Okkervil River – O2 Academy, Oxford 11/09/09

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So summer clings onto September, as those arriving post support at Oxford’s O2 Academy find a packed and already sweaty ‘Zodiac Room’ crowd awaiting the first Oxford show by Austin’s Okkervil River. Well their first show in Oxford town anyway; the last time the band were in the shire was for a somewhat lumpen and disappointing headline set at last year’s Truck Festival. It must be thanks either to short memories, or the influx of returning students, that the venue is full – but the question for those who are giving them another chance is whether the great indoors will be kinder to their whiskey drenched, maritime themed rock?

It’s an odd time for a tour really, the band having nothing new to promote besides last year’s The Stand Ins, unless they’re playing just for the love of it – surely not in this day and age?

As you’d expect the bulk of the material is drawn from last three albums but it’s Stage Names/Stand Ins numbers that get the biggest reaction; a triumphant ’Lost Coastlines’ starts with a banjo hoe-down and is followed immediately by ‘Our Life Is Not A Movie…’ which sends the audience into somewhat of a frenzy of impromptu karaoke and arrhythmic clapping.

Will Sheff is, as ever, the focal point and is a natural and comfortably showbiz front man. On a number of occasions he uses instrumental breaks to deliver overly earnest ‘inspirational’ monologues, the band are clearly used to it and drop in and out expertly and even though the concept is distinctly cheesy, his personable charm means that he just about manages to get away with it. He’s even charming when telling bar side chatterers off as glasses are removed and, blinking, he introduces another acoustic driven number with the line “I’m going to play a quite song so I can overhear what you’re saying”.

The overriding problem with the Okkervil live experience is the sometimes suffocating sheen present in the performance; there’s nothing wrong with being a talented, tight touring band, but often throughout tonight’s set the songs are so polished that they are shorn of any edge whatsoever. The likes of ‘Pop Lie’ and ‘Singer Songwriter’ are among the worst offenders and as such it’s left to the slower numbers to carry the interest. ‘Girl In Port’ for example is majestic, but it’s impact muted to an extent by an ad-libbed, superfluous extra verse with Sheff playing solo before the band kick in once more.

‘John Allyn Smithie Sails’ is much better and one of the undoubted highlights of the set. Fully warranting it’s extended live form, it’s representative of a band that really do know how to patiently build a track to a stunning pay off and features yet more exquisitely judged lead guitar from Lauren Gurgiolo. It is also perhaps the archetypal Okkervil track in it’s use of characters and stories in a particularly literary way and it’s hard to think of many other bands who do this with such a sense of craft.

Yet for every moment of excellence the band will let themselves down with songs that feel much longer than they are and ultimately a set that is much longer than it needs to. This was illustrated near perfectly as ‘Unless It Kicks’ overcomes a sluggish start to close the set in style only for a lengthy three song encore to end the night with more tedium.

A great band on record and with Sheff they have an impressive and effective live singer. They should be a truly great live act but until they cut the flab from their arrangements and learn to let go a little, they will surely frustrate more than they enchant.