On Saturday DCist headed to the 9:30 club to catch the New Pornographers, who are touring in support of their excellent third album, Twin Cinema. The sold-out club seemed even more tightly packed with bodies than usual, all of them anxious to hear the band’s tightly constructed pop.
The 9:30 club’s recent price “adjustment” led us to spend more time than normal at our favorite pre-show watering hole. So by the time we made it into the packed club, Destroyer had nearly finished their set (we completely missed Immaculate Machine).
To be honest, we mostly know Dan Bejar’s band from name-checks in articles about the New Pornographers. But the few Destroyer songs we heard were a pleasant surprise. This DCist has always found Bejar’s percussive, nasal vocals to be the low point of most New Pornographers releases. But Destroyer’s sound was more melodic and Bejar’s singing less grating than his NP work had led us to expect.
The New Pornographers took the stage around 11:30, launching into Twin Cinema‘s title track. Their sound was tight and precise, particularly considering the seven band members that were contributing to it (a slightly unsteady-looking Bejar only joined the band for two songs). Our drum-playing companion thought that Kurt Dahle’s kit was somewhat anemic relative to what’s heard on the albums. It’s true that there was more emphasis on stick-twirling than we would usually consider to be a good sign, but a propulsive bass drum kept songs like “Electric Version” surging forward.
The setlist drew fairly evenly from the band’s three albums, providing a nice mix that managed to include almost all of the requests shouted from the crowd. But like the rest of the performance, this accomodation wasn’t spontaneous. Frontman Carl Newman made it clear that the setlist was, well, set. We can’t fault him for ignoring the sort of dopes who scream for “Freebird,” but a little more ingenuity within the songs themselves would have been nice. Instead, the arrangements mirrored those on the album — which was a bit surprising considering that the band has been playing some of them for six years.
Maybe that was their author’s doing. As the New Pornographers’ history has unfolded, it seems like the dominant theme has been Carl Newman’s increasing assertion of himself as the creative force behind what was initially billed as an indie rock supercollaboration of equal partners. You only have to read the band’s bio to see that Newman has essentially claimed ownership of the group. That doesn’t just result in egomaniacal press; it also means less prominent vocal parts for the rest of the band’s singers. It’s true that Newman is responsible for the band’s impeccable pop clockwork, but let’s face it — The Slow Wonder was just okay. There are reasons people come to a New Pornographers show that have nothing to do with Newman’s songwriting.
Which brings us to Neko Case. Ah, Neko. It’s not just that she was voted the sexiest woman in indie rock (in fact, she looked a little haggard on Saturday night). It’s that voice. The one that can be described as “belting” even when it’s a whisper; the one with a slight bend, like she’s got a vocoder hidden in her throat; the one that nails every note. The rest of the band performed good but basically unremarkable renditions of the albums’ arrangements. It was only the songs prominently featuring Case that stood out. “The Bleeding Heart Show” and “Mass Romantic” were particularly good.
The band began to get a bit sloppy near the end of their short first set, playing a messy version of “Sing Me Spanish Techno” and beginning their first encore in a somewhat disjointed fashion. But by the start of the second encore they had returned to form. The twentieth and final song was “Letter From An Occupant.” With Case on vocals, the band in sync and that urgent melody ringing through the club, it was hard to wish for anything more.
