I'll admit it. When I first learned Neko Case was going to miss the New Pornographers' first Cleveland appearance in nearly five years due to a broken ankle, I was overwhelmed with disappointment. Carl Newman is fine and all, but Case's sugary vocals really elevate the band. Well, whatever trepidation I had was simply unfounded, as the Pornographers didn't miss a beat, handing over the vocal duties to Kathryn Calder, and in the process delivering a performance where every song seemed better than the previous one.

It would have been easy for the Pornographers to have dismissed this show too, with Case's injury and this being the final date of a nearly six-week tour, but the band was consummately professional. Each song was played pitch- perfect, with just enough elasticity and pop bravado to put a smile on your face and force your feet to scurry in place. The 19-song set mostly included the best tunes from last year's Challengers and 2005's Twin Cinema, with "Unguided" and "Challengers" trading jabs with "Use It" and "The Jessica Numbers." For "Myriad Harbour" the New Pornographers even invited members of opening act Okkervil River to the stage, with lead singer Will Sheff lending his vocals for the song's call-and-response format. River's members then returned during the encore for an animated cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" and a raucous "My Slow Descent in Alcoholism," both of which brought lasting grins to the delighted crowd.

Not to be forgotten, Okkervil River's set proved to be the perfect complement to the Pornographers. With the ballroom nearly full for its set, the Austin, Texas six-piece sounded strong and confident, a curious blend of Wilco and the Hold Steady. This was River's last show of the tour too, and Sheff made sure to repeatedly thank the Pornographers for the opportunity to open throughout the tour. The gratitude was not lost as the band excelled on "For Real" and an outstanding cover of the Beach Boys' "Sloop John B."

Feist

Palace Theatre, Wednesday, April 23

Long before Leslie Feist was lending her sweet melodies to the commercial realm ("1, 2, 3, 4... don't you wanna buy some more?"), she was heading up a punk band called Placebo (not the one you've already heard of) and helping to give the Broken Social Scene its distinctively eccentric pop sound. That goes a long way toward explaining why those who came to see her at the Palace Theater Wednesday night witnessed not just an elegant and throaty Canadian version of Regina Spektor, but an in-your-face frontwoman with a guitar that screams when her Chihuahua yelp of a bark just doesn't cut it in terms of raising an already expansive and immaculately crafted roof.

Though much of her set list drew from her third album, 2007's intimate Reminder, for which she won six Juno awards, Feist blended earlier works into the mix to meticulous effect. Soft and hard touches accrued superbly in both music and presentation. Throughout the show, a shadowbox artist added visual flourishes that perfectly matched the fragile yet fierce nature of Feist's voice and lyrics. The first song was just that, with the slinky singer carrying a lantern behind a white screen and singing the dainty "Help Is on Its Way" in shadow, using foot pedals to layer on a grand stack of harmony. Her six-piece circled the wagons expertly then for an anti-folk smattering of Western-tinged rock ("When I Was a Young Girl"), lung-punching balladry ("The Park"), rousing pop gems ("I Feel It All") and even things like a sea chanty ("Waiting for Me") and the old-timey Vaudevillian torch song "Now At Last." And whenever the festivities dipped a bit close to sleepy time for this seated workaday crowd, Feist roused them back and into the aisles by leaning on her electric, as in the set-closing spiritual "Sea Lion Woman," a Nina Simone original made modern with that special something that Feist seems to have stockpiled in mass quantities. Her encore of "The Water," the new "Phantom" and "Let it Die" ended the evening not with her biggest hits, but quite possibly the next ones in line.

Another treat was opener Hayden, a seasoned Canadian folkie overjoyed at the chance to play at the Palace after 14 years' worth of passes through the Grog Shop. Despite technical difficulties (a loose mic stand and then a broken string that required him to finish up most of his solo dozen-song set on piano and electric), the gregarious songwriter breezed through song after melodious song with his harp and storyteller's heart as reliable backup. Between-song banter was useful but jovial, like when he introduced a "romantic love song about a bear attack." How can't you fall in love with that? Ending with a slinking version of Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" turned the two-thirds-full audience's rapt attention into enthusiastic applause. - Dan Harkins

My Chemical Romance

Agora Theatre, Tuesday, April 22

The sold-out crowd that greeted My Chemical Romance's show at the Agora was riled up and ready to rock. The band emerged without the pomp and circumstance of the first leg of this tour. The theatrical trappings - things like a psych-ward gurney, elaborate backdrops and fancy costumes - were gone. An unkempt, blue-jean-clad Gerard Way greeted the fans, and they clawed their way toward the front of the stage with reckless abandon. "This Is the Best Day Ever" served as the raucous party anthem that paved the way for an evening of debauchery and hero worship that rivaled that of any band, past or present. The set mostly showcased songs from The Black Parade, but the band threw in a few b-sides such as "Kill All Your Friends" and some songs from its first album, all of which were received with equal adoration.

Technically tight from months of touring, My Chemical Romance provided a rare equal combination of musicianship and showmanship. Way kept the crowd entertained in between songs with lots of witty banter and gyrated his way through the set with panache and a healthy dose of rock-star confidence. When the band played the hit "Welcome to the Black Parade," the crowd exploded into a sea of pumping fists and banging heads.

Drive By opened the show with a mellow set that lacked both punch and flair and was forgettable at best. Canadian rockers Billy Talent, however, rocked the house with their high-pitched screaming and searing guitar riffs. Energetic to the point of being nearly frenetic, the band's punk rock went over well. - Lois Elswick

Vijay Iyer Quartet

MOCA Cleveland, Wednesday, April 23

It was certainly obvious Vijay Iyer was ready to make his Cleveland debut last Wednesday evening at MOCA. He took the stage and grabbed the microphone, delivering a hearty "Hello, Cleveland." After a brief pause, he smiled and added, "I've always wanted to say that." The pianist then wasted no time setting a mood with "Shape of Things," a lengthy piece that served as an opening gambit for much of what followed during both sets. In fact, some might argue that it's stretching definitions somewhat to classify Iyer's music as jazz at all. Containing composed sections as well as much improvisation, this music does not swing in a conventional manner and often skirts any kind of regular pulse at all. As such, it might be hard to follow at first, but can pay dividends when approached with an open mind and an ear toward the kind of collective statements and empathy that the quartet members share.

The second set opened with "Rataplan," a duo number by Iyer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. With a nod toward the minimalist approach of contemporary classical composer Steve Reich, the piece made the most of rhythmic phrases that gained momentum through repetition and irregular accents. Working its way through several sections and tempos, "Tragic Comic" brought out the best in the quartet, with Mahanthappa conjuring a hypnotic stance through the use of microtonal intervals and repetitive riffs. Drummer Marcus Gilmore proved to be subtle as well as masterful in his execution. His musical drum solos were more about textural variety than they were about more traditional time-keeping. Also moving away from the typical walking bass lines, Stephan Crump integrated his lines into the joint sound of the group, adding yet another layer of complexity to the mix.

For the past two years, Iyer has placed at the top of Down Beat magazine's International Critics' Poll in the categories of Rising Jazz Star and Rising Star Composer of the Year. Based on Wednesday night's show, it's not hard to see why the pianist seems to be turning heads. Nonetheless, it seems that the amount of effort needed to fully take in all of the music's subtleties makes it something that is probably best enjoyed in small doses. - C. Andrew Hovan

Constantines

Grog Shop, Tuesday, April 22

Since first seeing the Constantines live a couple years back, I've lauded the band's stage show to the point that I thought maybe I had crossed over into the hyperbolic. Luckily, the five-piece's performance at The Grog Shop last week proved that my memories hadn't warped over time, but were in fact dead on.

After Oakley Hall finished up a set of country-leaning rock that sounded best when it was tapping the screechy abandon of Neil Young, the Constantines took the stage in front of a relatively small crowd. A predominate number of Cleveland's indie population may have been watching fellow Canadians, The New Pornographers, over at the Beachland, but the crowd size didn't seem to have an effect on the band. The Cons opened with "Hotline Operator" and "Working Full-Time" from 2005's brilliant Tournament of Hearts. The two songs seemed to encapsulate what the five-piece do best, that is blend the hushed laments of working-class rock with the crashing, exclamatory chaos of post-punk. Singer Bry Webb's voice was just as gravely and pleading as the records while the band was overwhelmingly loud yet precise.

As the band became more comfortable in their stage feet they shuffled, danced and stomped through new numbers like "Hard Feelings" and "Shower of Stones" from their upcoming fourth album, Kensington Heights. Fan favorites like "Hyacinth Blues" and "Soon Enough" may have been strangely absent, but the new cuts kept the audience interested thanks to the band's powerful presence and evident love of the music. It was the encore that solidified the performance as an event to behold however. While most bands are content to save one of the "hits" for their encore, the Constantines opted to extend "Seven A.M.," a song from their debut record, into a full-on cacophony of distortion, feedback and unadulterated rock. Webb and guitarist Steven Lambke's hands were a blur as they raised their instruments toward the ceiling, organist/ keyboardist Will Kidman climbed atop his instruments and swung from duct work, while bassist Dallas Wehrle and drummer Doug MacGregor managed to maintain the rhythm while also abusing their instruments. Show closers don't get much better than that. - Matt Whelihan