This past Monday marked my second time seeing The New Pornographers live. And just like last time, the show was at the Crofoot, a venue I really enjoy, especially in the summer. They’ve always got the doors open creating a really nice breeze inside, and there’s an enormous two level patio just outside the main room with it’s own bar and lots of room to hang. Nothing better on a summer night. I hadn’t really planned on going until a few days before so there was no buildup leading up to it, which is always nice.
I decided instead of missing every opening band ever, I’d get there extra early to catch all three acts playing that night. First up was The Dutchess and The Duke out of Seattle. The group was made up of two guys and a gal, two guitars and a tambourine. I’d heard of them but hadn’t heard them before and it was really enjoyable. Nice folky music with lots of really great harmonies. I was at first confused by the tambourine man, but they informed us that the actual second guitar player (tambourine man) was putting away his dishes a day or two before leaving for tour and dropped his food processor and caught it by the blade. So the de-facto second guitar player (who was actually the bass player) learned all the songs on guitar in a few days. Got all that? Either way, I liked them, and I’d imagine they are even better at full strength.
The Dutchess and the Duke – Reservoir Park
buy it on 
or amazon
Up next was The Dodos. Before I start, I know I’m going to do them no justice. You just have to see them if you ever get the chance. I knew one or two songs by them, but they were all pretty light, so I was completely shocked by the ridiculous energy that I saw that night. It was a pretty unorthodox makeup, with a drummer, guitarist and mallet player (I couldn’t decide if it was a vibraphone or a marimba). The first song started out pretty mellow and acoustic, but within the first minute, the tempo sped up out of the blue and lead singer/guitarist Maric went crazy on his guitar finger picking faster than my eyes could keep up with. Just about every song ran the gamut of tempos, key changes, time signature changes, and all around awesome energy. And at times the vibraphone player would play the notes with a cello bow, which I have never seen before. It’s pretty much impossible for me to describe how much I wanted their set to continue all night, but let me just say that I had a huge grin on my face throughout their set which is pretty rare for a band I don’t know very well. This video won’t do them justice either, but it at least gives you a general idea of the awesomeness I was lucky enough to witness.
buy it on or amazon
Last but certainly not least was the main event (although I would argue that The Dodos may have stolen the show), The New Pornographers. Even though I’d already seen the same band at the same venue, the biggest difference was that this time the full band was present, including the previously absent member Dan Bejar. Let’s talk about Dan Bejar for a second. This guy is a character and a half (which I think is pretty apparent just from listening to his music). My favorite part (besides his awesome hair and general too cool for school attitude, which I think is justified) is that he would only come on stage for his songs, play them, and then leave the stage, never even putting down the beer in his hands, except for the few tunes when he played guitar. But I will say that he was a welcome addition to the group.
I think what I like most about this group is that their music is just so damn happy. And with 9 members on stage at times, it’s pretty tough for it not to be high energy as well. A winning combo. They played a really great combination of new and old tunes, so even though I’m not 100% familiar with the new album, I still had plenty of jams to sing along with. It’s always a pleasure to hear my girl Neko singing live and even though she was experiencing some technical difficulties, we still love her a lot. For me, one of the highlights was probably “Jackie Dressed in Cobras” mostly because they played it last time they were in town as a request but mentioned they hadn’t played it in a long time, so they got a chance at redemption. And I will never get tired of hearing “The Bleeding Heart Show” on my ipod, much less live. The “New Pornographers” backdrop was a really nice touch. Simple but effective (not to mention pretty great for picture taking if I do say so myself). I almost wrote this show off since I’d already seen them at this venue, but I’m pretty glad I decided to make it happen. All in all there aren’t too many better ways to spend your Monday night.
The New Pornographers – Your Hands (Together)
buy it on or amazon
