By Larry Nager
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Over The Rhine made it back to the Taft Theatre for the band's annual Christmas show this year with a real surprise for the faithful - Karin Bergquist's voice.

A decade or so of listening to OTR didn't prepare me for what she would do Friday. Looser and more confident than ever before, she delivered a passionate, powerhouse performance that cut straight to the heart. The ethereal folkie was gone, replaced by a fiery rock 'n' soul singer. Coincidentally, it was her birthday Saturday, and they brought a candlelit cake onstage, providing a tangible symbol of her breakthrough to a bigger and more mature sound.

Although she and her husband/musical partner, Linford Detweiler, postponed their fall tour citing their unwillingness to "sacrifice our relationship and marriage on the altar of a career," there were no signs of friction as they shared the stage full of prayer candles and bouquets (the latter gifts from fans).

Detweiler was sporting a Leslie Isaiah Gaines-model black Homburg as he sat behind his bank of keyboards and led his three-man backup group (guitarist Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer, bassist Rick Plant and drummer Devon Ashley) through its paces.

Most of the show was culled from the excellent two-CD set, Ohio. But Bergquist's voice has blossomed since she recorded those songs and they sounded fuller and more vibrant in the live setting. From the rolling opener, "Hometown Boy," to her wrenching broken-heart ballad "She" to the bouncy pop of "Show Me" to her thoughtful solo piano turn on "Ohio," the material had new energy and resonance. At times she seemed to be channeling Aretha Franklin as she just let that glorious voice soar to the Taft's ceiling.

In keeping with the season, OTR did some Yule tunes, but even there, they let the older, polite stuff go, sticking to higher-energy originals like the giddy "Christmas is Coming" and jazzy "All I Ever Get for Christmas is Blue," as well as their techno-folk reinvention of "Silent Night."

But the best holiday song - the single best performance of the night - was a radiant cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," made famous by the late Jeff Buckley. Done with subtle acoustic piano and cello, Bergquist made the song her own, perfectly capturing Cohen's blend of the spiritual and the erotic. She was so good that after the song ended, it was met with a few seconds of stunned silence before the crowd of 1,800 broke into wild applause.

From there, almost everything was anticlimactic, even a beautiful finale of "Let It Be," featuring opening act David Bazan of Pedro the Lion.

Then it was time for the encores, as Detweiler's beatnik opus, "Jack's Valentine," was given an anthemic rock interlude by the band before Bergquist closed the night with a lovely "Latter Days."

The night began with Irish singer/songwriter Susan Enan in a solo 20-minute set that left one wondering what she would sound like with her regular band.

Then Pedro the Lion was up, an unusual duo that features Bazan's voice and guitar and drummer T.W. Walsh, who also triggered the electronic bass, allowing the pair to sound like a trio. They did a compelling 45-minute set that mixed wry, meaningful lyrics and strong hooks.

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E-mail lnager@enquirer.com