On Wednesday night, the Elephant 6 Collective's "Holiday Surprise Tour" descended upon Bloomington's Rhino's nightclub. Here's a recap:
Although this show was originally scheduled for the Cinemat at 8:30 p.m., the Collective began performing at around 9:30 p.m. at Rhino's. An increased interest in the show caused the venue change from the smaller more intimate Cinemat, to the larger Rhino's. Doors opened a little behind schedule at 8:15 p.m. After the attendees filed in to Rhino's, the Collective screened Major Organ and the Adding Machine, the zany decade-in-the-making short film directed by Elephant 6 members Joey Foreman and Eric Harris. The film received a mix of giggles and grimaces from the eager and anxious viewers. The formalistic film featured a number of Elephant 6 members, including the reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel singer, Jeff Mangum. Mangum appeared dressed in a lobster costume in the psychedelic film about children, cooking, fake beards and magical transporting helmets.
After the film screening, the performance began. The Collective started off their four hour set with songs by the Olivia Tremor Control. These highly nuanced and symbolic songs were followed by more rockers from the Music Tapes, Gerbils, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't, the Apples in Stereo, Circulatory System, Elf Power, 63 Crayons, Nana Grizol, and Neutral Milk Hotel. These catchy indie tunes were punctuated by poignant solos by Julian Koster on the saw, and Scott Spillane on the guitar. At one point, Spillane asked audience members to turn off all recording equipment because he did not want his mother to watch a YouTube video of the song he performed about sex.
Unfortunately, technical difficulties and annoying feedback plagued the show a number of times. Once, Julian Koster actually had to stop a song completely due to poor audio. However, Spillane's clever antics and lighthearted jokes kept the crowd smiling and pleased.
Despite minor problems, the night was an overwhelming success. Jeff Mangum made an appearance in the middle of the show when he joined the Collective onstage to sing "I Have Been Floated" by the Olivia Tremor Control. Around three hours later, he took the stage again to sing the mesmerizing chant, "Forever" by the Circulatory System. Following that, Mangum walked off the stage and into the crowd to perform the last song of the night, a Neutral Milk Hotel B-side, "Engine". At this point, the audience erupted in adoration, as a flurry of cameras flashed photos of him. Although "Engine" officially ended ended the show, audience members stayed for around an hour to buy merchandise, talk to the band and receive autographs.
Mangum clearly drew the most attention. A crowd surrounded him the entire time. Although he seemed bombarded by questions and admirers, Mangum remained amiable and friendly. When asked about the structure of his rumored book, Mangum confirmed the upcoming book and said "it's a stream-of-consciousness." Also, he noted that the Collective recorded the soundtrack to the short film before actually filming the movie.
Overall, no complaints. A great show. Here are some photos by Brenden Eade from the show:
