I'm far from being cool. I'm usually late to the party on every musical trend. There was a phase in high school where I became something of an Anglophile, turning my nose up at every group that didn't fly the Union Jack. I scoffed at anything released after December 31, 1979.
As I got older my myopic taste in music gradually expanded. I had a conversion like Saul on the way to Damascus. But instead of changing my name, I just took Rock Music in the 70s & 80s. That course changed everything. I started listening to Krautrock, hardcore punk, country music and many other genres. I tried to make up for lost time, absorbing as many bands and genres as I could get my grubby hands on.
Which brings me to The New Pornographers. I only started listening to them last year, par for the course in my arrested musical development. But it's not as though their sound was completely foreign to me. I was already listening to many of the artists that influenced them.
I was heavily into Big Star and Cheap Trick by that point, as well as dabbling in Neko Case's solo career, so The New Pornographers were almost like a kid brother to those bands; similar enough that you can see the resemblance but with a unique approach that made you sit up and take notice.
Fast forward a year later and I was extremely excited about seeing The New Pornographers live. I'd heard great press about them as a concert act and power pop is some of the greatest music to listen to in a live setting.
I was admittedly a little dour before the show. The weather was decidedly foul, rainy and cold, behaving too much like autumn in Indiana for my comfort. I was partially biased against openers, My Gold Mask, since the program had described their music as having "that thin, wild mercury sound", which is a phrase Bob Dylan used when discussing the sound of Blonde On Blonde. It conjures up a certain image to me; Dylan drawn and haggard from his amphetamine habit, a crazed look in his sleep deprived eyes. Songs with surrealistic imagery, sung over backing by crack session musicians from Memphis.
That's not exactly what My Gold Mask sounded like. I felt slightly ambivalent about their set; I didn't dislike their music but I didn't exactly love it either. It was interesting enough to warrant an album purchase. It might have been my mood but my ear just wasn't grasping the hooks in their songs.
The New Pornographers opened their set with "The Laws Have Changed" and immediately a huge grin spread across my face. It's hard to feel sad when you listen to power pop. Let me clarify that; good power pop. What's not to love about guitars playing crunchy power chords behind voices singing gorgeous melodies in blessed out harmonies? There's a lot of dreck out there from mediocre bands who consider themselves to be inheritors to the mantle of Big Star, Cheap Trick or even The Knack.
This blithe spirit continued as the band played more from their catalog. I was especially happy when they played the title track of their debut album, Mass Romantic. My only regret about the show is that they didn't play "Letter From An Occupant." But as they're touring to promote a new album, it makes sense that they'd focus on newer material.
I was really impressed by how tight they were musically. This added tremendously to the energy of the show and gave each song a fierce urgency.
The on stage banter between A.C. Newman, Neko Case and the audience was very enjoyable, particularly a discussion on the relative merits of the television show, Glee. I'm always happy when an artist actually speaks to the audience. If they remain silent, there's a feeling of hostility in the air that can make for an unpleasant listening experience.
Photos by Chaz Mottinger
Words by Andrew Crowley
