First off Ill start with one of the surprises of the show. The first, and opening band Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears was actually a very strong band. They gave off a very bluesy kind of soul sound with Joe Lewis just shouting out lines of comedy and seriousness. It was just about a full band with brass, guitar, and keys they really did a good job and deserve some recognition for trying to revive some blues in today's world. Also Crooked Fingers played I'll go with a solid eh on that one.
Now for the star of the show what everyone came for (pretty big crowd at smalls largest I've seen there) Okkervil River. The lead singer Scheff added funny comments here and there and seemed to really know how to work a crowd and his band helped him with this as well. He gave off a very proffesional but solid stage presence which isn't usually too common with lesser known bands like Okkervil. They really did a damn good job of playing a variety of songs for Stand Ins, Our Life, Black Sheep Boy, and Appendix which surprised me, even though I was a bit dissapointed to not hear any of the older material. The singing was spot on just as well as the instrumentation and really they played for a long time from about 10:25 till about midnight. The atmosphere was great with everyone clapping along to songs and just dancing with the music and yelling out comments to the band. They really owned the crowd and played a strong show. Easily one of the most unique bands it was quite a treat to see them play and I can only hope to see them again. So if Okkervil is making an appearance in your town I'd suggest checking it out I can say I'd be surprised if it was to dissapoint.
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