Neko Case announced socially distanced New England shows
Neko Case has announced a pair of socially distanced concerts in New England. The first happens on Tuesday, October 13 at South Farms in Morris, CT (not far from NYC, and the same venue Dinosaur Jr performed at earlier this month). It’s part of a series of outdoor “Twilight Concerts on the Farm,” put on by Manic Presents, and they have a full regimen of COVID-19 safety guidelines:
Safety is our top priority. Each show will comply with the most current health and safety standards per state regulations and local jurisdictions in order to protect guests, artists, crew and staff. Face masks are mandatory when entering, exiting, and traveling throughout the venue to restrooms or concession areas. Masks are not required while in Guest Grid, however in accordance with Executive Order No. 7NNN: “Effective immediately, any person in a public place in Connecticut, whether indoors or outdoors, who does not maintain a safe social distance of approximately six feet from every other person shall cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth face-covering.” Hand sanitizing stations will be dispersed throughout the venue. High-touch areas such as door handles, counter surfaces will be regularly and consistently disinfected throughout the show. Restrooms will be cleaned and restocked regularly throughout the show. Everyone entering the venue, including guests, artists, crew and staff will be health checked including a temperature check and short questionnaire. Masks and gloves will be available upon request. Per State order the venue has a reduced capacity of 25% – making tickets extremely limited.
Read more about their safety protocol on their FAQ.
After South Farms, Neko heads to Essex Junction, VT for a drive-in show on Thursday, October 15 at Midway Lawn at Champlain Valley Expo. Here are their general guidelines for attendees:
• If you are sick, running a fever or have been exposed to COVID-19, please stay home until you are healthy.
• For the safety of yourself and others, please only attend this event with people in your immediate quarantine circle.
• Please maintain 6 feet of social distance between yourself and those outside of your immediate quarantine circle at all times.
• Please wear a mask anytime you are outside of your parking area, including visiting restrooms/concessions.
• At the conclusion of the show, please drive slowly and follow all directions. Event staff will be onsite to facilitate exiting.
Tickets to the Morris, CT and Essex Junction, VT shows are on sale now.
UPDATE: Lady Lamb has been added as an opener to both shows.
UPDATE 2: Neko’s fellow New Pornographer, Carl Newman, is also joining her at both shows.
Meanwhile, Neko’s sophomore album, 2000’s Furnace Room Lullaby, has just been reissued on limited edition turquoise vinyl, in partnership with Record Store Day, for its 20th anniversary.
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Must-Hear Folk Albums of 2020 So Far
Bill Callahan – Gold Record
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Reunions
Arlo Mckinley – Die Midwestern
Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways
Neil Young – Homegrown
In a 1975 Rolling Stone interview, Neil called his long-shelved-and-now-finally-released album Homegrown "the darker side to Harvest." With more hindsight, he called it "the missing link between Harvest, Comes a Time, Old Ways and Harvest Moon" in Jimmy McDonough's 2002 Neil Young biography Shakey. Those albums are all on Neil's folkier, more acoustic side, and Homegrown is indeed cut from that cloth. As soon as you hear the opening of "Separate Ways," you're transported right back to the warmth of the Harvest era. It's of the same proto-slowcore variety of that album's opener "Out On the Weekend," but even more haunting and melancholic. Just 30 seconds in, and Homegrown already lives up to the description Neil gave Cameron Crowe of it 45 years ago.
That same mood carries over into second track "Try," which -- like "Separate Ways" -- features The Band's Levon Helm on drums, and Levon really managed to capture the bare-bones, slow-paced drumming style that these types of quietly revolutionary Neil Young songs always demanded. "Try" is also one of two songs on Homegrown with backing vocals by Emmylou Harris (the other being "Star of Bethlehem"), and her soaring voice makes for a truly lovely contrast with Neil's more somber delivery. And as melancholic as those songs are, they've got nothing on the melancholy of the entirely-solo cuts "Mexico" (voice and piano) and "Kansas" (voice, acoustic guitar, and harmonica), or on "White Line," which features Neil, his acoustic, and his harmonica joined only by some lead guitar by The Band's Robbie Robertson. It's on those breathtaking songs where you can really hear why Neil -- coming right off the release of On The Beach -- might have felt like he was digging himself into a hole of dour, depressive music. But all these years later -- now that Neil has cemented his legacy over and over again and proven to be an artist who can evolve and adapt with the times without losing his own uniqueness -- those songs feel like buried treasure, especially for fans who gravitate towards his most hushed material. Full review here.