. . .

Cincinnati Enquirer
December 19, 1995

by Larry Nager

OVER THE RHINE CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAY

The gracious spirit of Christmas mingled with the scent of buttered popcorn Saturday night, as Over the Rhine came home for its second Yuletide concert at the Emery Theater.

Other than a Halloween Ozzy Osbourne concert, it's hard to imagine a better match of holiday and band. In what should become a new local tradition, the genteel, old-time atmosphere of a Cincinnati Christmas perfectly harmonized with the graceful sound of OtR's postmodern, Victorian/Bohemian folk-rock.

OtR leader Linford Detweiler, sporting a red bow tie, greeted the generation-spanning crowd of 1,302 (74 short of a sell-out), telling them to settle in for "one long, slow ghost-train ride out of here."

Settle in they did, as OtR, surrounded by the homely glow of four living room lamps and a few strands of colored lights, seamlessly mixed songs from its three albums with new material and seasonal tunes.

Some of the latter were traditional carols done quite non-traditionally, as in singer Karin Bergquist's reinvention of "Silent Night". After the opening, "Lullabye," "Silent Night" helped set the evening's tone, as Bergquist freed the venerable carol from its usual funereal tread.

Then there was Detweiler's "Please Father Christmas," a catchy bit of pop-Yule that he joked was in the tradition of "such great bands as the Carpenters and Air Supply." But it's doubtful that either of them would have written a chorus that stated simply, "Please Father Christmas, bring us forgiveness."

While Bergquist's sinuous vocals and ethereal beauty command center stage and Detweiler's vintage aesthetic gives the group its philosophical core, the musical muscle of OtR is provided by drummer Brian Kelley and guitarist Ric Hordinski, the latter of whom shone on a masterful solo acoustic piece.

But while Kelley and Hordinski held together even the airiest tunes, they were just as adept at rocking out, giving, "Iron Curtain" enough power to fill an arena.

The shy Bergquist seemed a bit embarrassed after belting that one out, almost apologizing for her "temper tantrum." It OtR has any weakness, that's it, a tendency to be a bit too genteel, to hold passion at arm's length.

But when a band can perform so many different styles and maintain its own unique sound, that criticism's a bit like complaining that Christmas only comes once a year.