kind of prayer at the end that Tacoma stays seedy and ungentrified forever.

That's too bad. I was thinking she'd be the kind of artist who had a lot of great energy in concert.

She kind of dissed Lawrence the last time I saw her perform solo there as well

I thought that was a Cardinal Rule of playing live shows -- never diss the place where you're playing, at least if you ever want to come back there again!

never diss the place where you're playing, at least if you ever want to come back there again!

Yeah. It was 110 degrees that day and she had requested the bar be non-smoking for her show (first time I'd ever seen that, though Lawrence did pass a smoking ban about six years later). It was about 90 degrees inside that bar. Your beer got warm the second you touched it. Everyone is jonesing for nicotine, and she is up there complaining about how hot she is, how warm her beer is, that the tambourine is giving her blisters. And then she is like - at least I got them to make the bar non-smoking. How is it that Kansas is so backward that they haven't banned smoking in bars yet?

People just started streaming out.

I may need to let go of some of my Neko Case anger...

Thanks tina and kate. That is too bad about her live shows.

For a counterpoint, here's my friend's account of a Neko Case concert. He's a huge Neko Case fan, and it looks like she put on a good show for him, at least. Maybe he left out the annoying drunk bits and concentrated on appreciating the music instead.

and then I've also got her covering "Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis", which is fabulous.

I'll be posting this shortly. It's on my Tom Waits Covers list.

Just got back from LA for Kim Cooper's wedding, which was beautiful and fun and filled wall to wall with Angelino hipsters.

It was 110 degrees in the central valley as we drove back on I-5 today.

On-Topic: We listened to Nat King Cole's great After Midnight CD on the way home (back to a small jazz combo with Ellington sidemen like Stuff Smith and Sweets Edison). Also Impala's Square Jungle (red hot instros: surf /rockabilly / sax), No Roses by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band (as AMG notes, sort of like Shirley Collins backed by Fairport) and Kate Bush's The Kick Inside.

Also some of JZ's folkie music including Greg Brown.

She is one of the most petulant artists I have ever seen live.

I saw the New Pornographers once and she was so offputting. She looked like she'd rather have been anywhere but there. No energy whatsoever. GF and I were not impressed.

Hecubus, sir, thank you for the Tom Waits covers.

You're welcome! Let's do some more. I had intended to do them all in a bunch, so I'll try to catch up a bit.

Tom Waits Covers 3

Country ballads

Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis - Neko Case. Actually Neko's vocal is the most country part of the song, as it's mostly played on organ. One of Tom's best short-story-in-a-song productions. Beautifully sung, beautifully detailed writing.

Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again - Nora O'Connor. Thanks to Kate P. for this excellent version. Early Tom is a favorite to cover - probably because the melodies are so accessible and they've got an easy country /folkie flavor to them.

Tom Waits Covers 4

Blues Groove

Downtown - Alex Chilton. The original is on Heartattack and Vine and Alex really knows his way around a shuffle like this. He's an excellent match for Tom's material, even though his voice is much lighter. (These days, anyway. Back with the Box Tops they had him singing in a more Waitsian register.) Just a great feel and vibe to this. From the Step Right Up compilation.

Get Behind the Mule - John Hammond Jr. Hammond is a white guy blues singer who started back in the 60s. Tom produced an entire album of Hammond doing Waits covers, and the arrangement and production offer interesting contrasts with Tom's originals. They've got a similar groove, but are just a wee bit more conventional/commercial in their sound and instrumentation. This song's so hypnotic you could just put it on a loop and listen to it for hours.

Tom Waits Covers 5

Front Porch Breezy Melancholy

Mockin' Bird - tindersticks. An early, befuddled-by-the-vagaries-of-romance, song. Tindersticks underplay it perfectly.

Blue Skies - Floyd Dixon. Veteran R&B/Blues singer Floyd Dixon eases into it. Lazy jazz piano and a sweet, soulful vocal. Has sort of a "What a Wonderful World" vibe, but lyrically goes off in a different direction.