The Sala Rossa feels like a second home these days and this weekend I shared my second home with Damien Jurado and Okkervil River. I heard Dukes of the Archipelago were there too, but I only got to see them leave. Damien Jurado’s opening performance was breathtaking. His songs tell sad stories. So sad that my girlfriend was almost in tears. I was blown away. ryantheduke had this to say (which is far more articulate than what I’m saying)……

Back in the Napster days, when I was downloading at 4.8kbps, I was focused more on individual songs than on albums. I would get obsessed with many songs, many that would now make me cringe, but some that had a real long lasting appeal. “Ohio” by Damien Jurado fits in here. I’ll say with no doubt, that this is one of my favourite songs out there. The lyrics are simple and the delivery very sincere. A combination that reminds me of a young Dylan performing “Moonshiner”. I was excited as hell when I saw that Damien Jurado was opening for Okkervil River. I picked up a record of his a while back, but for the most part, “Ohio” was the only thing I knew. Luckily, we got to hear a stunning version of the song last night as well as a number of other great folk songs.

Okkervil River took the stage around 11PM. Between them and their many instruments, there was just enough room for Will Sheff to shake and dance the emotion out of his body and feed it to the hungry crowd. My girlfriend pointed out to me a few times before the show, that some songs on The Stage Names and Black Sheep Boy bored her, and to some extent I understood where she was coming from. Songs like “Another Radio Song”, “Plus One”, and “A Hand To Take Hold of the Scene” come across stronger live than their produced album counterparts. The highlight of the show was the encore, it was solid, and at this point you could notice the band feeding off the crowds energy. Will sang “A Stone” with so much passion and power it was like nothing I’ve seen before. The last song “Westfall”, one that is a bit of a snoozer on the album, was the song of the night. Hopefully you can catch these guys live, tour dates are here.

So, without further ado here are the mp3’s, enjoy! (The footage will follow soon, so check back!)

Damien Jurado

• Ohio (Highly Recommended)
  

Okkervil River

1. Plus Ones
2. Lady Liberty
3. No Key, No Plan
4. The Latest Toughs
5. Girl in Port
6. Song of Our So-Called Friend
7. A Hand To Take Hold of the Scene
8. Unless It’s Kicks
9. Black
10. So Come Back, I’m Waiting
11. Our Life is Not A Movie or Maybe
12. For Real
13. John Allyn Smith Sails
14. A Stone
15. Okkervil River Song
16. Another Radio Song
17. Westfall

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