Jeff Mangum/Music Tapes Philly Show Review

     Since it's a rain day, here's my rambling, less than cohesive, review of the show. 

      We went to the Jeff Mangum/Music Tapes show in Philly the other night. The show was at the Irvine Auditorium (photo above not from that event, but sans the stars in the background, it could have been), which, if you've never been there, is a really cool place to see a show. It was weird seeing Mr. Mangum and the Music Tapes (who opened for him) in a theatre setting, as I have previously only seen them in smaller, seatless venues such as Maxwell's, but after standing at shows forever, it's nice to sit, and our seats were good, even though there didn't seem to be a bad seat in the house.

 

     The Music Tapes (photo above, also not from the show), led by singing saw-loving Julian Koster, were as fun and weird to see as always. The set was a mix of mostly old and some new songs, all of which were good. Koster has a wonderful singing voice, and I feel like that shines through much better during live performances versus albums. He told a great story about a Romanian circus family who passed down there secrets through songs, and proceeded to play one of the songs. Koster creates not only great and unique music, but alternate worlds and universes in which that music dwells. It's always Christmas there. In every performance I've seen of him, he exudes such vast quantities of music and joy that a spectator would be hard pressed to not enjoy the show, even if his music isn't their cup of tea (which I'll admit, it's not for everyone. I bought my Mom a copy of his album The Singing Saw at Christmastime last Christmas, a copy which I now own. I replaced it for her with A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector). A really fun set.
     Jeff Mangum's stage appearance was preceded by five guys carrying one guitar each. This was an acoustic solo performance, and I was surprised to see five guitars. He entered  the stage with a casual wave then began playing. He played most, if not all, of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, some songs from On Avery Island, and some other various songs. No new stuff, though, which I hoped for but didn't expect. Mangum played the songs well. They echoed album versions so closely that you could almost hear the band that would be backing his percussive acoustic strumming. Some of my favorites from the show were songs other than the Aeroplane songs, such as "Engine" and "Little Birds," two songs with almost exactly opposite emotional content.
     He did some songs with the Music Tapes, too, which were really good, but left me yearning to hear other NMH songs, specifically "Ghost" and "King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two and Three," with a full band playing them. I think that's the only time I'll go see Jeff Mangum again, if it's a full reformation of Neutral Milk Hotel. One can only dream.

A video from the show, another of which can be found at this website, as well as the setlist.

"Rubby Bulbs," one of my favorite NMH songs that wasn't played at the show.

 P.S. This is ostensibly a surf blog, and I finally got a good post-work solo surf on some clean waist high lines the other day. It had been two and a half weeks, the longest I've gone in a long time, and it felt like I hadn't paddled in years. I live for winter surfs like these: lined-up, empty waves. Doesn't need to be big. In fact, I almost prefer smaller, because it brings less people out. It was also nice that it was above 50 degrees after 4 pm at the end of January!