News and Record from Greensboro, North Carolina • 34

OR MOR ON WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE TRIAD VISIT GREENSBOROCOMGOTRIAD Neko Case performance is a chance to live in the moment BY GRANT BRITT Special to Go Triad She can break your heart while she's whippin' your butt and make you like it It's up close sleight of hand right in your face but done so cleverly it's nearly impossible to figure out Neko Case's career path from punk percussionist to twangy Patsy Cline Wanda Jackson hybrid to smooth pop chanteuse to up and coming arena worthy alt rock anthem icon doesn't follow any set patterns or music biz guidelines Case got her musical start playing drums for female pop punker trio Maow in the mid '90s sounding like a sassier version of the Go Gos But even though her voice was being heard her heart was elsewhere A friend in her hometown of TakomaWash had turned her on to gospel exposing her to Bessie Griffin and her Gospel Pearls A blend of Aretha ranklin gospel soul and Koko Taylor bombast sweet ened by a dash of Mahalia Jackson glory Griffin's voice and glorious uplifting message made Case realize that there was more to life and music than just rebel lion But she never attempted gospel as a career move turning lonesome ornery and mean instead with old school country on her '97 debut "The Virginian" as Neko Case and her Boyfriends Case hit up Wanda Jackson for some hardcore inspiration while covering Ernest Tubb's "Thanks a Lot" whooping it up with twangy rocka billy hiccupsob gusto Wanda izing Loretta Lynn's "Somebody Led Me Away" with coal miner's daughter diction and verve Her sophomore album "urnace Room Lullaby" was also coun try but this time it got an alt country label slapped chops a bit She tackles Aretha ranklin's "Running Out Of ools" sounding more like Patsy Cline than the Queen of soul The 2006 recording "ox Confessor Brings The lood" is Case's most in DC in 2010 Her photo on the cover of '02's "Blacklisted" shows her barefoot rolled up underneath a van full of household possessions amp lying in the street beside her She's still sound ing country but beginning to discover her chanteuse time religion seem to have been culled from clippings from News of the Weird The lyrics part aulkner part Stephen King are so arty one longs for footnotes to help decipher them The cover on the followup '09's "Middle Cyclone" is her most intimidating Case crouching atop the hood of a '70s muscle car sword in hand looking ready to take on all comers Case is a full blown crooner by now with blast furnace bombast her songwriting skills as power ful as her vocals 2013's "The Worse Things Get The Harder I ight The More I Love on it Case either wrote or co wrbte all the material saying of the title cut that she wanted to write a mur der ballad like the Louvin Brothers Case didn't agree with the alt country label saying in an interview shortly after the album came out that journalists were responsible for the alt sticker "1 sure didn't put it on there" she said calling 7 her music "just country" denouncing a description of her as a "honky tonk wolverine" that was cir culating at the time as "grossly inaccurate I'm just a singer" She also refused to be drawn into a debate about new country versus the acclaimed and most convo bld school variety Some luted work to date assumed that like various Case's stark tales of heart and sundry would be rebels break madness and old who declared their coun try to be of the alternative persuasion she would be at war with Nashville's atti tude on what was trendy in their circles "They don't vex my existence" Case said 1 don't have a problem with I Nashville I just like to play country music" It also was the first in a series of unusual stark album covers with a leath er jacket clad Case sprawled awkwardly on the concrete looking like a homicide victim with her red hair spread out around her like a pool of congealing blood Case does her own artwork and exhibited her pho tos taken to "remember You" was a healing exercise for Case who had recently lost her beloved grand mother and both parents retreating to her farm in Vermont suffering from COURTESY NEKO CASE Neko Case will perform Jan 23 at The Carolina Theatre the places I was traveling through that I never really got to know" for National Geographic Live's "Music On Photography" exhibit acute depression Therapy and music in the form of ragtime jazz helped heal her Cage pays homage to that genre in "Ragtime" revealing that "Ragtime turning out the sun and moon it winds me in a sleep cocoon Want to go? What: Neko Case in concert When: 8 pm Jan 23 Where: Carolina Theatre 310 Greene St Greensboro Tickets: $2750 $3750 at the box office by phone at 336 333 2605 or online at carolina theatrecom Information: Carolina theatrecom or nekocasecom It says 'Don't you worry kid We'll see you when you're ready'" Her latest 2016's "case langveirs" is a collabora tion with kd lang and Laura Viers featuring lush arrangements and family style harmony But for those attending her live shows Case does come with a warning label When she announces that no audio or video record ing is allowed she means it and has cut a show short when an audience member wouldn't stop filming It's OK to revel in her aural and visual glory but if you need more tangible takeaways hit the merchandise table on your way out or a Neko Case perfor mance you're requested to live solely in the moment Contact Grant Britt at gbrittl triadrrcom co IN CO 10 3 to reu IA fat 3 7 13 I.