Noah And The Whale Fall Tour feat Nikki Lane – REVIEW

Noah and The Whale’s fall tour brought them not for one, but two sold out shows in Chicago at Lincoln Hall. With them also came, Nikki Lane. You can check out our review after the break!

After wowing an early afternoon crowd at Lollapalooza in August, Noah & The Wale were sure to be one of the more highly anticipated fall shows.  When the first show at Lincoln Hall sold out right away, a second show was added that also ended selling out as well.   The five piece from London took their name from the movie The Squid and the Whale, directed by Noah Baumbach, and their songs are heavily influenced in that they are stories that one could vividly visualize when looking at the lyrics.  The band’s sound has evolved from the more straightforward folk of  their debut album Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down to chamber pop on the masterful The First Days of Spring, and onto the breezy, upbeat pop-rock of their most recent album Last Night On Earth.

Striding out to the front of the stage in three piece suits, the band looked confident and comfortable in the role of headliners.  With a great setlist mixing in all of their hits and assorted other songs from all three of their albums, fans were in for a special night.

Opener Give A Little Love set the tone for the night.  Once lead singer Charlie Fink started the chorus “If you give a little love you could get a little love of your own,” fans were pitching in on back ground vocals.  The soaring fiddle added just enough to turn the song in to something special.

The lead song from the most recent album, Life Is Life, is one of the most upbeat songs the band has done.  It’s stuttering electro drum beat and synth line had the whole crowd dancing and singing along.  Give It All Back kept the crowd going.  The song is about moving on from growing up in the suburbs and making it in the big city through the power of music.

Rocks and Daggers was a very folk sounding song, with the fiddle again playing an important role. As the song drew to a rollicking close there were many people in the crowd dancing as if at a hoe down.

Fink introduced the next section of the set as ,”the romantic section.”   The band played the down tempo songs The Line and Our Window.  Upon conclusion of the songs, Fink said,” The songs were in fact not romantic but miserable.  Up next there is no smoke and mirrors, it is the fun part of the set.    This next song is called Tonight’s The Kind of Night.”  This drew huge cheers from the audience.  The hopeful chorus of, “Tonight’s the kind of night where everything could change,”  is the kind of hope that was absent from their first two albums.

Set closers Waiting For My Chance To Come and L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. brought the night to a close and the crowd was very loud in cheering for an encore.

Once the band came back out they played Old Joy and The First Days of Spring.  The First Days of Spring is a slow builder of a song, and as all the instruments kicked in the lights went down and the disco ball lit up as the song built to a final crescendo.  The band quickly turned and walked offstage as the key loop and feedback reverberated through the room leaving the crowd content with the incredible show they had witnessed.

Opener Nikki Lane from Nashville fits comfortably in to the country western/alt-country family.  Her set was very good, especially considering her hastily assembled band.  Their drummer was recruited just days before the tour, but the band managed to sound like they have been playing together for a long time.  Lane’s sultry, smoky voice is reminiscent of Caitlin Cary, of Ryan Adam’s original band Whiskeytown.

Playing songs from her EP Gone, Gone, Gone and new full length album Walk of Shame, Lane wowed the small but enthusiastic crowd with her great voice.

Opener Blue Sky Lament was a slow ballad with Lane’s vocals at the forefront.  Walk Of Shame, about a one night stand from the woman’s point of view was sped up country rock with very clever lyrics and vivid imagery about what went on during the one night stand.  Coming Home To You was Lane’s story of the troubles of life on tour and being away from the one you love.

Set closer Gone, Gone, Gone left the growing crowd excited and wanting more.  Unfortunately Lane’s set time was cut from 45 minutes to just 30 minutes.

The exquisite story telling on these songs leaves the sky as the limit for Lane.  Between the beautiful voice, great storyteller lyrics and good looks Nikki Lane is definitely a name to remember.

Information about the review…
Tour: Noah And The Whale Fall Tour feat Nikki Lane
Bands: Noah And The Whale and Nikki Lane
Date: November 12, 2011
Venue: Lincoln Hall in Chicago, IL