The New Pornographers construct set lists that serve as a perfect primer to those unfamiliar with the Vancouver pseudo-super group and an incredibly well-rounded collection of deep cuts and favorites for diehard fans. Last night's show at Liberty Hall was no exception. It was a remarkably solid set from one of the best working pop bands today with the lineup they're meant to have, despite every member's prior engagements. Sure, bandleader A.C. Newman has his solo albums to keep him busy, but that's only because he has to wait on the talents of such artists as Neko Case (who has become an alt-country siren to be reckoned with) and Dan Bejar (who has proven himself as one of the most compelling songsmiths of this generation with Destroyer). Once in a blue moon, schedules align and Lawrence always seems to catch the group when the whole gang is together.
For a band with three primary creative forces that spend most of their time doing their own thing, the New Pornographers are a remarkably tight group. The set began with the explosive "Sing Me Spanish Techno," which was a fantastic way to get everyone moving their bodies and pumping their fists in the air. The audience was a dud this time around, but that didn't stop the New Pornographers! Well, maybe a little, since it's hard for a band to feed off the energy of an audience when the audience isn't giving them any. Given the set-list, I was rather surprised that there wasn't more gyrating, singing along, and general glee.
Monster jams like "Use It" and "Up in the Dark" seamlessly blended with heartstring-tuggers like "Go Places" and "Adventures in Solitude." The former found Neko Case bringing down the house, and Case's protege, Kathryn Calder, achieved the set's greatest emotional depth on the latter.
Most often there were at least two people singing at once (except on Neko Case's tour-de-force numbers, which require full-on diva mode, even if she was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans and her hair was a total, glorious perfect mess), and often featured as many as five or six. Everyone except bassist John Collins and the background dude who played nearly inaudible cello and saxophone for the whole show had a mic in front of them. How Newman holds all those harmonies together without songs getting overblown is a spectacular feat.
They closed with the Bejar-led semi-deep cut, "Testament to Youth in Verse," from their sophomore LP Electric Version, and played it with a sense of triumph. While the New Pornographers have always been great, they've finally plateaued and moved out of the shadow of Newman's influence, and diversified their sound in all the right ways. (For example, the new record splits vocal duties between for separate lead vocalists and the live show followed suit). Newman may still be pulling most of the strings -- it's still his baby -- but he's never seemed so at ease with letting his baby grow up.
Setlist:
Sing Me Spanish Techno
Up in the Dark
Myriad Harbour
Crash Years
The Laws Have Changed
Jackie Dressed in Cobras
Adventures in Solitude
Twin Cinema
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
Go Places
Jackie
My Rights Versus Yours
Moves
Your Hands (Together)
Use It
Silver Jenny Dollar
Mass Romantic
Bleeding Heart Show
Challengers
Testament to Youth in Verse
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