Anyone expecting a somber evening of voice and guitar sad stories by Peter Case was either surprised or disappointed (and didn’t read my interview from late September) by the show Case and the three-piece band accompanying him played; lots of blues, several cover songs and an easy, sometimes sloppy rocking 3 hours-plus of music is what resulted. Joined at first by childhood friends Mark Winsick on guitar and vocals and Jim Whitford on bass and vocals, as well as drummer Rob Lynch, and later with childhood friend and bandmate Mike Bannister on drums and percussion, Case and company played Case originals, a couple of Plimsouls songs, some of Whitford’s songs and a bunch of covers, to the delight of a packed house. Things started with a bluesy, twangy cover of, I thought, “If You Hear Me Howling” by the Rising Sons, with Peter playing both electric piano and harmonica, but I can’t find the title. The band followed up with a fun run through of “Mystery Train,” as Case bounced around with energy, adding a nice harmonica solo and a better trading of solos blending into a duet with Winsick’s guitar. He modestly introduced his next song with “here’s a song I wrote, no, I made up,” before playing a slow, country and blues version of one of his best songs, “Two Angels,” also a bit fuller sounding than normal (it’s no surprise that Whitford’s previous band, The Pine Dogs, covered the song). When the band played a song with Winsick singing, Case was lost in his harmonica playing, to an intensity that belied his recovering from a back injury. A great Marvin Gaye cover (my notes and any actual Marvin Gaye song don’t even come close) featured rough, bluesy, hard hitting dance music, including a snarling guitar solo from Winsick, before Whitford took over lead vocals for the dirty blues of “Sugar in My Coffee Cup,” which, after a smart bluesy bass vamp by Whitford to start, turned into a virtual classic rock/Doors jam. Case picked up his acoustic guitar and joined the band on “Lost in the Sky,” his ode of sorts to fear of flying, before returning to electric piano, and Bannister added some maracas before talking over from Lynch on drums for a battered “Bumblebee,” some country blues and a really good performance of the Plimsouls’ “Oldest Story in the World,” and ended their first set a song later. The second set started with a rollicking “Shine Your Light,” with Case’s harmonica cutting through the mix followed by a long instrumental section highlighting Winsick’s guitar and Case on harmonica. As Case changed a broken string on his guitar, the band launched into a raw, rocking run through of a great Whitford song, “Crash All Night;” Case eventually joined in on electric piano. Case got the audience joining a sing-along on the chorus of “Something’s Coming,” a noticeably optimistic song on needed change,” and followed it with another of his songs, “Coulda Woulda Shoulda,” which he introduced as “a country northern song.” Case then strapped on an electric guitar as the band played several bluesy roots rock songs, and then got the already loud crowd screaming with a strong version of the Plimsouls’ “A Million Miles Away.” After earlier covers of Dylan’s “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” and “Highway 61,“ Case noted, “here’s another sing along. We’re going to go through the whole ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ tonight,” before playing “Like a Rolling Stone” to end the second set. The band returned for an encore that started with an extended roots rock/blues song, with Case seeming hell bent in his electric guitar playing, eventually ending on top of the speakers. Case and band then pretended they were done before quickly returning for a fantastic version of “Ice Water” and then ending the night with a cover of “It’s All Over Now.” After the show, Case said he had a great time playing with friends as well as in front of other friends and family, and people who had caught Case about as many times as Val and I have said it may have been the most relaxed and playful they had witnessed Case perform. Regardless, it was a damn good show.