It's the New Pornographers ... again. This is a repeat from 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. This is my twelfth time seeing them, and I don't have much to add to my writing canon. I guess I really love this band. Maybe we take them for granted because they are so prolific and consistent, but they are one of the best indie bands around. Plus, the fact that all the members are successful on their own, and they can still record and tour together, is a testament to their dedication. They must really love their band as well.
Okay, so the sold out show at Terminal 5 was packed, and as we all know, going to a show there can be a soul crushing experience. Surprisingly, I had a great time. I couldn't hear a damn thing they were saying between songs, but I'm sure it was amusing. It sounded like, "wahhh wahhh wahhh whahah wahhh, Is that David Cross?"
The setlist:
- Sing Me Spanish Techno
- Up In The Dark
- Myriad Harbour
- Use It
- Crash Years
- Jackie, Dressed In Cobras
- A Bite Out Of My Bed
- Adventures In Solitude
- Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
- Go Places
- All The Old Showstoppers
- Jackie
- Moves
- Your Hands (Together)
- Twin Cinema
- My Shepherd
- The Laws Have Changed
- Silver Jenny Dollar
- Mass Romantic
- The Bleeding Heart Show
- ENCORE: Challengers
- Electric Version
- The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
- Testament To Youth In Verse
Being that Together is their fifth album, they've reached the point in their career where they can't play all their well-known, fan favorites. When that inevitable Greatest Hits album comes out, that will be a tough one to compile. With that said, I'm all for loading the setlist with new material. I can live with them not playing "All for Swinging You Around". Of the new songs, "Crash Years" is damn brilliant. We do have to recognize that Neko Case is a superstar and her work in the band is huge. I've said this before, but it's my estimate that their rising popularity is due to her presence paired with Carl's writing.
The one thing I feel that has changed the most with their music through the years is the ambition. When they started out, they had these small, fun, almost precious tunes. Now each song has more weight to it, bigger ideas and more fidelity. Listen to "Testament To Youth In Verse" now -- it's so basic in its structure and production. Then hearing them end with the whole crowd singing along, and it became epic.
One of the songs from the album that they bypassed is "If You Can't See My Mirrors", which is the most un-New Pornographers song I've heard them do. It's almost sounds like a Camera Obscura song. Dan Bejar is the band's trump card. When they need a song that bring can gravity to the album, he comes in and knocks it out of the park (example: The Spirit Of Giving from Challengers). They did play Silver Jenny Dollar, which is just pure joy -- dripping with sweet delicious joy. Whoa whoa whoa.
As for the live shows, I've seen them in front of 100 people to 5,000+ and they have remained the same. They've never comes off as rock stars, they just get on stage and play. Although, encouraging the sing-a-long at the end was something different. They kept the banter between songs down to a minimum, that's where they usually loosen up. As I said, T5 makes it hard to hear vocals. I think Carl made a Spiro Gyro joke about their horn section. The thing that has changed are the crowds, certainly they've become larger and more diverse.
I think I've racked my brain enough to think of new things to say about this band. Seeing a band twelve times live is a bit embarrassing. Throw in the Carl and Neko solo shows and it's almost obsessive behavior. For the record, I've also seen Doves twelve times.
As a side note, David Cross was not there, but the guy did look just like him.
Neko Case loves Iron Maiden:
The Dodos are one of the opening acts for this North America tour. A perfect choice because they do rev me up with their percussion and acoustic guitar heavy tunes. Their set was much better then when I saw them at Siren. Their performance has to be precise because both of them have to be frantic when they play. The drummer is going nuts while the guitarist has to beat on his guitar in unison with the drums.
I love how some guy in the crowd yelled "that's my jam!" before "Fools." Looks like somebody likes beer commercials.
I have still yet to see a proper set of The Dutchess and the Duke. I got to T5 at 8pm, and was delayed by the near-strip search security procedures. Here's what I have to go through:
Security: "What's in here?"
Me: "My camera gear"
Security: "What's in here?"
Me: "My keys"
Security: "What's in here?"
Me: "My business cards"
Security: "What's in here?"
Me: "My ear plugs"
Security: "What's in here?"
Me: "My breathe mints"
Then there's always the "What do you mean I'm not on the guest list?" person who has a mental breakdown in front of me.
Thus, I saw 3 songs from the duo. I am fond of The Dutchess & The Duke, for their campfire-style songs on She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke.
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