I have been following Over the Rhine for years, having seen them in concert about a dozen times. It seems that each time they come to Columbus, they are traveling with one less band member, and now are down to simply adding one more to their stage show.
However, the guy that they have with them is unbelievable. Brad Meinerding not only plays mandolin, guitar and harmonica with some of the best mastery I've ever seen live, but he also sings background vocals and brings more depth to a few songs with harmonization. He definitely added a richness to the show that put it over the top as far as a wonderful experience.
My one gripe about the evening was the lack of an opening act. Over the years we have become fans of their opening acts as well, artists we weren't otherwise exposed to (Griffin House, Lily & Madeline, etc.). We were sad to not walk away with a new band to keep up with.
They played mostly songs from their last two albums, one of which was a Christmas album. It was also nice to hear some old favorites as well.
As far as the on-stage banter, I wish we could have heard more of the stories behind the songs. Over the Rhine is not a band that writes bubblegum-pop lyrics that are easy to interpret, so hearing the back-story adds a lot to my appreciation of where a song is coming from.
In all, we had a great time and walked away with a new live album that they recorded down in Cincinnati that features Brad Meinerding, which will be nice to revive memories of this concert throughout the year until we meet again at the Lincoln next December.