Neutral Milk Hotel, M. Ward, Superchunk @ The Enmore Theatre, Sydney (14/11/2013)
After a 14-year hiatus and a career that continually avoided our shores, Neutral Milk Hotel finally brought their incredibly unique and highly entertaining performance to Australia. Their Sydney show saw the historic Enmore Theatre filled almost to the brim with fans young and old eagerly waiting to see them take the stage for the first time.
“7 o’clock, it’s time to rock” called Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan before jumping into the first song of their set. And rock they did. Even with the opening timeslot and a rather small crowd, Superchunk’s classic, high-energy punk rock style. Despite missing from our shores for the last 17 years, there were a couple of tried and true fans singing along throughout the entire set. They pulled songs from across their discography will quiet a few coming from their recently released tenth studio album, I Hate Music. By the time their last song drew to a close, the growing numbers in the crowd were caught up in the energy pouring off the stage.
With the support of a full touring band, M Ward took to the stage and performed a set of western and rock styled songs. His lyrics are introspective and focus on the smallest details of life while his musical backing perfectly re-creates the moods of each song. The highlight of his set was his incredible performance of Lullaby and Exile, which included an incredible whistle solo that brought an unexpected silence to the Enmore theatre. His set took his most well known songs from across his discography and saw the reasonable number of fans singing along the whole time. The last song, Rave On, ended the set with high energy and a rather chaotic strumming battle between the electric and acoustic guitars before they cut out into almost deafening silence.
With every instrument brought out and set up on stage, the nervous energy of the crowd built a little more in the anticipation of Neutral Milk Hotel’s set. By the time I lost count at 23 different instruments, the crowd of the Enmore Theatre was on the edge of their seats and tips of their toes and anxiously waiting for the first notes to start.
Finally taking to the stage, and without further ado, the set started rather simply with Jeff Mangum and his guitar in King of Carrot Flowers, Part One before he was very quickly joined by the voices of the crowed and then with instrumental backing from the rest of the band.
Mangum’s signature twangy vocals were sounding as good as ever with the raw edge of the live performance blending perfectly with the rest of the band. And for those who are unfamiliar with Neutral Milk Hotel, their show plays somewhat like a game of musical chairs, with Scott Spillane, Jeremy Barnes and Julian Koster along with a couple of touring musicians covering a bit of everything from several horns, the accordion, a banjo, singing saws, guitar and bass and what I’m pretty sure is an electric bagpipe.
Their set continued with King of Carrot Flowers, Part Two & Three and Holland 1945 from their well-known album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. With fans that have been waiting to for their tour since the mid 90s it was wonderful to hear the excitement in the voices of the crowd signing along to every song. Up next was A Baby For Pree/Glow Into You. Despite the newness of the song in comparison to their others, the crowd still sung along to every word and anticipated the inclusion of each new instrument.
The rest of the night followed with the same passion and energy as the beginning of the set. Their songs were picked from across their back catalogue with each one striking at the hearts of the crowd. The middle of the set drew the theatre into an stilled hush with the band leaving Mangum and his guitar alone on the stage for a rendition of Two-Headed Boy. With the rest of the band taking their place on stage again, they blasted back into their high-energy songs with The Fool which included a rather unique signing guitar section by Koster.
One of the biggest crowd pleasers of the night, Oh Comley, was another quiet song in the show that created an incredibly intimate moment in the show. The singing of the crowd mingled with Mangum’s vocals and the strumming of his guitar leaving a feeling of calm and tranquillity across the theatre.
The final two songs finished off the set with a contrast between the organised noise chaos of Ruby Bulbs and the sombre tones of Snow Song, Part One. The band said a couple of quick goodbyes and left the stage briefly before returning for their four-song encore.
The encore started with the synth heavy Ghost which flowed into the chaotic instrumental piece [untitled]. Once again they turned the volume and chaos of their performance down with a heartfelt and heartbreaking performance of Two-Headed Boy, Part Two that ended in a standing ovation from the seated sections. The final song of the night, Engine, brought the night to a well-planned end with a careful blending of the energetic chaos and sombre tones from across the set into the final notes of the song.
Seeing Neutral Milk Hotel’s performance was honestly the experience of a lifetime that can’t be replicated by watching videos online. For those who have yet to see them, my only piece of advice is go and buy a ticket to one of their shows right now.
Bethany Williams
“7 o’clock, it’s time to rock” called Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan before jumping into the first song of their set. And rock they did. Even with the opening timeslot and a rather small crowd, Superchunk’s classic, high-energy punk rock style. Despite missing from our shores for the last 17 years, there were a couple of tried and true fans singing along throughout the entire set. They pulled songs from across their discography will quiet a few coming from their recently released tenth studio album, I Hate Music. By the time their last song drew to a close, the growing numbers in the crowd were caught up in the energy pouring off the stage.
With the support of a full touring band, M Ward took to the stage and performed a set of western and rock styled songs. His lyrics are introspective and focus on the smallest details of life while his musical backing perfectly re-creates the moods of each song. The highlight of his set was his incredible performance of Lullaby and Exile, which included an incredible whistle solo that brought an unexpected silence to the Enmore theatre. His set took his most well known songs from across his discography and saw the reasonable number of fans singing along the whole time. The last song, Rave On, ended the set with high energy and a rather chaotic strumming battle between the electric and acoustic guitars before they cut out into almost deafening silence.
With every instrument brought out and set up on stage, the nervous energy of the crowd built a little more in the anticipation of Neutral Milk Hotel’s set. By the time I lost count at 23 different instruments, the crowd of the Enmore Theatre was on the edge of their seats and tips of their toes and anxiously waiting for the first notes to start.
Finally taking to the stage, and without further ado, the set started rather simply with Jeff Mangum and his guitar in King of Carrot Flowers, Part One before he was very quickly joined by the voices of the crowed and then with instrumental backing from the rest of the band.
Mangum’s signature twangy vocals were sounding as good as ever with the raw edge of the live performance blending perfectly with the rest of the band. And for those who are unfamiliar with Neutral Milk Hotel, their show plays somewhat like a game of musical chairs, with Scott Spillane, Jeremy Barnes and Julian Koster along with a couple of touring musicians covering a bit of everything from several horns, the accordion, a banjo, singing saws, guitar and bass and what I’m pretty sure is an electric bagpipe.
Their set continued with King of Carrot Flowers, Part Two & Three and Holland 1945 from their well-known album In The Aeroplane Over The Sea. With fans that have been waiting to for their tour since the mid 90s it was wonderful to hear the excitement in the voices of the crowd signing along to every song. Up next was A Baby For Pree/Glow Into You. Despite the newness of the song in comparison to their others, the crowd still sung along to every word and anticipated the inclusion of each new instrument.
The rest of the night followed with the same passion and energy as the beginning of the set. Their songs were picked from across their back catalogue with each one striking at the hearts of the crowd. The middle of the set drew the theatre into an stilled hush with the band leaving Mangum and his guitar alone on the stage for a rendition of Two-Headed Boy. With the rest of the band taking their place on stage again, they blasted back into their high-energy songs with The Fool which included a rather unique signing guitar section by Koster.
One of the biggest crowd pleasers of the night, Oh Comley, was another quiet song in the show that created an incredibly intimate moment in the show. The singing of the crowd mingled with Mangum’s vocals and the strumming of his guitar leaving a feeling of calm and tranquillity across the theatre.
The final two songs finished off the set with a contrast between the organised noise chaos of Ruby Bulbs and the sombre tones of Snow Song, Part One. The band said a couple of quick goodbyes and left the stage briefly before returning for their four-song encore.
The encore started with the synth heavy Ghost which flowed into the chaotic instrumental piece [untitled]. Once again they turned the volume and chaos of their performance down with a heartfelt and heartbreaking performance of Two-Headed Boy, Part Two that ended in a standing ovation from the seated sections. The final song of the night, Engine, brought the night to a well-planned end with a careful blending of the energetic chaos and sombre tones from across the set into the final notes of the song.
Seeing Neutral Milk Hotel’s performance was honestly the experience of a lifetime that can’t be replicated by watching videos online. For those who have yet to see them, my only piece of advice is go and buy a ticket to one of their shows right now.
Bethany Williams