seracahoone1.jpgSera Cahoone’s songs can have a way of passing quietly, shyly and low. You’d be hard pressed to find much that’s been written about them that doesn’t talk about their intense introspection. However, onstage at Neumos on Friday, her vocals were decidedly confident and the songs themselves were stronger, even, at times, bordering on extroversion. The near-packed venue housed an appreciative crowd that moved Cahoone, several times, to marvel over her audience’s size and enthusiasm.

The evening began with an excellent turn from local alt-country troupe Widower, whose tight harmonies and hipster twang kicked things off fiercely. In comparison to their full-band sound, fellow opener Daniel Martin Moore’s one man show was unfortunately hushed and next to impossible to hear if you weren’t right next to the stage. His earnest tunes, while striking and well-written, were lost on the chatty audience. It was nothing a little increase in volume couldn’t have fixed, but the sound man seemed happy to keep the mics on low.

Cahoone started her set solo for a reserved turn on “I’m On Your Side” from her self-titled debut. This laidback opening was quickly contrasted by the liveliness of the intrinsically dark “Last Time,” where Jason Merculief’s drum part was more pronounced, making the tune almost danceable. Between the rhythm section’s groove, Jeff Fielder’s intuitive Dobro and Cahoone’s strong and sincere vocals, the song set a high bar for the rest of the evening.

Bouncing back and forth between songs from her debut and the more recent Only as the Day Is Long, Cahoone and crew delivered memorable performances of crowd favorites like “Couch Song,” “Baker Lake” and “Shitty Hotel,” as well as the more upbeat “You Might As Well,” which drew immeasurable appreciation from the crowd. She closed out with “Happy When I’m Gone,” before responding quickly to her crowd’s stomp-and-clap demand for an encore.

Solo, onstage again, Cahoone introduced a new song, “Worry All Your Life,” which indicated a subtle evolution in her songwriting. While continuing to adhere to her intense introspection, the melody more naturally followed the terrain of the lyrics, with the increased strength of her vocals complementing the slightly folkier style. She was visibly nervous about how the crowd would respond, but happy to see the reaction was quite positive.

With the new tune out of the way, she closed out the set with one of the saddest songs in her repertoire—“What a Shame.” Much like full-band opener “Last Time,” this closer showed just how far the band has come since they laid the track down in 2006. Driven strongly by pedal steel player Jason Kardong and Cahoone’s intuition as band leader, the sadness somehow fell away. By the time her harmonica solo hit, all that mattered was the tightness of the band and the undeniable energy of the moment.

photo: Blush Photo