Goats fan gladdened
by Sophie Weiner
Arts | 3/31/09
Posted online at 12:35 AM EST on 3/31/09
The Mountain Goats are not a normal band. Even calling them a "band" might be stretching it, as the show at Somerville Theater last Wednesday consisted of but one man, an acoustic guitar and a microphone. This man, John Darnielle, began his musical career while working as a psychiatric nurse in southern California in the early '90s. Up until a few years ago, Darnielle's 27-plus albums as the Mountain Goats were recorded onto a boom box in his living room.
But times have changed: Darnielle has since started recording in a studio and toured with bassist Peter Hughes and former Superchunk drummer John Wurster. The current tour, called "Gone Primitive," represents a temporary return to his lo-fi days. Darnielle plays all of the shows solo, with his friend, San Francisco singer-songwriter John Vanderslice, co-headlining.
This was my fourth live Mountain Goats experience, but I was unsure what to expect. The crowds at Mountain Goats shows are always interesting, and this one proved no exception; the plaid-wearing, bearded college students that usually dominate the shows I attend were in the minority. On my left was a balding man sitting with a few others who were at least forty, and on my right was a twentysomething in a black peacoat who obsessively wrote down every song's name in a small notebook.
Though I am a fairly obsessive member of the cultlike Mountain Goats fandom, I'd barely listened to John Vanderslice before the show. Vanderslice produced the last few Mountain Goats albums, and writes well-constructed songs using both acoustic instruments and electronics. After seeing his set, I think he'd be more enjoyable with a full band as, unlike the Mountain Goats' music, his focus is not solely on the lyrics.
The audience seemed to wake up instantly when Darnielle walked onstage. Of the first four songs he played, I only recognized one-a shocking statistic considering the 344 Mountain Goats songs contained in my iTunes library. The set list quickly took a turn toward awesomeness, though, with several tracks off 2000's The Coroner's Gambit, and I was even more thrilled when John began soliciting requests. As far as I'm concerned, seeing the Mountain Goats is only partially about the music. John Darnielle's stage banter is unmatched by any musician I've ever seen, and its content wanders somewhere between hilarious and profound. For instance, before playing a song he had written in a hospital in Sweden, he told us, "There are two things you need to know-first, there are many things terribly wrong with me, one of which will probably kill me, if not tonight, then very soon. And second, I'm a hypochondriac."
John's manner is so entertaining, I almost wouldn't mind if he forgot to play any songs during his set. I was pleased to finally get to see him perform what is probably his most popular song, "No Children."
It must have been a strange show for casual fans due to the high concentration of obscure material. For me, however, hearing other audience members shouting along to a song like "Commandante"-from a limited edition 2002 EP-created a unique feeling of community, reassuring me that there are other people out there with whom I share a certain musical appreciation and worldview. The Mountain Goats' tendency to bring diverse people together in this way proves John Darnielle's incredible ability to create music that is simultaneously specific and universal-and that is why I will continue to go to his shows whenever I can.
But times have changed: Darnielle has since started recording in a studio and toured with bassist Peter Hughes and former Superchunk drummer John Wurster. The current tour, called "Gone Primitive," represents a temporary return to his lo-fi days. Darnielle plays all of the shows solo, with his friend, San Francisco singer-songwriter John Vanderslice, co-headlining.
This was my fourth live Mountain Goats experience, but I was unsure what to expect. The crowds at Mountain Goats shows are always interesting, and this one proved no exception; the plaid-wearing, bearded college students that usually dominate the shows I attend were in the minority. On my left was a balding man sitting with a few others who were at least forty, and on my right was a twentysomething in a black peacoat who obsessively wrote down every song's name in a small notebook.
Though I am a fairly obsessive member of the cultlike Mountain Goats fandom, I'd barely listened to John Vanderslice before the show. Vanderslice produced the last few Mountain Goats albums, and writes well-constructed songs using both acoustic instruments and electronics. After seeing his set, I think he'd be more enjoyable with a full band as, unlike the Mountain Goats' music, his focus is not solely on the lyrics.
The audience seemed to wake up instantly when Darnielle walked onstage. Of the first four songs he played, I only recognized one-a shocking statistic considering the 344 Mountain Goats songs contained in my iTunes library. The set list quickly took a turn toward awesomeness, though, with several tracks off 2000's The Coroner's Gambit, and I was even more thrilled when John began soliciting requests. As far as I'm concerned, seeing the Mountain Goats is only partially about the music. John Darnielle's stage banter is unmatched by any musician I've ever seen, and its content wanders somewhere between hilarious and profound. For instance, before playing a song he had written in a hospital in Sweden, he told us, "There are two things you need to know-first, there are many things terribly wrong with me, one of which will probably kill me, if not tonight, then very soon. And second, I'm a hypochondriac."
John's manner is so entertaining, I almost wouldn't mind if he forgot to play any songs during his set. I was pleased to finally get to see him perform what is probably his most popular song, "No Children."
It must have been a strange show for casual fans due to the high concentration of obscure material. For me, however, hearing other audience members shouting along to a song like "Commandante"-from a limited edition 2002 EP-created a unique feeling of community, reassuring me that there are other people out there with whom I share a certain musical appreciation and worldview. The Mountain Goats' tendency to bring diverse people together in this way proves John Darnielle's incredible ability to create music that is simultaneously specific and universal-and that is why I will continue to go to his shows whenever I can.
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