Photo: Justin Edwards

There aren’t many bands that would get me out of the house on a Tuesday night, but fortunately one of them is Canadian supergroup the New Pornographers. First up is the Butcher Birds, but they seem like a strange choice in support considering the headline act are such great exponents of power-pop. Butcher Birds lean more towards the grunge end of the spectrum, and while their set has improved since the last time I saw them, they find it difficult to win over the early comers.

Even are up next and they are exactly the same as when I last saw them about eight years ago. Smart pop songs like Stop And Go Man and Black Umbrella have stood the test of time, so it’s a shame that a lot of punters seem more interested in the bar during their set.

New Pornographers still manage to crowd the stage sans Neko Case and Dan Bejar, and they open with My Rights Vs Yours from their most recent album Challengers. AC Newman’s vocals are in fine form and the set generously draws on material spanning their eleven-year career. They even do an impromptu cover of the Go-Betweens Love Goes On, which seems fitting. It’s only topped by their cover of ELO’s Don’t Bring Me Down, which is simply AMAZING (two of my favourite things coming together, holy moly). Other highlights include The Laws Have Changed, Sing Me Spanish Techno, The Bleeding Heart Show, and Execution Day. The reason why I love this band so much is they look like a bunch of school teachers on stage, but AC Newman’s somewhat nervous banter makes it clear these guys are more than just regular muso’s with some great song writing skills. I was a bit unsure if they could pull off a show without Neko Case, but AC Newman’s niece Kathryn Calder more than ably steps up to fill her shoes.

BRIANNA DALTON

Comments (2)

1. Written by pronographer fan, on 15-10-2008 15:19 , IP: 118.90.112.189 saw them last nite 14-Oct-08 in Auckland NZ, and while the gig was awesome and they were great, Newman was drunk off his ass and totally forgot where he was during 2 songs including a fav of mine, "The Laws Have Changed" Also big disappointment was they didn't play "Letter From An Occupant"! Maybe cuz they need Neko's strong voice. Calder was good stepping up, but her mic was a bit quiet in the mix. However the long set and awesome playing of the rest of the songs made up for it. The surprise ELO cover was truly awesome and they really seem born to play that tune outshining the original by several orders of magnitude! Overall good show. I can only imagine how good Newman would be if he had a Slow Ascent away from Alcholism

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