FotoFlexer_NekoWhile indie rock is mostly the territory for hirsute flannel slobs with sad stories to sell, occasionally a woman with a large vocabulary and a quiver of metaphors takes the stage. To wit, Our Secret Society saw Neko Case on Friday at a Spinal Tap like setting – a water park/ amphitheater with plenty of mud ponds more suitable to hippos than hippies. Even though the gestapo banned cameras from crowd, Etouffe was able to capture this photo from his iphone.

I don’t know if the setting contributed to the morose atmosphere, but the show was, at best, perfunctory. Neko and the band did their best to play most of the songs from her past 2 CDs without adding any twist or turns, even when singing about a tornado in love with a train. Kelly Hogan, god bless her spunk, added plenty of cornpone asides between songs, but even those seemed forced. It was if everyone on stage were looking at their watches. Now I would pay to hear Neko read the phone book, (honestly), but if I’m going sweat in a mud hut like a third worlder I’d like some extra effort entertainment. Neko Case is the Robert Frost of our generation, dammit, I expect more.

Opening act Jason Lytle obviously is trying to distance himself from his Grandaddy days. The only reminder of his “glory” days was the ubiquitous trucker hat. Most disappointing, Etouffe almost convinced me to get a picture with the guy at the merch table cause he had a baseball hat on.

FotoFlexer_TracyAnneSpeaking of women we love who make great records, Tracyanne Campbell and her band of not-so-merry Glaswegians, Camera Obscura have released “My Maudlin Career.” It’s taken me 5 listens to really like it because I’m used to instantly loving their twee pop. Since original member, John Henderson, left the band it has been the Tracyanne show. Which is certainly wonderful, but I miss the multi vocals. Of course, what separates C.O. from most other bands is that they list their favorite poems on their band profiles. Take that, Motley Crue!

French Navy, anyone?