Monday, June 28, 2010
The Spin The New Pornographers at The Cannery Ballroom, 6/27/10
Posted by The Spin on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 7:51 PM
- Photo: Steve Cross
We’ll understand if you don’t believe us when we say it, but we had every intention of catching openers The Dutchess & The Duke. Certainly, their presence on a New Pornographers/Dodos tour didn’t make a whole lot of sense — they’d be more at home opening for a solo Neko Case show — but, in the interest of a diverse indie palate, we were looking forward to seeing them. Barring a Next Big Nashville performance where The Billy Goats killed it in front of us and roughly 12 of their friends at the ungodly hour of 8 p.m., a show at Cannery starting earlier than 9:30 is unheard of. We figured at 9 p.m., we’d be in with plenty of time to spare. Not so much. We found out later that The Dutchess & The Duke started around 8:15, so we missed the whole damn set. Sorry, bros! Next time?
We were instead greeted by the familiar thump of The Dodos’ dueling percussionists, which we fondly recalled from Thursday afternoon at Bonnaroo. The only difference here was air conditioning and Cannery’s oft-lamented acoustics. One thing we didn’t notice last time was Logan Kroeber’s seriously legit vibraphone playing. Back when we were little Spinners, our school band weapon of choice was the xylophone and that shit was hard. We’ve got a fine appreciation for a band that can fit that sound in without sounding like Vampire Weekend or John Phillip Sousa.
By the time The Dodos ended their set with the Miller-Chill-approved “Fools,” we started to notice how thin the crowd was. The venue was perhaps half-full — what the hell, Nashville? The first time in a long time that The New Pornographers toured as something more than “A.C. Newman and some talented musicians that aren’t Neko Case and Dan Bejar,” and the place isn’t packed? We don’t get it. Neko Case shouldered The Ryman by herself, and surely A.C. Newman and Destroyer have enough indie buzz between them to drag the stragglers in. What’s a band got to do to get a better crowd? Get into a kung-fu deathmatch with Broken Social Scene?
On the other hand, The New Pornographers is not the same band they were when Mass Romantic dropped in 2000. The members aren’t the same people. Fer chrissakes, Neko Case went from power-pop starlet to whiling away her free moments as an enchanted wood nymph. Or at least we’re pretty sure that’s what she is, based on the 30 minutes of forest sounds on Middle Cyclone and a copy of The Lorax. The New Pornographers used to be an excuse to listen to jangly pop music and get down Canadian style. That isn’t quite the case anymore, so to speak, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still play those power-pop songs alongside their more mature new material.
The early part of the show was a technical trench war, with the band fighting for inches against malfunctioning instruments, monitor feedback and the sound guy. Apparently frustrated by technological bullshit, Neko Case threw up her hands and took off in the middle of “Up in the Dark,” two songs into their set. The rest of the crew tried to roll with it, but even an impromptu cover of Lita Ford’s glam-metal hit “Kiss Me Deadly” couldn’t prevent the show from grinding to a halt while the tech people fumbled with the levels and faders or whatever it is they do.
As expected, the set was heavy on Together and light on Challengers. In total, the band played what one of our compadres called “the longest set ever”: a 23-song marathon, including a particularly bitchin’ cover of “Eye of the Tiger” with drummer Kurt Dahle on vocals. Of course the drummer knew all the lyrics to the best song featured in a Hulk Hogan movie (Sorry, “Foaming at the Mouth” by Rigor Mortis from Mr. Nanny).
What we hadn’t expected was the amount of deep cuts in the set, especially the six songs off Twin Cinema. The band stumbled on “The Jessica Numbers,” forcing Newman, Case and the rest into an onstage huddle while the crowd patiently contemplated the $25 they had spent on tickets. When the band was playing they were undeniable, but moments like these made the show feel too much like amateur hour. Still though, those snafus were easy to forget once the band got it together. Case’s voice has taken a turn towards the earthy, and maybe the band isn’t as gleeful as they were 10 years ago, but it’s not like they’ve forgotten how to put on a good show with the breadth of material available to them. They just forget the words sometimes.
Comments (18)
Showing 1-18 of 18
I also remember them saying this was the last show of this leg of their tour... a quick look at their website says it was next-to last... but whatevs. It felt to me like they were just really REALLY fucking road-weary, and it was all they could muster to give a shit. But the songs are damn good and that quality alone carried them.
Or maybe it was just that the technical glitches early-on had everyone distracted...
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Oh, and it was actually "All the Old Showstoppers" during which they had to stop b/c Newman forgot the words.
what was the deal with bejar? was there a particular reason he sat backstage, preferring to get smashed and play every 5 songs?
great show when they were playing. just sort of a weird night though.
corndeaux: You've never seen NP on tour with Dan. That's what he does. Be glad he's even on tour as touring is not his favorite thing to do. That's the way he rolls and if you want an NP tour with Dan that's what you're going to have to live with.
I did wonder: How many bottles of beer did Dan put away during the show? I'm going to take a guess and that he pre-gamed pretty hard too. I'd like to see what damage Dan and Bob Pollard could do together.
rimboy- thanks for the info. that makes a lot of sense- you could see the contempt he had for playing on stage. although when he came on it was worth it because he was excellent.
i thought every time he came on stage he had a new beer- could be wrong but i doubt he was merely sipping his beer for the 15 minutes between appearances. that gives him a conservative 6 for just the 2 hour show. plus god knows how many he had before and after.
It was a good show when they were playing, and they really pulled it together near the end but the sound was awful and the moments in between songs where no one decided to say anything were almost painfully awkward to watch.
Possibly the most painfully awkward show of the year. Neko always seems a bit divalicious for my tastes, but I totally got to see Dan play things in front of people. That's really neat, right?
I agree that Dan seemed full of contempt for...something. He didn't seem to mind playing to the crowd in the least when Destroyer rolled through town a few years ago. I honestly love Dan Bejar and his weirdo voice, but it is always distracting to me when one (or two or three) members of band do NOT seem to be having fun on stage. Oddly enough, the drummer made the show for me. He was playing cheerleader all night with much success.
I don't think it was Neko being a diva. She wasn't feeling well at all and missed the soundcheck because of it according to someone who was there. Also, I can't blame her for being pissed when she kept getting feedback in her ear monitors or when she couldn't hear herself.
I actually really enjoyed the show, especially the moments when Carl Newman and Neko would have their little exchanges. It might have been a little long, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
Emilio, regardless of how ill the mystical wood nymph was feeling, a good half of the band seemed a little divalicious. If I were actually a big fan of hers and had paid for the show, I would've been a little pissy. When you're an entertainer, sometimes you've gotta suck it up for the people that are paying your bills. I dunno. Maybe I'm being hypocritical...and maybe I'm still pathetically recovering from a live Leomonheads hissy fit from long, long ago.
Actually, obnoxious diva tantrums seem to have become routine for Neko. I heard from friends that had seen her at various shows last year that she acted bratty and hostile toward her audience. Reports of cursing people out and rushing through her sets as fast as possible and just seeming like she didn't want to be there. That seems to have continued into her shows this year. After the little fits she's been having on this tour, I'm getting really tired of her. Seriously doubt I'll pony up the money to see her live again anytime soon.
Before this becomes internet lore, let's dial this down a bit. I witnessed no tantrum or divaish behavior. (well, maybe Dan's, but that's more amusingly detached than divaish). Neko was having trouble with her in-ear monitors at the beginning of the show, but was fully engaged and belting it out for the rest of the 100+ minute set. Carl had an apparently frustrating problem with a guitar early on too, resulting in him finishing a song with one that didn't even have a strap.
The sound in the venue sucked, and must not have been much better on stage.
Man, the only negative report I read about Neko recently was when she yelled at a fan for throwing a CD at AC Newman in Boston, and when I saw her at Bonnaroo and at the Ryman I didn't get the feeling that she was anything but glad to be there. Maybe she didn't talk to the audience a lot, but I guess that's just not her thing. I've never even read an interview where she was described as anything but polite and easy to talk to. I even stopped her after the show and she was nothing if not incredibly nice to me.
michelle, I agree that musicians have to suck it up when they're not feeling well, but I must be alone here in thinking that the show was actually a lot of fun, though certainly not perfect. Maybe I was just jazzed that it was so much better than the last time I saw them when they didn't interact with each other at all (and neither Neko nor Dan were there), and the bass player sat down for a large part of it.
Alwayshungry, I was at that Destroyer show too, and while I didn't think he showed contempt for the audience I didn't exactly get the impression that he loved playing live. I was actually shocked that he came on stage for any songs that he didn't sing lead vocals on.
@EmilyForFree--completely agree with everything you said. Neko wasn't acting like a diva, but she did seem extremely frustrated about the sound and not being able to hear herself which is understandable. That was really the only flaw I found with the show beyond them not saying much--the band themselves really tried to give it their all when performing but they seemed to be bogged down by the sound which wasn't their fault. I left thinking I'd love to see them again, just with a better sound system.
Em, don't mind me...I'd trust your judgement better than mine when it comes to these guys. You know I don't know shit when it comes to Neko Case. I actually had fun, though the Spin and I had a shockingly similar experience. Thought it was a cool show, just thought the 'tude was just a little distracting. I'm sure if it would've been one of my favorite bands, I wouldn't have even noticed and would have thought it was awesome.
I am late to comment but I will give it a shot. Yes, they had sound problems but the show was full also of disruptions caused also by them (remember when they did not remember the words of a song?). It is fine if you interact with the audience once in a while but not if after each song there is a pause of some minutes: you do not get into the rhythm of the music.
And they did not seem to care much, which is sad because it reveals that they are not very interested in their "brand". The set they chose was telling: they played more songs from their past albums than from the new one. It seems like they did not believe much in their new work. And indeed most of them have good solo careers and so I can see why that happens. It is sad because I love their music but it seems we are not seeing a New Pornographers album anytime soon. On the bright side, the Dodos were worth the ticket.
Ray - I've heard the same things about Neko. I just figured her new level of fame and success have gone to her head.
I'm a hardcore Neko fan, have seen her five or six times, and honestly I have no clue what y'all are talking about. Diva? What? Maybe this is like the old quote in which Rebecca West says she can't define 'feminist' but she's called it whenever she refuses to be a doormat or a hooker.
Neko's quite talented and frankly I think she has a lot to brag about. I doubt anyone would even notice her attitude if she were a guy. This is a woman who routinely thanks her fans, sends out great tickets to her email list, etc.
I'll be the first in line to buy tix for her upcoming TPAC gig. Don't like her? Great. More up-front seat avail for me!
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