Case/Lang/Veirs

Some musicians play new material live before they record it. In other cases, the records are made before the material is quite worked out, before it’s been tested in front of an audience, before it’s come out of a PA system and echoed across a gorgeous July night in Brooklyn.

From the opening notes of “Atomic Number” it was clear that in the six weeks they’ve spent on the road playing the material from their debut, Case/Lang/Veirs, the trio of kd lang, Laura Veirs and Neko Case have gelled in powerful ways. At a recent Celebrate Brooklyn tour stop at the bandshell in Prospect Park the trio opened the show with the four moody opening numbers from the album played in order--“Atomic Number,” “Honey and Smoke” “Song For Judee” and “Blue Fires”—and it was immediately clear that the chemistry between them had risen to an entirely new level.This is easily the best thing any of the three have done in many years . Over the years, Case and lang in particular have struggled to find appealing contexts for their singular vocal talents. Here with the help of Veirs, who co-wrote everything on the record, and the arranging and instrumentation ideas of her husband Tucker Martine who produced it, the meshing and blending of the three voices, adjusted and honed by playing the material live--and an occasional flash of oneupmanship-- has really taken on appealing hues and textures.

Each performer performed a single tune from their own careers, and while it’s always good to hear lang, clearly the biggest star here, sing “Constant Craving,” her cover of fellow Canadian Neil Young’s “Helpless” was a showstopper on a level I have not seen in many years. Wow. “Smoked” is too weak a word. The woman’s pipes remain undiminished, still capable of colossal range and stupendous dynamism. While I’ve heard from a number of people that the Peter Gabriel/Sting tour is the summer’s finest tour, this trio are also solidly in the conversation.

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