Show Review

Linford Detweiler, chief songwriter of Over the Rhine, once wrote “the saddest songs are the happiest/ the hardest truths are the easiest/ put us both to the test/ and tell me if you still need me.” Although no one knew it at the time, that song, “What I’ll Remember Most,”ended up telling the story of Detweiler’s life with wife and lead vocalist Karin Bergquist for the past couple years. Putting music aside and trying to rescue their marriage, Detweiler and Bergquist weren’t afraid of asking themselves if they still needed each other, even if it meant never playing another show or singing another note. Thankfully, they were able find strength in hard times, and boy does it ever show today.

Smiling and having a grand time on stage, Detweiler and Bergquist looked like newlyweds as they treated fans at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room to a mix of songs from their latest album, Drunkard’s Prayer and the one that came before it, Ohio. Opening with the simple “I Want You to be My Love,” Detweiler and Bergquist set the mood for the evening: reflecting on the past with no fear and smiling toward the future. Most of the songs from Drunkard’s Prayer, including “Spark” and “Born,” recognize that love is the epitome of life and that it can turn anything around.

The highlight of the night came when Bergquist sat at the keyboards and delivered a passionate performance of “Firefly,” a tune that she wrote herself. Her facial expressions lit up the room near end of the song when she sang over and over again that “the rest is history” and that her memory “would not fail me now.” Although I don’t know exactly how she felt when she penned the song, I do know that I’ll never again listen to it in my car with getting the chills. So thanks for that, Karin.

The night ended with a delicate version of “Latter Days,” perhaps their best song they have ever written. Although the song speaks of things never being what they seem, what was happening before my eyes said the exact opposite: Live music never tells a lie.