Managed to catch The New Pornographers last night playing the Edmonton Event Center. First off, this venue really is pretty shit. It's hard not to feel like your jammed in a cattle shoot instead of standing in front of a stage. The acoustics leave little to be desired as well. The giant, hanger like open roof needs some dampeners or something to clean up the sound. More on that later.
The New Pornographers. I have a confession to make. I'm only familiar with them due to hearing that Neko Case sings with them periodically, and a song they have in Rock Band. As a result, this review is automatically biased in that this pretty much could of been "Neko Case and The New Pornographers". Mostly singing back up and harmonies, Nekos voice combined with keyboardist Kathryn Calders pretty much overpowered the band and turned many of the songs into magic. It would be hard to imagine the line up without Neko being a part of it. Which isn't to say that the band is nothing special in it's own right. Masterfully switching up instruments and genres, yet always sounding original and like their own thing, they're well worth checking out on their own right. Neko just bumped it all up past 11 and made a great show amazing. As far as the junkie guy who only wandered out half pissed to sing on his own songs, he can bugger off as far as I'm concerned. Especially with a drummer in the band that sang, played drums and acoustic guitar, all in one song, that Junkie Fuck didn't bother to come out for even though he plays guitar! If you don't want to participate or find something to do with your band, then you shouldn't be in it! Anyways, they're out on tour so if they hit your neck of the woods, you could do a lot worse.
Openers The Mountain Goats sadly didn't fair as well. Another band I'm mostly unfamiliar with. Hell, I mostly know them from a guy suggesting them to me from when I participated actively in an internet cult! Ends up they're not from the UK either, despite the singers voice sounding like a better version of Danny O'Donnel or whoever that PBS singing piece of shit is. They put on a hell of a show as well. A tight trio that plays confidently, they echo at turns The Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan. The problem here is that leader John Darniell clearly has something to say and the lyrics mean more then music. The acoustics in the damned event center made those lyrics into gibberish, highlighted a rather repetitive acoustic guitar and added with a wonk guitar cable, the band clearly suffered through a set that only their sheer joy at performing got them through it. This was supposedly their first stop in Edmonton. I hope they make a second one. To see these guys in a room like the Haven Social Club would fantastic.
So there it is. Two bands I barely know, one left me blown away, the second interested me enough to see them in a venue that doesn't sabotage them from the get go. Both well worth shelling out for if they come to your town. So order a CD or something!
