Concert review: Over the Rhine steals the show Friday, August 10, 2007
Nothing against Dar Williams, but Robert Randolph is a tough act to follow.
Exactly one week after Randolph and his Family Band delivered the loudest and liveliest concert of the summer at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Williams presented perhaps the quietest and most understated performance, co-headlining Thursday night's show with Over the Rhine.
It didn't help that a light rain started to spit from the clouds just before she took the stage, or that Williams made the trip from New York without a backing band or any of the guest vocalists that gave her last album, "My Better Self," an arresting power.
Against this backdrop, the pleasant folk-pop singer-songwriter brandishing only an acoustic guitar faced the formidable task of winning over the intimate crowd of about 1,050.
That she departed an hour or so later -- after nary a drop of rain had fallen during her set -- to a standing ovation from many in the amphitheater is testimony to her witty stage banter and keen renditions of well-constructed songs about life's truisms and travails.
But it was the husband-and-wife duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist, aka Over the Rhine, that stole the show after Williams left the stage. They came closest to matching the charisma of Randolph's Aug. 2 soul-rock concert. (Williams went on first Thursday because she didn't have a backing band, according to concert promoter Chris Mautz.)
With a healthy assist from bassist/guitarist Jake Bradley and drummer Mickey Graham, Over the Rhine upped the sizzle quotient immediately with a sexy, jazzy cover of "Fever," followed by a lush rendition of one of their own tunes, "Born."
Clearly, this group -- far more dynamic and mature than the last time I saw them -- seems poised to take a major step forward as purveyors of an infectious form of folk-pop/alt-rock, led by Bergquist's impassioned, oh-so-sultry vocals.
The duo already has cultivated a loyal West Michigan audience over the years, having performed regularly in Calvin College's annual concert series. They'll return again for a concert on Calvin's campus in December.
On Thursday, a few weeks away from mounting a tour to promote their new album, "The Trumpet Child," to be released Aug. 21, they unfurled a diverse range of songs, from the cabaret-like "Nothing is Innocent" to the harmony-laden country ditty, "If a Song Could Be President."
Whether focusing on material from the new CD or mining gems from their 16-year catalog of intelligent, pretty tunes ("Little Genius," "Ohio," "B.P.D."), Detweiler and Bergquist were engaging, compelling and, well, visually fetching ... even if the suit-bedecked Detweiler played his piano in bare feet after forgetting his boots at the hotel.
"This is such a beautiful place to be. We're just pinching ourselves," Bergquist gushed at one point, then quipped, "Makes me want to shop at Meijer for all my needs."
Speaking of needs, Bergquist's seductive delivery of one new song included the line, "I don't wanna waste your time with music you don't need."
None of Over the Rhine's music was a waste of time Thursday: The band might even have made this the Gardens' most pleasant surprise of the summer.
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