ok, i'm spoiled

Yup, Hi-Dive & Larimer Lounge, you have spoiled me. Tonight I realized the following:

• I always forget how big the Gothic Theatre is - 800 capacity
• The last time I was actually AT the Gothic was for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah almost 6 months ago, to the day
• I so so so prefer venues like Hi-Dive and Larimer Lounge, which hold around 200 people, to the bigger theaters...

Why? Well, mostly because of my aversion to waiting. I hate getting to shows early and having to wait around. I can show up to the Hi-Dive and Larimer Lounge in the middle of the second opener and still get a spot right near the stage. But on nights like tonight, where I leave home at 9:00 for a sold out Neko Case show... Let's just say my evening didn't exactly get off to a banner start. Firstly, I didn't even want to go out. I'm tired. Tonight was #1 of a string of 5 shows in 6 days. And the ONE day I have off is Easter, which I get to spend with the family. I had to drive all the way to the Gothic in south Denver (I live in north Denver) and I just wasn't feeling up to being out late. My 2007 New Year's Resolution, though, is to NOT miss shows that I buy tickets for. So far I've only missed two - Sebadoh (in favor of some serious St. Patty's Day celebration) and Badly Drawn Boy (in favor of a serious St. Patty's Day hangover). On top of that, I missed out on Neko last summer because I was sick, so I was certainly determined to see her tonight.

I arrived at the theater for opener Jon Rauhouse's last song. I did want to see him, but hell I was already cranky, so whatever. I ventured down to the floor in front of the stage, but it was packed, so I decided on the balcony. On my way up the stairs, someone actually dropped a fucking drink over the edge, it landed on the stair right in front of me and splashed all over my clothes. Fabulous... not only was I already crabby, but now I had wet jeans and reeked of gin & tonic. It was about this point where I realized that I needed a drink. So I went to the balcony bar and was seemingly ignored for quite some time before I finally got a whiskey & ginger ale. And oh yeah, the guy outside the theater gave me a fucking "drinking age verified" wristband without even checking my id!!! Talk about making you feel old...

Well, finally. I managed to find a spot where I could see the stage and caught the last part of the overhead cartoon show that took place while the stage was being set up for Neko. Sadly, I missed most of it waiting at the bar, but I did manage to catch a couple of slides: "Hey dad, after we're done cleaning, let's make quiche!"; "Stanley spends Super Bowl Sunday sewing slacks"; "Stay tuned for Neko!". It was actually pretty cute. Unfortunately, Neko didn't even take the stage for another 15 minutes. I started kinda wishing that I HAD stayed home.

However, once Neko appeared, I realized that being in her presence, even at about 100 yards away, is still pretty fucking amazing, and the evening immediately improved with what developed into an incredible show. I came to the conclusion that I have a serious thing for red-headed women... between Neko & Jenny Lewis, I could damn will switch to the other team... :)

First, the setlist:

A Widow's Toast
Things That Scare Me
That Teenage Feeling
The Tigers Have Spoken
Lady Pilot
Maybe Sparrow
Dirty Knife
Tightly
If You Knew
Buckets Of Rain
Deep Red Bells
I Wish I Was The Moon
Set Out Running (oh I got chills at the end of this song, indeed)
Train From Kansas City
Hold On, Hold On
Star Witness
-encore-
Look For Me (I'll Be Around)
Favorite (I think my favorite Neko song. ever.)
Knock Loud

And I got my notes mixed up... at some point she played Margaret vs. Pauline, but I can't remember where... oops.

Lots of great Neko banter tonight... Before Tightly she stated that they don't normally do the song, but she was feeling sensitive today. "Hold me Denver!". At one point she asked if anyone had moved here recently and if so, did the altitude make you weepy? I'm a Denver native, and while it's widely known that the alititude makes it hard to breathe, I've never heard of it making people weepy. Apparently it does Neko, though... she also talked about watching the Aqua Teen Hunger Force earlier today and feeling bad that they are so mean to the milkshake. The milkshake that she has a crush on, by the way.