OKKERVIL RIVER 'Black Sheep Boy' leads band to Cedars

The band played mostly intoxicated on one tour to help them have a looser sound.
Okkervil River's Will Oldham doesn't deserve to suffer.
Granted one listen to the trio's latest disc "Black Sheep Boy," a brooding, bittersweet indie rock affair, and you'll understand the depth to which Oldham is tortured. But the suffering is based not on internal emotional squabbles or heart-wrenching guitar licks but instead laptop problems, the kind which we've all experienced. The kind where you know nothing good is going to come out of your suffering.
So explains Oldham, calling from Missouri. After many hours of tech support hell, Oldham recalls a conversation he heard a few days earlier between what can only be described as two overseas-based "Good Cop/Bad Cop" computer support technicians. "'He's a good man; he doesn't deserve this suffering,'" Oldham said. "'He's been on the phone for four hours. We don't want our customers to suffer.' I was in fact suffering at that point, sitting on the floor for about five hours trying to get reception to India. But everything I had done in the past two years was gone. My hard drive died."
Luckily for Oldham, any lost songs worth their weight are remembered in his head. It's been an interesting road for the Meriden, N.H.-raised, Austin, Texas-based Okkervil River, which started roughly four years ago as yet another lo-fi alternative act. However, incessant touring has put the trio on the Lone Star State club map.
As for "Black Sheep Boy," the 11-track disc is arguably the band's most realized album to date with its ambitious songwriting and lush ambiance.
"What's really nice about 'Black Sheep Boy' is, I realized that every record doesn't have to be a be-all, end-all," Oldham said. "Every record doesn't have to be the last statement a band makes because there will be other records. And when you realize that, you start to realize you can do things. You can say these are going to be the emotions of this record. These are going to be the imagery of this record. These are going to be instruments we'll use on this record."
Quirks
If Okkervil River seems a bit quirky, that's because it is. Consider this, the band intentionally spent 2004 on the road performing more often than not in an intoxicated state for the sole purpose of creating a looser band dynamic prior to the recording of "Black Sheep Boy."
And prior to that, Oldham, who is a severely nearsighted, self-conscious performer, would often take off his glasses in order to not be intimidated by the audience, or lack thereof.
No longer hiding behind his myopia, Oldham and his band mates are back on the road, currently opening for Earlimart. A day off on that tour has provided Okkervil a rare headlining opportunity Wednesday at Youngstown's Cedars Lounge. It's a chance to which the band is looking forward.
"We're really excited about playing Youngstown," Oldham said. "We have a lot of friends there. We're going to be playing a longer set, and that's always fun for us. It's going to be a good time."
And for the members of Okkervil River, a longer set means?
"A longer set," said Oldman, "means more of a drunken encore."