On Friday night I went with my friends D and A to St. Johnsbury to see Neko Case. I had been so busy in the runup that I hadn't really had much time to actually look forward to it at all, so I didn't get really excited about it until we got there.
Having been nominated for two Gr@mmy awards this year, you might wonder just why a woman would play a smallish school auditorium in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Turns out that this is Neko's home turf, and she has returned as a resident to the Green Mountain State. This show was a benefit for the local arts community.

The room was lovely, but you could tell they weren't used to hosting quite so many people. First, the merch table was set up basically right in front of the entrance, making it near impossible to get in or out of the building. Of course my first thought was about how the hell we'd get out if there were a fire. Also, it felt like the place already was on fire, because they had the heat set somewhere near a thousand degrees. Since everyone was dressed for the weather, we were all basically schvitzing from the moment we took our seats. I was thankful that I had layered in such a way that I could get down to a t-shirt, and jealous that A had worn a tank top. I seriously can't imagine what they were thinking. On top of the heat, there were absolutely no refreshments to be had. And again, I'm thinking to myself "Who the hell planned this?" Surely they could have sold a thousand bottles of water at a few dollars a pop in that temperature. No such luck. I found out that there was a water fountain, and during the intermission (I won't go into detail about the opening act since I didn't really like it) A and I made our way down a narrow flight of stairs to the long line that eventually would lead to the ladies' room. The ladies room had two stalls, of course, and the water fountain was inside. The men also had two stalls, but being men their line was moving a lot faster. Also, their water fountain was outside the actual bathroom. After standing too long in a virtually unmoving line, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. I had seen another woman follow her boyfriend into the men's room, so I waited for him to come out and followed her lead. I was careful to put the seat back up when I was done, and the men that were in line when I came out didn't seem too upset. I got a drink at their water fountain and was back in my seat before Neko came on. The same could not be said for the ten women in front of me in line at the ladies'.
I was surprised and incredibly pleased to find that the lovely and talented (and hilarious) Kelly Hogan was along on this tour. And if only I could remember his name I would also credit the very talented Canadian guitar player they had in tow. There was a very casual vibe, with lots of talking between songs. Kelly Hogan could easily have a career in standup if she ever decided to quit singing. I sometimes forget how much I miss people with my sense of humor. In any case, the show was brilliant, and I didn't pass out. When everybody stood up to applaud for an encore, I looked rather desperately over and said loudly to no one in particular
"Somebody open that fucking window!"
And lo and behold, somebody did. Thank you, bearded stranger, for saving if not my life, then surely my dignity. I seriously felt like I was going to pass out. I would also note that nobody complained, even though it was very cold outside and there were at least three or four songs in the encore.
I have known for a long time that I would like Neko Case, and for whatever reason I haven't gotten around to listening, but now I'm definitely going to fix that.