The Best Love is Free IV at the Fine Line, 2/9/13

Striding onstage at half-past-midnight, Cecil Otter and his band were greeted enthusiastically by the crowd, who had been kept waiting for a little longer than necessary. Featuring an all-star lineup of Martin Dosh on Drums, Adam Marx on Bass, Dustin Kiel on guitar, and Mark McGee triggering beats and samples, the band ripped through a short but sweet set of Cecil Otter classics. The dreamy Mr. Otter himself seemed to be having a fun time, laughing and joking with his band about some technical issues before inviting Dessa to join him for a spin through "Little Mercy." Maybe it was just the romantic atmosphere, but the duo's unmistakable chemistry sizzled onstage enough to rekindle my date's long-held Doomtree romance fanfiction. While it would have been nice to see Cecil perform some new material, the live band provided enough of a refreshing take on the well-worn songs to make the performance thoroughly enjoyable.

Erik Hess

Botzy closed the night with a heartfelt thank-you to all the organizers, and as the satisfied crowd filtered out I was left with distinct impression that The Best Love is Free and the Twin Cities are going to happy together for quite a long time.

Cecil's Set List:
Rebel Yellow
1999
Le Facteur
Demon Girl
Matchbook Diaries
Sufficiently Breathless
A Rickety Bridge
Buckshot???
Little Mercy with Dessa
Black Rose

The Crowd: Definitely got the memo about this being a formal-attire event, except for a couple of heads stubbornly wearing the hoodie-and-fitted combo.

Random Notebook Dump: "Please, for the love of god, don't talk to the crowd with the auto-tune turned on."