| Kelly Hogan Christmas Party @ the Hideout 12.22.2000 Kelly Hogan is right at home at the Hideout. You'll occasionally find her behind the bar mixing drinks. She is firmly ensconced in Chicago's "alt-country/No Depression/" scene, which includes other notables such as Neko Case, Jon Langford, and Sally Timms. So soon after moving north from Atlanta, she has found a city that can provide an outlet for her astonishing vocal delivery and breadth of style. So it came as no surprise when Ms. Hogan took the stage at the Hideout and belted out her songs with all the confidence and bravado of Kitty Wells in her prime. Beginning with a few songs off her 2000 release, "Beneath the Country Underdog," including "I Don't Believe in You" (co-written with her guitarist Andy Hopkins) "Mighty Thin Line Between Love and Hate" (Johnny Paycheck), and "I Still Can't Believe You're Gone" (Willie Nelson), Hogan found her stride early on and played off Hopkins's energy. One of the high points came pretty early with an inspired take on the Magnetic Fields's "Papa was a Rodeo," a song featured on that band's "69 Love Songs," as well as on Hogan's record. Hogan's version of "Rodeo" is truly gorgeous. The song comes to a crescendo after the line "I never stuck around long enough for a one night stand," then Hogan's voice, as ethereal as they come, delivers the payoff line: "Before you kiss me you should know/Papa was a rodeo." Wow. Also offered was a tender reading of Curtis Mayfield's "Let's Do It Again," Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," and the Rudolph song (as performed by Clarisse), "There's Always Tomorrow." Hopkins didn't shy away from the mike either, as he delivered a straight take on Elton John's "Levon" (and it played well, despite an awkward few seconds when the crowd waited to decide whether this was a tongue-in-cheek cover). Late in the set, Hogan did a Randy Newman song ("So Hard Living Without You"), which only further demonstrated the range of her talent and influences. Lc. HOME |