Something Keeps Turning Us On

The New Pornographers @ The Nokia Theatre 3/2/2006
Twin Cinema / Use It / The Laws Have Changed / July Jones / The Bleeding Heart Show / Stacked Crooked / Mass Romantic / Execution Day / The Fake Headlines / The Jessica Numbers / The Bones of an Idol / From Blown Speakers / It’s Only Divine Right / Slow Descent Into Alcoholism / Sing Me Spanish Techno

This is the second time that I’ve seen The New Pornographers perform without Neko Case (Dan Bejar’s absence should be taken as a given with the exception of last fall’s Twin Cinema tour), and the results were much better than the somewhat nervous, underrehearsed debut of the line-up in Brooklyn last summer. Sensibly, the songs which demanded Neko’s vocal bombast were cut from the setlist this time around, leaving ace understudy Kathryn Calder in her comfort zone, singing parts better suited to her particular vocal gifts. Without the starpower of Case and with only one Bejar song played in the set, the show served mainly as a showcase for Carl Newman’s superlative songwriting and the band’s tight harmonies.

The New Pornographers “The Bones of an Idol (Live in session, Kathryn Calder lead vocal) – It was probably for the best that I missed this song at the full band’s show at Webster Hall last year, since it probably would have been sung by Neko Case. Though I enjoy Case’s warmer vocal on the LP version, I definitely prefer Calder’s take on this song – her regal cadence and demure persona is much better suited to this composition’s chilly grandeur. (Click here to buy it from iTunes.)

Immediately following The New Pornographers’ set, Todd Barry, Jon Benjamin, and three other guys were introduced to the audience by Newman as being a band that they had met at a festival in Switzerland called A Matter Of Trust. They proceeded to perform an extended version of Billy Joel’s song of the same name, which is lot more hilarious in practice than it probably comes off in print.

Belle & Sebastian @ The Nokia Theatre 3/2/2006
The Stars of Track & Field / Another Sunny Day / Funny Little Frog / A Century of Fakers / Sukie In the Graveyard / Electronic Renaissance / The Lonelineness of a Middle Distance Runner / To Be Myself Completely / Dress Up In You / Fox in the Snow / White Collar Boy / Mayfly / Your Cover’s Blown / Dog On Wheels / I’m A Cuckoo / Jonathan David / (Stevie sings a bit of “People Get Ready” while Stuart instructs the dancing girls that he recruited from the audience) / If You Find Yourself Caught In Love / The State I Am In // Judy and the Dream of Horses / Me and the Major

Before last night, I had not seen Belle & Sebastian perform live since they played at the Supper Club in New York City in the fall of 1998. What a difference seven years has made! Back then they were an amiable bunch of amateurs playing Stuart Murdoch’s exquisite compositions as best as they could, but today they are a polished band of professional entertainers, with Murdoch emerging at the center as a handsome, wildly charismatic frontman. The band’s showmanship was at its best on the numbers which allowed Murdoch to perform without his guitar or piano, freeing him up to gesticulate, dance, and even crowd surf during the rock section of “Your Cover’s Blown.” He was also quite funny. After explaining that he’s been somewhat glum on this tour, mainly due to moving from room to room and bus to bus without having much time for fun, Murdoch decided to bring up six girls from the audience to dance on stage for the show’s clear highlight, “If You Find Yourself Caught In Love.”

Belle & Sebastian “Me and the Major (Live @ the Barbican, 9/25/2005)” – As you can see above, the band played half of If You’re Feeling Sinister last night, which was obviously quite a thrill for this longtime fan, though I do feel that it’s sort of odd that they would almost completely ignore their middle period in favor of the newest and oldest songs in their catalog. I’d hate to think that they are omitting them because they think people do not like those songs! I’ll be seeing tonight’s show as well, so hopefully they will add “Women’s Realm,” “Slow Graffiti,” or “Sleep The Clock Around” to the next setlist. (Click here to buy it from iTunes.)