Finals Got You Down?

Not after you take a gander at this slice of awesome.



Didn't do the trick? Then you may have bigger troubles. Good luck to all who've got essays and finals due, and therefore lots and lots of problems.

Here's some Mangum to chew on...

...because the chances of you listening to a new Neutral Milk Hotel album anytime soon are about as big as the dot between these brackets: [ ] Yup, that big.



Love the live footage. Ten-year-old me probably wouldn't have known what to make of this.

(Via Pitchfork)

Each Morning New, Each Day Shot Through: The Mountain Goats at The Wilbur Theatre, 11/29/09

I showed up about twenty or thirty minutes into the opener Final Fantasy's (Owen Pallett's) set. From what I did see, it was a truly virtuosic, impressive performance by essentially a one-man-band. That said it was not really my jam, but I would still rate him over previous tMG openers I've seen such as The Moaners, Kaki King, or Larkin Grimm. The crowd was pretty supportive of his efforts, even if half of them were occasionally checking the time, desperately anticipating the emergence of John Darnielle and company.

[Owen Pallett: truly one of the good Canadian musicians. On the John K. Samson side of the line and not the Justin Bieber one, AMIRITE? Trust me, I'm right. Don't even try to convince me otherwise.]

So, the opening set wrapped up to polite applause and I got up from my fairly decent Mezzanine seat to have a conference with my dear friends from whom I had been so tragically separated by the truly draconian seating practices of the establishment. Taking advantage of the chaos of intermission, we stole away to the floor, working our way quickly past security and getting within a few rows of the stage, awfully close to where the ever-sharply dressed Peter Hughes would soon be damaging ears with the raw power of his thunderingly godlike bass guitar (with an assist from the poor acoustics of the venue). Though we hit a brief snag, Dana (remember Dana?) was able to convince the soft-looking, pliable, and thoroughly nice fellow who asked to see our floor wristbands that it was of the utmost importance that we three should be allowed to remain together. Our close proximity at Mountain Goats shows was a time-honored tradition that simply could not be denied, she said in so many words. Understanding the paramount importance of our continued union on the floor, he acquiesced, throwing his hands up in resignation and shooing us away. Safely on the floor, we eagerly awaited the moment that was sure to come. And then it happened.

The Goats took the stage and there was much rejoicing. Right from the get-go, there was a heavy emphasis placed on material from the new album, and given that they're touring in its support, that's hardly surprising. To echo the sentiments of another reviewer, this meant that things dragged a bit for a while as quiet new song after quiet new song was played. It was certainly different to see John at the piano, however, and it was all the more rewarding later in the set when he dug back into the archives to play some old favorites and some obscurities. I love me some "Quito," so that song's always a highlight. I got about as into it as some tired dude with a shaved head and a winter jacket draped over one arm can get, and John seemed to notice, so that was nice. If a show's going well the band gives off palpable energy and the crowd gives it right back. Everyone's psyched and in that moment nothing can be wrong. You had best believe that the room got to that point and stayed there for some time.

"Going to Bristol" with Owen Pallett plucking away on the violin was pretty darn awesome. I will admit my previous ignorance of "From TG&Y" but I'll be damned if that didn't immediately resonate with me (and before those of you in the know about this song ask, no, I don't go around huffing spray paint--shame on you for even considering that). John gave one hell of a monologue before "Song For Dennis Brown," which injected some candor into the evening that had been somewhat lacking to that point. "This Year" was fantastic as always, and that was when my throat gave out. The encore's inclusion of "No Children" was a fitting and crowd-pleasing closer if ever there was one.

The absence of a second encore was for once something I couldn't get upset about, considering that we had a train back to Worcester to catch and needed to hightail it out of there by 10:30. All in all, it was a great show as I have come to expect. Any bones I had to pick are trivial and bringing them up again is just going to make me sound whiny.

Here's the thrown-together-at-the-last-minute setlist, painstakingly culled from The Mountain Goats forums because I couldn't find it on setlist.fm yet:

1 Samuel 15:23
Old College Try
Cotton
Psalms 40:2
Isaiah 45:23
Deuteronomy 2:10
Enoch 18:14
Genesis 30:3
From TG&Y (solo)
Blueberry Frost (solo)
Mole (solo)
Dance Music (solo)
(Owen comes out)
Going to Bristol
(everyone else comes back)
Hebrews 11:14
Quito
(Owen leaves)
Song For Dennis Brown
Genesis 3:23
This Year

Encore:
Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace
Romans 10:9
No Children (w/ Owen on piano)

I'm hopeful that someone present that evening taped the show, and I greatly look forward to hearing it so I can reminisce for years to come, a practice that I have been so lucky to follow with the two preceding Mountain Goats shows I have attended. Thanks in advance to whoever you may be.

All Hail The Mountain Goats, a band named after a creature with suicidal pride.

Addendum:
Someone shot some spectacular video of a couple songs at the show, here's the inimitable "This Year":

(Video) William Elliott Whitmore - That Train That Carried Away My Girl

This guy has a awesomely deep, gruff voice and lives in a cabin on a farm in the woods, somewhere in Lee County, Iowa. Just a fascinating individual. Do yourself a favor and check out this Daytrotter session. (Also, watching this really, really makes me want to get a banjo/banjitar.)

All Hallow's Eve

John Carpenter.
Elivra.
Pumpkins.
Toilet paper and eggs.
Mickey Rourke.

Yup, it's that time of year again. Used to be about costumes and candy, now its about costumes and beer. Costumes being the constant, obviously. Candy and beer are both unhealthy, so I suppose not all that much has changed. And the UNICEF trick or treaters will always make you feel guilty.

In 8th Grade I really went to town on Cabbage Night. That's all I'm gonna say. But it was fun.

In the spirit of the day, I will leave you with some Rocket From the Crypt, who broke up four years ago today. These are some mp3s from their last show. Enjoy.

Rocket From the Crypt - I'm Not Invisible
Rocket From the Crypt - Ditch Digger

Buy 'em up:
Merch Lackey

New Ted Leo Song!?

I've counted myself as a solid Ted Leo fan since he came to Clark University back during the first semester of Freshman year. He had a pretty rough cold and one of his fingers was bleeding but he rocked ever so hard in spite of his varied maladies. Living With the Living was a fine record and although his label Touch and Go had to make some painful cuts earlier this year, he recently signed with Matador, and it appears he's been getting his write on and will have a new album out hopefully sometime in the Spring of 2010. Also, did I mention that he has a Twitter? Being one of Ted Leo's tweeps is a rewarding experience, I promise.

Somewhere under that hat dwells the most awesome Mohawk you'll never see. Cheers.



(Via donewaiting.com)

And Tomorrow We'll Take Aim / Just Like a Storm Waiting For a Calm.

It's weird how you can associate a song with stuff that has nothing to do with the lyrical content of the song itself, say what song came after it on a mix CD your friend burned for you in high school, or what was happening in your life when you first heard this song.

I can't say I'm a particularly big fan of their current incarnation, but old-school Against Me! was a beautiful thing. For me, this song is Spring break 2007 (Dirrty Jerz edition) encapsulated. Not coincidentally, I saw them at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville that same trip (here's a decent write-up). Bruce Springsteen was at the bar, no joke. Of course I had an X on each hand at that juncture. The crowd was nuts and my tiny friend Dana got sucked into the pit of despair and yet somehow emerged a few minutes later unharmed. The rascals would not get their gnome trophy that night.

Through the magic of Google, I tracked down a short clip of the encore, "We Laugh At Danger and Break All the Rules":



After 2007's subpar New Wave (which was still good enough for Spin magazine to name it album of the year [take that as you will]), I hold little hope for White Crosses. Prove me wrong, Tom Gabel. Prove me wrong.

Against Me! - Untitled (From The Acoustic EP)

Buy 'em up:
Sabot Productions

(Part Two)

Please don't get the idea that this is rapidly devolving into some glorified Mountain Goats fan blog (as near and dear to me as the band may be). This post simply serves as an addendum to yesterday's entry on The Life of the World to Come, which if I had been thinking clearly enough at the time, would surely have gotten tacked onto the end of that post. Better late than never I suppose, and thus I present to you now (in the event that you have not already viewed it) The Mountain Goats' performance on The Colbert Report from about three weeks back. There was an interview of John prior to the performance, which you can find here. After all, I wouldn't want to overwhelm the page with multimedia and so crash the machines of those brave few out of my legions of followers who are still running Windows 3.1, right?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Mountain Goats - Psalms 40:2
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Michael Moore

(Via Pitchfork)

Jason Anderson Comes to Clark. Good Things Happen.

Yesterday the pasteurized bar in the basement of the former gymnasium which today is known as The Grind at Clark University was graced by the presence of one Jason Anderson, a native New Englander with a penchant for awesomeness. Similarly to the Andrew W.K. experience of last April, he brought a positive attitude, a sense of hope, pure joy, and the promise that Rock'n'Roll is not dead and that the feelings it conveys and creates can be used to make each listener's life better, and the whole of humanity improved if we all manage to stop and listen. He played to a much smaller crowd than Andrew W.K., but that did not stop him from putting on a memorable show. Frequently audience (and band) members would chuckle at the frankness of his lyrics, a sort of workingman's straightforward poetry often held together by giant major chords, and yet broken with moments of great quiet and intimacy, lyrics whispered, guitar strings barely plucked. To be in the crowd was not to merely watching the band play, it was to play along, to shout, to sing along, to clap your hands and stomp your feet. It was Anderson's show, but it was yours too, an easy joint custody of an evening that in his words "will never happen exactly the same ever again." Admittedly and ashamedly I was new to his music, and sometimes seeing an artist live that can be prohibitive to full enjoyment of the work, but in this case there was no such barrier to be broken. Everything sounded familiar, but not overly derivative or generic. He seemed perfect parts Glen Hansard, Josh Ritter, and Ted Leo, a seasoned professional who knew exactly what he was doing, but did it with a level of emotion and humility that made him and his music instantly enjoyable. I left hoarse and ecstatic, hoping that the endorphins would never wear off, that I could always go through life with the sense of right and purpose I felt this night, that I wouldn't need additional doses of that drug called music to stay on course. Michael Skinner (perhaps not the best person to mine for meaningful quotes, but why not?) once said that the two great narcotics are Christianity and alcohol. He prefers the latter, and I prefer live shows in the vein of the one that Jason Anderson put on last night. Sometimes the option not given is the best to take. 8.5

JASON ANDERSON'S WEBSITE

Rainn Wilson Redux

Several months back I posted a link to an acoustic demo I did called "Rainn Wilson Stopped the Drought." Well, last night my band played at a battle of the bands at Clark, and we just so happened to play a radically reworked version of that very song. My good friend James was nice enough to get it on video:



If you want to look and listen to similar stuff, head on over to our MySpace page.