[These pics are from Jeff Mangum's Paramount Theater performance last October. Due to the strict no-photo policy, images are difficult to come by]. Last night’s Jeff Mangum show will be the last for the foreseeable future in our area, and it brought most of the 1000+ at Irvine Auditorium on the campus of UPenn to tears. This was our sixth show, including the five-song mini set in NYC two years ago, and it proved to be one of the most memorable. It was our second time with balcony seats, as the only show in Philadelphia sold out in 34 seconds back in November. Luckily, the acoustics of the auditorium were comparable to the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park. We skipped out on Neutral Milk Hotel alum Julian Koster’s The Music Tapes after a tedious opening set in Brooklyn several days earlier. Koster told the same long-winded, mythical stories he told during the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour. A 30-minute set would have been just right, but the band played on for an hour (equal stage time as Mangum).
Mangum entered stage right with his normal humble but slightly paranoid demeanor, but you could tell he was getting used to and was enjoying performing again after a large string of dates over past few months. He started right into “Two-Headed Boy Pt. Two” to a completely silent audience. It was so quiet you’d have to question, just for a second, if they were into it. The raging applause, yelps, “thank yous,” “we love yous,” etc. quickly put to rest that thought immediately. One of the highlights of the night was the accompaniment of Julian Koster’s singing saw during fan-favorite “Engine,” just as he did earlier in the week in Brooklyn (during a show I missed). Koster hit every note perfectly, and the song never sounded better. An additional highlight was another performance of the ultra-rare “Little Birds,” Mangum’s take on religious baptism, in which he sings in a raised voice, “knowing God in heaven could have … never could forgive him | So I took a hammer and I nearly beat his brains in.” Like most of his songs, the imagery taken from Mangum’s lyrics is both disturbing and beautiful. In the end, the highlight of each and every show was my personal favorite, “Oh Comely.” You can check it out the performance below [via NewJawnVideos] (poor video, decent audio):
One of the best surprises of the night featured The Music Tapes walking in from the rear of the auditorium at the end of “Two-Headed Boy.” On Neutral Milk Hotel’s opus In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, “Two-Headed Boy” is followed by the trumpet-heavy instrumental track “The Fool.” The Music Tapes made it about 2/3 through the main aisle in the orchestra section and stopped, playing the trumpet part of “The Fool” in the middle of the crowd. Mangum has previously told everyone to leave their seats, and approach the stage. The aisles were full, and the entire audience was standing by this point. The trumpet wasn’t mic’d but supplemented Mangum’s strumming guitar masterfully. Jeff and company exited the stage when the song ended. Mangum returned for a two-song encore after thunderous applause from the eager crowd. He went right into “Song Against Sex,” from NMH’s first album On Avery Island. He then finished the set with an epic performance of “In The Aeroplance Over The Sea.” I’ve heard the song live several times before, but it was always missing Koster’s singing saw, which adds a beautiful eeriness to the dreadfully hopeful track. Koster entered once again with saw in hand, and the NMH bandmates played a masterful live version of the song.
Jeff had previously announced these were the last shows for now, if not forever. And he kind of confirmed that last night when a fan shouted “see you soon” from the audience. Jeff responded “maybe” with obvious hesitance and doubt in his voice. One can only hope for anything more, including new music. In the meantime, we will revel in memory of these amazing shows that we never dreamed would happen.
Here is last night’s setlist:
Although Jeff didn’t play the song, listen to Fishpork’s favorite track of 2011, the previously unreleased “Ferris Wheel on Fire” below:
While I have never big a huge fan of Black Dice, Eric Copeland’s opening set was a brilliant mindfuck. Drowned in almost indecipherable noise, each song flirted with melody, while maintaining a glorious and painful rough edge. I’m going to go back now and explore the Black Dice catalog and the rest of Copeland’s solo work immediately. Here’s a video from the performance of “Fun Dink Death” that liberateanimals5 took from the balcony:
Avey Tare’s (aka Dave Portner) set up was more basic than what he does for Animal Collective. The solo show featured some samplers, effects, a mixer, and, of course, his mic. There was no guitar or live drums, and Portner confirmed that he wouldn’t be playing any Animal Collective tracks when we passed him at the bar before the show. The result was an uber-emotional performance of tracks mostly from last year’s criminally-overlooked and intensely dark album, Down There, which was inspired by a few enveloping personal issues that Portner was going through at the time, including a divorce from his wife.
I’ve always enjoyed Animal Collective as a studio band more than a live band. While Animal Collective’s intricate collage of samples and loops has never been entirely engaging when recreated live, Portner’s energetic performances and vocal style have always been the exception for me. And it translated last night as well. There were distinct moments where Portner added textures, live loops and his signature and sporadic vocal yelps. Most Animal Collective fans seem to prefer Panda Bear’s solo work, but Avey Tare’s contributions have always engaged me more as a listener. Being able to check out one of your all-time favorite artists perform at your all-time favorite venue is not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening in the city. Check out a video of Avey Tare performing “Lucky 1″ from last night’s show:
Last night, we finally made our way over to Union Transfer, Philadelphia’s newest venue for live music. Brokeback, a side project formed by Tortoise bassist Doug McCombs, was the surprisingly decent opening act at last night’s The Sea and Cake Show. Unfortunately, the crowd was sparse during their set. The four-piece had a killer sound, like a post/progressive rock band that wrote the score for an old western film. With a wall of noise and distortion in the background, McCombs’ guitar was the centerpiece of this instrumental outfit. Though they had all the right ingredients to good post rock. Ultimately, I wasn’t completely convinced, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying their set.
The crowd finally started filling out a bit more when The Sea and Cake took the stage. Most in attendance were bobbin’ their heads to the music (can’t really dance to post-rock), but there were also a few die hards that enjoyed the set more than others. A couple even came in late but made their way toward the stage and proceeded to dance to every song. Watching someone jump around like they are at a dubstep show while listening to jazzy post-rock was distracting to say the least; but once guitarist Archer Prewitt took out the ebow, I was hooked. The band performed a well-balanced set of newer and older songs from their catalog, while the crowd seemed more enthusiastic toward the newer tracks.
The highlight of the night was a spot-on performance of “Inn Keeping.” The song sounds literally split in half, with the first part exploring the band’s indie rock alter ego and the concluding half serving as a solo for Prewitt’s guitar. He adds a layer to these tracks, slowly bringing tones and feedback in and out with the ebow, that elevates those songs to fully-realized compositions. While the venue was moderately-sized, Prewitt made the room feel bigger than it really was. In the end, it was a great show. If you overlook the awkward stage presence (minimal to no conversation), you will discover a band that is doing what they really love. They may not show it, but you can undoubtedly hear it in their music. Check out the band playing “Exact To Me” below:
Amon Tobin’s music has always taken on a cinematic characteristic. With his current ISAM Live tour, Tobin’s live show brings the experience to its full potential. The ISAM tour features a stunning 25′ x 14′ x 8′ multi-dimensional, shape-shifting 3-D art installation surrounding Tobin and enveloping him and the audience in a visually-synched experience (see video below). Tobin is physically set in a center cube, which only reveals who is inside about once every 10 minutes or so. We arrived at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple with great anticipation, which was partly created by a trailer for the show that was posted months ago (see below). It was the first of three sold-out shows in Brooklyn and featured British electronic artist Emika as the opener. For a classically trained musician, she didn’t “play” much live besides triggering samples and twisting a few knobs. However, her vocals were inspired, albeit dreary. The crowd reacted well during moments where her songs featured monstrous bass and face-melting synths. We concluded during the set that a visual component was needed since the performance was not visually engaging.
Amon Tobin’s set began about 20 minutes after Emika exited the stage. It began with images slowly moving up and down the installation, fading in and out. And then all hell broke loose! Tobin’s new record is loud, obnoxious and just plain mean. There were rare opportunities to take a breath and discern if your ear drums still worked. I won’t go into much detail about the visuals, as you’ll have to watch some videos on YouTube to understand how complex the programming and planning was. And words really will not do it justice … they are not meant to. After 60 minutes of being eviscerated aurally and visually, we were ready for it to be over and it was. Tobin exited from his center cube and acknowledged the audience with drink in hand, and we returned with a much-deserved ovation for being part of it.
While this past Monday’s Jeff Mangum show at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park fell under the guise of ATP’s weekend-long I’ll Be Your Mirror music festival, it was available to non-ATP attendees and served as a separate event from the weekend festivities. And did it ever deserve its own night! We attended both Friday and Sunday performances and were expecting more of the same. What we got was something even better. [Photo via relaxing]
The night before Jeff hinted that Scott Spillane’s horn section would return one of these days after a vague reply to a question from the audience. I figured maybe Scott and fellow Elephant Sixers may join each others’ sets at Mangum’s curated ATP Festival in Minehead in December, since all members of Neutral Milk Hotel would already be playing with their current and respective projects. Instead, Jeff surprised all by inviting Jeremy Barnes’ (Neutral Milk Hotel drummer) Hawk and a Hacksaw, who served as the opening act, on stage for two songs. The first guest appearance was mid-set during “April 8th” from NMH’s On Avery Island. The second appearance by Barnes and company was during “The Fool,” the final song during Jeff’s two-song encore. Jeff alone with his acoustic guitar is a revelation, but to hear these songs more fully realized left us hoping we’d get to see a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion one of these days. Beyond that, would we be greedy to hope for new music as well? Probably. However, Jeff did leave that door open on Friday night when asked if he would ever write music again. “If my heart is in it” was his response.
Jeff seemed much more comfortable this time out. He appeared flat-footed and reserved during the first two performances earlier in the weekend but was moving about during Monday’s show. His requests for sing-alongs were now demands … “If you know the words, sing the fucking song.” And he seemed confident throughout. After a few quick exchanges between songs, he told the audience, “I’m going to go back to doing what I’m good at.” Another highlight of the night included the second ever performance of “Little Birds.” Hear a stream of the rare live performance of the song below [via Tyler Coates]
Check out Monday’s set list at the bottom of the page. Jeff has a few more dates in 2011, but you may need to hit Stubhub if you don’t already have tix. Most of the shows are sold out. Fortunately for some, he’s just added a second show in Jersey City in November. See the rest of his tour dates below:
Oct 29 New York, NY Town Hall SOLD OUT
Nov 5 Jersey City, NJ Loew’s Jersey Theatre (just added)
Nov 6 Jersey City, NJ Loew’s Jersey Theatre SOLD OUT
Nov 30 Dublin, IRE Whelan’s SOLD OUT
Dec 2 – Dec 4 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties Curated by Jeff Mangum at Butlins Holiday Centre SOLD OUT
Dec 8 London, UK Union Chapel SOLD OUT
Dec 9 London, UK Union Chapel SOLD OUT
Asbury Park has been in a state of cultural and economic revival over the past ten years, so it was only fitting that All Tomorrow’s Parties brought their burgeoning I’ll Be Your Mirror music festival to the historic seaside town. FRIDAY. We arrived in Asbury in time to check-in, collect our Friday Jeff Mangum tickets and catch Cults at Asbury Lanes. The sound was absolutely meticulous, and the Manhattan-based duo (plus live members) plowed through their indie-pop catalog before a near-capacity crowd. Our next stop was to the Paramount Theater for visually-stunning The Album Leaf, the solo project of San Diego-based multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle. LaValle and his live band took advantage of the Paramount’s top-notch acoustics, delivering an intensely atmospheric set that featured a superbly-lit backdrop.
We next strolled through the Grand Arcade to the adjacent Convention Hall, grabbed spirits, and waited for the Steve Albini-led Shellac to begin. Without any sort of notice, Albini and company ripped into their set with amps turned to “bleed.” I had to take my aging ear drums to the rear section of seats. Convention Hall does not have the best reputation for sound quality, but the sound techs were on their game all weekend. Shellac’s performance was one of the big hits at the festival. We ran into many who praised the performance, and the same question was repeated all weekend: “Did you see Shellac’s set on Friday?” The band later performed a surprise set at the much smaller Asbury Lanes.
Our next stop was the show we had anticipated since tickets went on sale and the lineup was announced. Having been previously teased by his five-song set at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC last year, the reclusive Jeff Mangum promised a 60-minute set at the Paramount Theater. As the crowd waited anxiously, the staff announced that Jeff had personally requested that all photo, video, and audio recordings be prohibited. We turned off our cell phones, and Jeff walked on stage to thunderous applause and howls from the crowd.
He sat down in a chair at center stage surrounded by four acoustic guitars on stands and went into my all-time favorite song, “Oh Comely,” the epic eight-minute closer to Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Jeff was very reserved on Friday night but played favorites from NMH’s catalog, including “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” “The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. One,” and “Holland, 1945.” The crowd showed genuine appreciation with loud applause after each song. Jeff returned the love with several “thank-yous” and grateful gestures. Mangum ended his set, and the crowd cheered enthusiastically for an encore. Jeff returned to the stage and continued with “Naomi” and “Engine.” We left with weak knees and heavy hearts. The rest of the night was spent at The Annex on Cookman Avenue relishing our experiences of the day.
SATURDAY. Saturday proved to be the strongest of the three days collectively. We started with Geoff Barrow’s recent side project, Beak>, at Convention Hall and stayed for excellent sets by Foot Village, The Horrors and Battles. LA-based Foot Village may have brought the most energy to Asbury, but the four-drummer set-up grew a bit tired beyond the 30-minute mark. The Horrors, a band I tried getting into after Trent Reznor’s high praise, were electrifying. Geoff Barrow produced their second and most-acclaimed album, Primary Colours, and his decision to bring them to Asbury paid off.
We’ve seen Battles twice before, and Ian Williams and company made tons of new fans based on our conversations over the weekend. Although their set was racked with technical issues, the veterans kept smiles on their faces and pleased one of the larger crowds of the weekend. We skipped Ultramagnetic MCs and Swans to grab dinner, proper drinks and prepare for the rare Portishead performance later that night. The performance by Swans seemed to get a lot of attention from social media, as audience members tweeted about the intense volume of the show.
As their 10pm set time approached, the largest crowd of the weekend flooded Convention Hall for Portishead. Save the three Jeff Mangum sets (I’m biased), no performance approached the sheer magnitude, emotion, or sound of Portishead’s Saturday night show (we gave our Sunday wristbands to family members). The setlist featured classics like “Sour Times” and “Glorybox” but seemed to focus on more recent tracks from Third. “Machine Gun” is a personal favorite (sorry, not regretting missing the Chuck D mash-up on Saturday) and was the high point. The obnoxiously harsh, brutal, and repetitive bass-heavy beat contrasted with the delicate voice of Beth Gibbons is such an aural mindfuck. The band experienced a minor technical issue while starting “Chase the Tear” but quickly recovered. Another personal favorite, “Threads,” served as the set closer, but the crowd quickly pleaded for an encore with thunderous applause. Portishead acknowledged and played “Roads” and “We Carry On” for their last two songs of the night. We all left knowing we had experienced something special.
SUNDAY. We planned a lighter day on Sunday with brief appearances at DD/MM/YYYY and Deerhoof shows after Sunday pitchers at Wonder Bar. Again, the focus was on the Jeff Mangum show, which was rescheduled for 3:30. Jeff put on another spirited performance and was a bit more vocal during his Sunday set. One audience member asked if he enjoyed performing, and Jeff responded, “Yes, very much so.” Another audience member asked about Scott Spillane’s horns, and Jeff teased crowds by hinting that the horns would eventually become part of his performance. We left again in a state of euphoria but could not possibly be prepared for what would come on Monday night’s show. We’ll post that show review separately. At the end of the day, ATP’s I’ll Be Your Mirror festival in Asbury Park removed everything we despise about large, bloated festivals (I tend to avoid them like the plague) and gave us one of the greatest musical weekends of our lives. Kudos to Barry Hogan and All Tomorrow’s Parties for bringing this perfect event to our backyard. If the festival returns in 2012, we’ll be first in line!
Our set list: Friday
Cults @ Asbury Lanes
The Album Leaf @ Paramount Theater
Shellac @ Convention Hall
Jeff Mangum @ Paramount Theater
Saturday
Beak> @ Convention Hall
Foot Village @ Convention Hall
Silver-Qluster @ Paramount Theater
The Horrors @ Convention Hall
Battles @ Convention Hall
Portishead @ Convention Hall
Sunday
DD/MM/YYYY @ Convention Hall
Deefhoof @ Convention Hall
Jeff Mangum @ Paramount Theater
Monday
Jeff Mangum @ Paramount Theater
ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror – Asbury Park – September 30 – October 2, 2011
The Red Falcon Projects. These guys really killed it. They sort of looked like former members of an 80′s hair metal band who eventually took a lot of acid and decided to play with synths instead. The Red Falcon Projects come out and start their set off slow with spacey synths whizzing by. In the distance you can hear a beat start to surface; next thing I knew, there was a girl next to me full-on raving. They had me mesmerized. I loved the contrast of the almost mechanical beats mixing with the very organic and swelling synths. As the opener turned off their equipment, I was bummed for about two seconds. And then I remembered who was up next … The Marshmallow Ghosts!
But that was a lie, because there was a surprise guest. I had heard that one of my favorite rappers had been on tour with someone but they canceled, and somehow he got snagged by Black Moth’s tour. So out stumbled Serengeti. Wow, he was wasted. But that made no difference, he plugged his iPod shuffle in and went at it. He kept referring to his stuff as “just some rap shit”. Oh, I beg to differ. The crowd didn’t seem to really get why he was up there at first, but everyone eventually warmed up to it. As he finished his set, he looked to the back of the room and said something along the lines of, “I think that’s it, right Marshmallows?”
The anticipation of the Marshmallow Ghosts live has been stewing since the day I heard they were opening. How to describe them? Ryan Graveface fronted, psychedelic shoegaze meets creepy backwoods folk. Everything about them is distorted, from their appearances (they all wore masks) to their vocals and instruments. The lights go down, and they take the stage. Their new songs have more of a shoegaze feel than the creepy Halloween theme to their previous releases. The songs build a great deal of tension and then slam you with a wall of fuzz and distortion. This was mostly influenced by their bassist. The second she stomped that distortion pedal, everything changed. She would go from playing single ambient notes to full four string chords, giving every chorus a very huge, full feel. Their set was a constant swell of this trend, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It is almost Halloween, do yourself a favor and buy their album. Support bands that deserve it.
Black Moth Super Rainbow. What else is there to say? The self-conscious synth-pop band from the middle of the forest. This isn’t my first time seeing them, but the first time was at a festival. Of course, I prefer the intimate venue. BMSR takes the stage, and I am standing literally three feet from Seven Fields, at the most, and right in front of Iffernaut. Her beats were so prominent in every song. On the album they are present but live they really pound, especially during “All The Friends You Can Eat” and “Spiracle.” Watching her play was intense; I was blown away. The reworked, live version of “I Think It Is Beautiful That You Are 256 Colors Too” was definitely one of the highlights of the set. The original song alone has a relaxing summer feel, but they added a more epic soundscape to the live version. The new songs have a really great vibe to them and seem to stray from the sing-along style of Dandelion Gum and the composition-heavy Eating Us. Every album they release has a prominent change in style, and that’s what makes each album great.
After thirteen songs of being lost in a daze, the bass line starts for their final song of the set, and audience loses their mind as they hear the “Forever Heavy” synth fade in slowly underneath. The song had such a gargantuan feel to it. Then, they were gone. The crowd didn’t stop cheering until they came back out. It’s a bit surprising that “Sun Lips” has become the sing-along song for all fans. At both shows, the festival and here, fans were yelling the lyrics. Strange. Then, came the Tobacco songs. They played “Motorlicker” and “Constellation Dirtbike Head.” Absolutely insane! Show over. If you’re looking for musicians that ‘push the envelope’ check out all of the bands on this ticket; and if you ever have a chance to catch them live, GO! That’s all there is to it.
SETLIST
(New Song)
Melt Me
Tooth Decay
(New Song)
Neon Syrup for the Cemetery Sisters
Iron Lemonade
All The Friends You Can Eat
I Think It’s Beautiful That You Are 256 Colors Too
(New Tobacco Song)
The Afternoon Turns Pink
Drippy Eye
Spiracle
Caterpillar House
Forever Heavy
ENCORE
Sun Lips
Motorlicker
Constellation Dirtbike Head
This was my sixth Deerhunter show, and I was curious to see how the Athens-based foursome would present their fuzz-laden pop melodies to a larger NYC venue. Webster Hall is nearly three times the size of the Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn), where I saw the band twice. Bradford Cox and company had played Webster Hall already last October, but this time it was the first of two sold-out shows. It was immediately obvious that the band was going to play off their recent indie stardom while they could. The band minus Bradford Cox came on stage and were greeted by anxious applause at around 10:30. They began playing an extended intro to “Basement Scene,” as Mr. Cox finally strolled out and caught a mic tossed by one of the stage techs. The crowd showed their appreciation for the frontman’s appearance, and he began humming the opening melody of the Everly Brothers-inspired track.
In the past, Cox tended to take a very reserved approach (post dress-wearing era, of course) to his live performances. Tonight was something different. Bradford appeared to be in full-blown rock star mode, and deservedly so. The singer/guitarist/effects manipulator added new lyrics and energetic sound effects throughout the setlist, and he wore his hair in either a classic or postpunk style (I couldn’t see it that well). All of this was even more impressive considering the band was severely jet-lagged following several international flights over the past week. Cox even admitted halfway through the set he was somewhat delirious, but that the effects were like a drug. Don’t be fooled by Cox’s new-found rock star energy; he is still the most polite and approachable musician working today.
The setlist contained mostly new tracks off of highly-acclaimed Halcyon Digest. Usually, a crowd is not as eager to hear the new stuff, but Deerhunter is just starting to reach a larger audience, and Halcyon is the album that is responsible. Unfortunately, the fairweather fans at last night’s show proved to be such, as many fled to the bars during the band’s more obscure songs like “Little Kids.” Longtime fans, of course, appreciated the balance of the set, and especially the new approaches to several tracks, including 10+ minute jam versions of “Nothing Ever Happened” and instant-classic “He Would Have Laughed.” The latter was one of the most creative variations of an already incredible song I have witnessed, and it was perfectly placed at the end of the band’s encore. Deerhunter announced that it would not return to NYC for some time. Fortunately, this gig will standout in our memories for some time.
Deerhunter – Webster Hall – August 22, 2011
Basement Scene
Desire Lines
Hazel St.
Don’t Cry
Revival
Little Kids
Memory Boy
Nothing Ever Happened
Spring Hall Convert
Cover Me (Slowly)
Agoraphobia
Green Fuzz (by The Cramps)
LCD Soundsystem played their fourth consecutive sold out show at Terminal 5 on Thursday night, which leads to Saturday night’s farewell gig at Madison Square Garden. The extended set list for this final club show went on for an astounding three hours and fifteen minutes. The band practically played their entire three-album catalog, save a few covers, with minimal breaks, incredible intensity and the volume turned to max. The 41-year-old James Murphy even joked that drummer Pat Mahoney was suffering from severe back pain, citing “reason #700″ why the band was retiring.
From the opening rendition of personal favorite “Dance Yrself Clean” to the epic closer “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” during the band’s encore, the show was one for the ages. Props to Terminal 5 and the band’s techs for the amazing sound! If you weren’t at one of these final shows, you certainly missed out on seeing one of our generation’s most talented musicians retire LCD Soundsystem in grand style. [Images via BrooklynVegan]
Here is the epic, 3+ hours setlist:
Dance Yrself Clean
Drunk Girls
I Can Change
Time to Get Away
Get Innocuous
Daft Punk is Playing at my House
Too Much Love
All My Friends
—————-
You Can’t Hide (Shame on You) w/ Reggie Watts
Sound of Silver
Out in Space
Ships Talking
Freak Out/Starry Eyes
—————–
Us vs. Them
North American Scum
You Wanted a Hit
Tribulations
Movement
Yeah
Someone Great
Losing My Edge
Home ENCORE
All I Want
Jump into the Fire (Harry Nilsson cover)
New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down
It was a nostalgic trip into the depths of our indie fandom on Monday night, as the Athens-based heroes from the Elephant 6 collective treated a sold out crowd at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory to the best of their eclectic discography. It was the first of three sold out shows in NYC. The night was highlighted by some of the stronger tracks in the Elephant 6 vault. Elite players from The Olivia Tremor Control (Will Cullen Hart & Bill Doss) and Elf Power (Andrew Rieger) often overshadowed the rest of the collective.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter, as the lesser known projects were front and center just as much as the established. Neutral Milk Hotel alums, Scott Spillane (The Gerbils) and Julian Koster (The Music Tapes), were given ample stage time for their offbeat, experimental projects. There was a sense of complete democracy among the players, which is part of the appeal of the group of indie veterans. The night was interestingly complimented by odd, seemingly acid-induced storytelling from Koster and a giant snowman stage left. During a trip outside to make a phone call, I rubbed shoulders with Jeff Mangum. Yes, he was there but did not play. I suppose we’ll be able to wait until his Fall tour, which include four NJ dates!
[These pics are from Jeff Mangum's Paramount Theater performance last October. Due to the strict no-photo policy, images are difficult to come by]. Last night’s Jeff Mangum show will be the last for the foreseeable future in our area, and it brought most of the 1000+ at Irvine Auditorium on the campus of UPenn to tears. This was our sixth show, including the five-song mini set in NYC two years ago, and it proved to be one of the most memorable. It was our second time with balcony seats, as the only show in Philadelphia sold out in 34 seconds back in November. Luckily, the acoustics of the auditorium were comparable to the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park. We skipped out on Neutral Milk Hotel alum Julian Koster’s The Music Tapes after a tedious opening set in Brooklyn several days earlier. Koster told the same long-winded, mythical stories he told during the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour. A 30-minute set would have been just right, but the band played on for an hour (equal stage time as Mangum).
