Neko Case is one of those artists that from first glance looks like she doesn’t give a fuck and has everything. She’s beautiful, her long thin legs stretch out tonight on the Bass Concert Hall stage in black leggings with white leg bones printed exactly where her own are under her skin. Her untamed, wild red hair is down and free. Her voice echos around the hall and the acoustics are perfect.

She seems perfect, yet all you have to do is listen to her to understand that she is like all of us, fragile, fighting to have the courage to be ourselves, to love and be loved. She said out to the audience more than once that she was nervous and working to get her rhythym. You couldn’t tell it though. That’s what makes her so incredible to watch and to listen to. You can feel universal struggle struggle that we all have in every one of her songs. Whether it’s an upbeat song like “I’m a Man” or a slower song like “Calling Cards”, she manages to make me feel like every song has a personal attachment.

The venue (not my favorite in Austin because they love rules for no reason and are very stuffy) was nice but it ate up the opener, Jennifer Castle, who just had an acoustic guitar and harmonica. I would like to see the Toronto based singer in a smaller venue. Her Joni Mitchell-like voice and folksy songs were just too slow and small for the large dark room.

I don’t have photos of the event because they threatened to kick you out if you took any. It didn’t stop the lady sitting next to me from using her flash and shooting video but whatever. Knowing my history, I would have been the one who got caught and I was with my rule-following man.

Check out Neko Case at the NPR Tiny Desk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwRcPEg1MyE