The Justice

California songwriter and "nicest man in indie rock" John Vanderslice preforms Friday at the Middle East. Photo courtesy of Paul Gallo

Boston must be a city full of Mountain Goats fans. During the band's performance of "Wild Sage" at Cambridge's Middle East Downstairs, the crowd at the sold-out club maintained a silence so pure that the sound of aluminum cans popping at the bar was clearly audible. Also perceptible were the whispered voices of my fellow concertgoers, who followed along dutifully with every word of the song from the band's melancholy and serene "Get Lonely." Singer John Darnielle's mock-tortured facial expressions and mannerisms were followed intently by all those around me, while Darnielle and bassist Peter Hughes shared knowing smiles throughout the set, basking in the audience's reverence like happy seals.

The band, which just announced its upcoming album due in early 2008, consists of longtime fourtracker and former psychiatric nurse John Darnielle and his silent bassist, Peter Hughes.

"[Darnielle is] a very inspiring person for me to have a dialogue with," said John Vanderslice, who co-produced the band's upcoming album, in an interview with the Justice. "I really was an old-school Mountain Goats fan. I'm still a pretty rabid fan of what he's done. J.D. and I have known each other since 1999."

Though Sunday night's show in Northampton, Mass. was cancelled due to "grave family illness" (according to the band's Web site), the Mountain Goats gave an amazing live performance, as they are known to do. When a fan requested the audience favorite "Cubs in Five," Darnielle lectured the audience on his reasons for refusing to play the song, invoking the Boston Red Sox's recent conquest of the American League's Eastern Division title. Then, he and Hughes abruptly launched into the song, playing it through until the end.

Fans craving the live-favorite "No Children," off the band's career-altering Southern gothic divorce drama album, Tallahassee, had to wait until the encore. During the song, Darnielle's voice was at times indiscernible over the audience's shouting voices, singing along. After a full set replete with mid-1990s releases, as well as a few tracks from the new album, Darnielle ended the night with a second encore, wherein he played "Shadow Song" from their 2000 album The Coroner's Gambit.

Continued...

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