Hey, happy 4th of July. And a happy 3rd of July and 5th of July. Hope where ever you celebrate the holiday it was dry with clear skies.
The traditional Matador Records headlining 4th of July show in Battery Park ushered in the New Pornographers, with non-Matador band Midlake. It was touch and go for a while to see if the rain/thunderstorms would hold up, for the most part they did, with a little sprinkle here and there. What do you want for free? A roof?
This is my eighth New Pornographer show in three years. I think I've exhausted my thoughts on them, but hey, they have a new album coming out August 21st called Challengers. I have not heard it, but the band, with Neko Case in tow, tested out the new material in front of a few thousand fans. They debuted "My Rights Versus Yours," "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" and "Mutiny, I Promise You." The difference with the new songs is the addition of string section and a flute. It's tough to convey an opinion on the new tracks when you first hear it live, but I'm sure it will be interesting.
Other than the new tracks, they played all the crowd pleasing tunes they've become famous for. We got "Mass Romantic," "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism," "From Blown Speakers," "The Laws Have Changed," "Twin Cinema," "Use It," "The Bleeding Heart Show," "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras," "These Are the Fables" and "Sing Me Spanish Techno." As always, they gang puts on a top notch show, made all the more special with Neko taking time off from being a superstar to join the fun.
Also making its live debut is Carl Newman's big red bushy beard. He looks like the old Brawny Paper Towel guy. He tried out this little stage banter while looking at the Statue of Liberty, "We'd like to dedicate this next number to a very special woman. She's 100 years old and she weighs over 200 tons." I knew the punchline to the Simpsons quote, but didn't scream it out loud enough so that I didn't look like a complete dweeb. The response is "This enormous woman will devour us all." Neko tried to inspire the crowd by yelling, "Can ... you .. dig ..it?" That's from the The Warriors.
Setlist via message board:
- All The Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth
- Use It
- The Laws Have Changed
- All The Old Showstoppers
- Jackie, Dressed in Cobras
- Challengers
- The Spirit of Giving
- Mass Romantic
- From Blown Speakers
- My Rights Versus Yours
- The Jessica Numbers
- Go Places
- Mutiny, I Promise You
- Twin Cinema
- Sing Me Spanish Techno
- The Bleeding Heart Show
- Encore: These Are the Fables
- Testament to Youth in Verse
- The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
Amazingly enough, Denton, TX's Midlake is still touring behind their 2006 album The Trials of Van Occupanther. It took almost a year, but the band is starting to gain momentum behind it. I saw them at Mercury last year (with interesting back projections) and now they are ready for the mid-size rooms like Webster Hall. Not surprisingly, because the album is blissfully lush and evocative. Today, they performed "Young Bride, "Van Occupanther" and "Roscoe." They also played a new track the will go on a future album. The little treat we got is their version of "The Pills Won't Help You Now," their collaboration with The Chemical Brothers that's on their new album, We Are the Night.
Previously: Midlake and Cold War Kids hold court at Mercury.
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