Vivid lyrics, powerful guitar chords and alcohol-soaked wit greeted music fans at The Mighty North Star Bar Sept. 22. That's right, The Mountain Goats (aka John Darnielle and his bassist buddy Peter Hughes) came to Philadelphia to deliver some highly descriptive folksy songs and some mildly slurred, righteously hilarious conversation, with tour support from Raleigh, N.C. natives Bowerbirds. Tonight saw a mix of brand new, never before played material and old favorites. The crowd was ecstatic; Darnielle was charming. It was a good night.
While the 21 and over event had a listed 9 p.m. start time, Bowerbirds didn't take the stage until 10 p.m. This didn't matter much, though, for several reasons. First, the assembled hipsters and indie kids were gracious. Also, they had been drinking. But most importantly, Bowerbirds are a neat acoustic indie pop trio.
Consisting of guitarist Phil Moore, accordionist Beth Tacular and violinist Mark Paulson, with a hi-hat and bass drum shared among the three, Bowerbirds serve up classic Bacharach-ian pop in the vein of Sondre Lerche, only more stripped down. Tunes like "Dark Horse" and "In Our Talons" had a French café vibe to them. Blame it on the accordionist. Or congratulate her. Either way, Darnielle loves Bowerbirds, and it's easy to see why. Light and fluffy, the band's songs pass by well enough.
Then came the magnificent Mountain Goats. Darnielle and Hughes looked dapper in super fine suits, because sometimes rocking out requires a bit of class. The set began with the quiet, melancholic "Wild Sage," from the Collegian-approved Get Lonely. As Darnielle whispered about walking along a road, depressed onto the brink of madness, a silence fell over nearly the entire audience.
But the silence didn't last for long, as Darnielle started mixing old cuts like "Cheshire Country" with new ditties. "In the Craters on the Moon, from The Mountain Goats' upcoming 15th LP, harkened back to Darnielle's lo-fi material, when he used to beat his guitar mercilessly to get his point across. Played alongside other crowd favorites like "Jenny" and "Nine Black Poppies," "In the Craters on the Moon" proved to be every bit of a barnburner.
The Mountain Goats were just as incredible in between songs as they were during them. Before playing "Cubs in Five," an ode to his favorite baseball team from 1995's Nine Black Poppies, Darnielle explained his love for Chicago's team. He compared the heartbreak of watching the Cubs in the fall to watching the four wheels of a car blow off.
"One comes off when the coach comes down with the flu," he said. "...The fourth one, the fourth one comes off when my man Steve Bartman reaches out and grabs a foul ball, denying you the one thing you've wanted more than anything since you were nine years old, the World Series. And it doesn't even matter if they lose. They can blow out in game four; I don't care. I just want to be there," he said while he patted his guitar. Then, as he prepared to start the song, with barely any provocation, one of his guitar strings snapped. Consider that a sign from beyond, Cubs fans.
Darnielle triumphed, though, delivering a riotous rendition of "Cubs in Five," perhaps in defiance of God's will. Other highlights included "You or Your Memory," "Dance Music," "Woke Up New" and set-closer "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton," as well as another new song, "September 15th, 1983," the day reggae icon Prince Far died. Locking eyes with fans for entire verses, the connection between performer and audience was intimate that night. But while hearing cuts from The Sunset Tree and All Hail West Texas was life-affirmingly awesome, none could touch Darnielle's encore.
Amid cries for obscure songs like "Goldenboy," he went into a zone all his own as he began "Shadow Song," a simple track from The Coroner's Gambit. Much quieter than the boom box version, for no one can call lo-fi Mountain Goats "studio quality," Darnielle stunned the crowd. Not just with his lyrics, as gorgeous as they are, but with his emotive genius. Adding a second part to the song, he bent over his guitar and wailed as he strummed, face contorted in agony. What was even more intense, however, was when he repeated the part, face still contorted, but without any sound escaping his twisted mouth. Beautiful and painful and primal and alive, "Shadow Song" was unquestionably the best performance of the night.
Leaving the crowd with a rousing rendition of "This Year," with its repeated mantra of "I am gonna make it through this year/if it kills me," Darnielle and Hughes left the audience thrilled, energized, with a satisfaction that not even the finest pint of Octoberfest can top. Old and new combined that night. Bowerbirds proved that, contrary to what some people might tell you, indie music hasn't sold out just yet. Meanwhile, The Mountain Goats proved that, 16 years later, they're still ripe with fight, still in their prime songwriting years, still pretty gosh darn great.
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