showcowgo

Just in time for V-Day, here’s what to buy your sweetie this week. Stuff marked * should be good:

A few new things added to the SHOWcal today. Here’s what’s going on in the coming week:

Fri Feb 10		9:00pm – 12:00am	Rabbid Rabbit @ Panchos
		10:00pm – 12:00am	Netherfriends/Secret Colours @ Empty Bottle
		10:00pm – 2:00am	A-Trak @ The Mid
Sat Feb 11
		7:00pm – 10:00pm	The Darkness @ Metro
		10:00pm – 12:00am	Get Up With the Get Downs @ Cobra Lounge
Tue Feb 14
		7:00pm – 10:00pm	Black Belles @ LSA
		7:00pm – 11:00pm	Heartless Bastards @ Lincoln Hall
Wed Feb 15		6:30pm – 9:30pm	Die Antword @ Metro
		9:30pm – 12:00am	Black Belles/Hollows @ Empty Bottle
Thu Feb 16		9:00pm – 11:00pm	Sharon Van Etten @ Lincoln Hall
		9:30pm – 11:30pm	Veronica Falls @ Empty Bottle

Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, this was my first opportunity to see Jeff Mangum/Neutral Milk Hotel. I’m extremely lucky to have had the chance at all.

As has been fully documented elsewhere, Jeff/NMH slid into the abyss not long after releasing two masterful albums – On Avery Island (1996) and Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998). So, this mini tour is something of a mystery that hasn’t really been explained. Indeed, during both Monday’s and Tuesday’s performances, Jeff (who repeatedly welcomed questions from the audience) never addressed his motives for disappearing, or now reappearing, other than in cryptic, half-bashful, references to “the love of his life” and the “unexpected power” of these songs. And I haven’t found publications with any answers more satisfying, either. But perhaps that is the point. After all, to many, these songs have become something of a religion, and deities don’t often explain themselves.

The show itself moved at a natural pace, especially once Jeff broke the tension of the crowd (which seemed nervous to make itself known, what being in the presence of such a worshiped enigma) by proclaiming “you don’t have to be so quiet.” After that, he moved seemingly randomly through the material of the two albums, occasionally switching between the 5 acoustic guitars that rang his seat at the front of the stage. Guest musicians popped in occasionally to underline segments with clarinet, trumpet and cello, but otherwise it was just Jeff, his guitars and his audience.

It was a hauntingly beautiful performance, and Jeff’s voice has held up well (better, perhaps, than on album). It was an emotional connection with songs I’ve heard countless times, but never before live. This one is going to stand out for a long, long time, but not only as one of the best shows I’ve ever attended. The mystery of this man, this show and this tour just seem well suited to the mystery and beauty of these songs, and to (finally) witness it live in so intimate of settings is surely something transcending a mere “show.”

Here’s what drops this week. Stuff marked * should be good:

Here’s what drops this week. Stuff marked * should be good: