You would be hard pressed to find a power-pop band as well received and respected as The New Pornographers. The indie rock “super-group” graced the 9:30 Club yesterday on the first night of their sold out 2-day run in D.C. They arrived in full force with everyone’s favorite indie personalities: including Carl Newman (a.k.a. A.C. Newman), Neko Case, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), and Kathryn Calder (Immaculate Machine).
As Carl Newman has mentioned in the past, Washington, D.C. is his favorite city to play, and he made it a point of letting the audience know: verbally, by taking random audience requests, and even praising the 9:30 Club for their delicious cupcake goodness. You can’t argue with him. The sold-out crowd sang along word-for-word to pretty much every song, and especially on old favorites such as “Sing Me Spanish Techno”, “Testament To A Youth In Verse”, and “Letter From An Occupant.”
The New Pornographers are touring in support of Together, their 5th full-length album, whose title could not speak louder of the group’s current mental state. Playfully joking and taunting each other like old friends, the night stretched out with 5-way band banter on subjects ranging from Canadian she-males, cuddling friends, making Mr. Bejar mad, etc, etc. Joking aside, their set culled heavily from the new album’s songs including the lead single, “Your Hands (Together)”, which hearkens back to the power pop found on their debut album, Mass Romantic.
We can’t forget about openers of the evening, The Dutchess and the Duke and The Dodos. Seattle’s The Dutchess and the Duke set the tone for the evening with their electrified folk pop. They obviously chose their strongest material for their set, moving from song to song without a hint of filler or fluff. So strong in fact, that their minimal set up of two guitars, two voices and one tambourine left no one wanting for more. Next, San Francisco’s The Dodos, who have been steadily gaining a loyal fan base with their rhythm-heavy brand of indie folk rock, played a good deal of new material, which made them seem like “a jam band for the night” to lead-man Meric Long. If the new material is any indication of their future, it is not a poor assumption to say these guys are indeed going places.
If you are heading out to catch the New Pornographers’ second show tonight, you are definitely in for a treat. Odds are that they will enjoy seeing you as much as you’ll enjoy seeing them.
