Overdue Recap: Crooked Fingers, Port O'Brien, Sarah Jaffe @ Casbah, 11.13.08

Last Thursday night, I decided to head to the Casbah and arrived early enough to see all the bands. Sarah Jaffe started the night off and had an incredible voice that ranged from sounding hard and with a heavy country tinge like Lucinda Williams all the way to a soft, sweet, haunting sound a la Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. She was great and had amazing range, and the standup electro-bass added just the right sount to her acoustic guitar. I could've done without the 3 drunks talking on the side of the stage, but she tolerated them.



Then, the reason I was at the show, Port O'Brien hit the stage. I cannot get enough of this band, and I was up front for the whole set, anticipating the audience participation for "I Woke Up To Day" which has become their signature way to end their sets, providing a box of pots, pans, and other cooking utensils for everyone to clang together. But it wasn't just the closing song that was great. The whole set, with their Alaskan fisherman themes are all gorgeous.

Port O'Brien "Stuck On A Boat"




Last was Crooked Fingers, and in spite of the drunks screaming for Archers of Loaf, Eric Bachmann and his band played a mostly quiet and delicate set of folky rock. I first saw Crooked Fingers a few years back at Belly Up, and though the band seemed completely different, the music still complemented the beautiful voice behind the music.



Admittedly, I missed the end of the set because Bob gathered a bunch of people at the back bar to toast Tim Mays' birthday, but the drunk Archers of Loaf fans were pleased that the encore included some Archers hits.

After the show, Jake and I joined everyone at the Turf Club to close out the night until the clock ticked 2 and I turned back into a pumpkin.