Spring Break
MFA pales before the Middle East
by Andrea Fineman
Managing Editor
Arts | 3/18/08
Posted online at 2:04 AM EST on 3/18/08
Melissa Swingle, guitarist: "I don't know if you'll notice this, but [the Mountain Goats] all have the biggest feet I've ever seen."
Laura King, drummer: "Huge. I don't know how they get in the van."
The following night, at the Middle East downstairs, the atmosphere (and the club's audio equipment, one must assume) was completely different. The Moaners played a short set of similar songs with little experimentation or banter. Not that I particularly relished their Friday night performance, but on Saturday, by the second song I'd had enough of the slide guitar. Too much sliding evokes the sound of heavy machinery trying repeatedly to power up.
The Mountain Goats' set, on the other hand, was infinitely more enjoyable at the Middle East. I think the club atmosphere was a large part of it-compared to the MFA crowd, the Cambridge audience seemed younger, more informal and more excited to have waited three and a half hours after doors opened to see a band that has no trouble selling out the venue every several months.
With a capable sound system and a more at-ease audience, the band played a set consisting of songs from a variety of different phases in singer John Darnielle's long career. At the Friday show, the set consisted almost entirely of songs from the new album released last month, Heretic Pride, and from The Sunset Tree (2005), which most critics consider one of their most successful albums. On Saturday, however, Darnielle treated the fanatical audience to tracks from his first 12-inch as well as the much-requested "Going to Georgia" from Zopilote Machine (2005) and, during the second encore, the fan-favorite "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton" from All Hail West Texas (2002).
One aspect of Saturday night's show that may have rankled hardcore fans was the presence of a drummer onstage. Jon Wurster, who previously was a member of Superchunk, plays drums on the latest album and is touring with the Mountain Goats--a group that for years has consisted only of Darnielle and bassist Peter Hughes-for the first time this spring.
"People aren't used to it," Wurster said in an interview with the Justice before Friday's show. Concertgoers have "a preconceived notion … they're used to seeing two guys on stage, [and now] they see three guys on stage," he said. At both shows, Wurster's performance was top-notch; he was both very skilled and very engaged throughout. Still, I'm not sure I entirely liked the addition of a third instrument on stage. Wurster was a treat to see by virtue of his skill, making his two performances perhaps the lone consistency between the two shows. After a year and a half of concertgoing in Boston and with the Mountain Goats' two performances acting as a control variable, I can say with ever-increasing certainty that the Middle East is head and shoulders above Boston's other rock venues.
Laura King, drummer: "Huge. I don't know how they get in the van."
The following night, at the Middle East downstairs, the atmosphere (and the club's audio equipment, one must assume) was completely different. The Moaners played a short set of similar songs with little experimentation or banter. Not that I particularly relished their Friday night performance, but on Saturday, by the second song I'd had enough of the slide guitar. Too much sliding evokes the sound of heavy machinery trying repeatedly to power up.
The Mountain Goats' set, on the other hand, was infinitely more enjoyable at the Middle East. I think the club atmosphere was a large part of it-compared to the MFA crowd, the Cambridge audience seemed younger, more informal and more excited to have waited three and a half hours after doors opened to see a band that has no trouble selling out the venue every several months.
With a capable sound system and a more at-ease audience, the band played a set consisting of songs from a variety of different phases in singer John Darnielle's long career. At the Friday show, the set consisted almost entirely of songs from the new album released last month, Heretic Pride, and from The Sunset Tree (2005), which most critics consider one of their most successful albums. On Saturday, however, Darnielle treated the fanatical audience to tracks from his first 12-inch as well as the much-requested "Going to Georgia" from Zopilote Machine (2005) and, during the second encore, the fan-favorite "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton" from All Hail West Texas (2002).
One aspect of Saturday night's show that may have rankled hardcore fans was the presence of a drummer onstage. Jon Wurster, who previously was a member of Superchunk, plays drums on the latest album and is touring with the Mountain Goats--a group that for years has consisted only of Darnielle and bassist Peter Hughes-for the first time this spring.
"People aren't used to it," Wurster said in an interview with the Justice before Friday's show. Concertgoers have "a preconceived notion … they're used to seeing two guys on stage, [and now] they see three guys on stage," he said. At both shows, Wurster's performance was top-notch; he was both very skilled and very engaged throughout. Still, I'm not sure I entirely liked the addition of a third instrument on stage. Wurster was a treat to see by virtue of his skill, making his two performances perhaps the lone consistency between the two shows. After a year and a half of concertgoing in Boston and with the Mountain Goats' two performances acting as a control variable, I can say with ever-increasing certainty that the Middle East is head and shoulders above Boston's other rock venues.
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