Rock ‘n’ Roll has been around long enough for there to be a number of iron-clad certainties associated with it. Sgt. Pepper will likely top every critic’s list from here until the end of time. The good will die young. Keith Richards, on the other hand, will never die, period. And, as was proved once again last night at the 9:30 Club, during the period of time between Neko Case’s entrance onto a stage and the sound of the first chord, someone in the audience will yell, “I love you, Neko!!!!” Because everybody loves Neko, and no one is shy about letting the world know. Last night, Case proved once again why such feelings are never misplaced.

It’s the voice. That strong, clear, crystalline instrument that cuts through a crowd like a diamond through glass. Listening to Case on record, it’s easy to assume that there’s more than a bit of studio trickery going on. That in addition to the tasteful reverb often surrounding her vocals that maybe there’s more than a little knob twiddling going on to make things sound so stunning. Then she steps on stage with nothing between you and her but a microphone, and you realize that if anything, the recordings don’t quite capture the full power of that voice.

Last night’s 9:30 set was structured to put Case’s voice on best display. Her backing band — guitar, drums, stand-up bass, plus the incomparable Jon Rauhouse on banjo and pedal steel and the always lovely Kelly Hogan handling backing vocals (and unofficial MC duties) — was tight and well rehearsed, but never overpowering. The spotlight was always on Case, and periodically the set list turned up the brightness of that light a few notches.

Photo from Neko Case’s recent performance in Los Angeles by Flickr user zonagirl, used under a Creative Commons license.