Neutral Milk Hotel (2 Viewers)

[Cryptid]

It was fantastic. What a genius. His lyrics are unique.

I thought the cigarette lighters in the air at the end were a bit dodge.

 

[Lili Marlene]

I have no idea if that was any good. Seriously. I will trust everyone else on this one.

 

[washingcattle]

It was fantastic. What a genius. His lyrics are unique.

I thought the cigarette lighters in the air at the end were a bit dodge.

I was trying to light the fuse.

 

[CinnamonBoy]

I have no idea if that was any good. Seriously. I will trust everyone else on this one.

Takes a huge amount for me to be entertained by one man and a guitar these days. It was most definitely good.

 

[Unknown Convict]

thought he was phoning it in. guy needs a band and some new tunes.

 

[rettucs]

It was a privilege to have been at this and I enjoyed every minute.

But fuck me he was terrible.

You have to hand to thim. A lad with zero talent with a guitar barely plugged in, captivating a crowd as he did.

Fantastic stuff.

 

[mark]

some bits were goosebumpy, some bits were meh. great voice, and he didn't overstay his welcome. fair balls.

 

[Pedronimus]

guy needs a band

Definitely. I don't like acoustic shows as a rule but this was alright. Missed all the same notes as on the albums. It was only 20 quid too.

Atmostphere was good; no knobs with huge cameras in my field of vision, only one person videoing it on an iphone and only 4 hats indoors. On the downside the Guinness was poured badly. 3.5 stars.

 

[hermie]

Disagree with others, I think a band would have detracted a little bit. The show is all about his voice and the lyrics. I thought it was really good and I also have a low tolerance normally for one man and his guitar-type concerts.

 

[Cryptid]

I saw Evan Dando one time in Whelans with just his guitar and it was pretty fantastic. Probably only works when everyone knows the songs and can fill in the other bits mentally with their brains and memories and what nots.

 

[Unknown Convict]

Disagree with others, I think a band would have detracted a little bit. The show is all about his voice and the lyrics. I thought it was really good and I also have a low tolerance normally for one man and his guitar-type concerts.

detracted from a monochromatic performance of juvenilia? curious what mangum would say if asked what he currently thinks of his 15+ yr old material. if he'd put out 5 or 6 albums since aeroplane, i reckon maybe 2 or 3 of last night's tunes would have got a look in. the show is necessarily about voice and lyrics as there was nothing else to catch the ear... always thought he was better suited as a team player rather than glory hunter.

i think the thing that left a sour taste with me was that this was mangum buying into his own hype/legend rather than debunking it. for 10+ years we had the hype/legend growing because of his silence/reticence, last night i inferred "you're right, this is all i've got and i've been unable to surpass it".

 

[jcdonaggio]

solid show.

 

[rettucs]

for 10+ years we had the hype/legend growing because of his silence/reticence, last night i inferred "you're right, this is all i've got and i've been unable to surpass it".

I kind of made a similar point elsewhere on the internet this morning. I agree.

 

[rettucs]

the thrust of my argument being, if he were to play another show here in the next few years that last nights performance wouldn't be good enough at all

 

[Jill Hives]

I disagree. If he played again in six months with the same set I would be there again. I would love it again. I don't care if he has any new material or not. It's like a painting. Just because an artist paints other canvases or maybe never again, it doesn't take away from one that stands out to you personally. A few months ago I was in the Art Gallery and reminded of that fantastic Caravaggio painting they are so lucky to own. I've been going once a week now and sitting in front of it. I don't see the difference. Not everyone needs to progress to be considered valid. He created something beautiful (imho) and that's enough for me to appreciate over and over without judgement.

 

[rettucs]

I disagree. If he played again in six months with the same set I would be there again. I would love it again. I don't care if he has any new material or not. It's like a painting. Just because an artist paints other canvases or maybe never again, it doesn't take away from one that stands out to you personally. A few months ago I was in the Art Gallery and reminded of that fantastic Caravaggio painting they are so lucky to own. I've been going once a week now and sitting in front of it. I don't see the difference. Not everyone needs to progress to be considered valid. He created something beautiful (imho) and that's enough for me to appreciate over and over without judgement.

I agree. I was referring more to the performance than the material. I think the songs are great.

 

[Cryptid]

What Jill said, although barring new material that'll do for me. I would see the albums (esp Aeroplane) as the works of art to return to.

On a unrelated note, it's weird how easy it was to get tickets for this despite it being sold out. Tickets going for less than face value too. I've never seen that before. I reckon a load of tickets were bought up by people hoping to make a few quid. I got my ticket off toutless but I'm pretty sure the guy I bought it off had no intention of going to the gig. He had four tickets for sale and was parked outside the venue giving them out.

 

[Jill Hives]

I think anything that sold out Whelans and gets moved people jump on in hopes to cash in. I would have preferred Whelans.

 

[coast to coast]

detracted from a monochromatic performance of juvenilia? curious what mangum would say if asked what he currently thinks of his 15+ yr old material. if he'd put out 5 or 6 albums since aeroplane, i reckon maybe 2 or 3 of last night's tunes would have got a look in. the show is necessarily about voice and lyrics as there was nothing else to catch the ear... always thought he was better suited as a team player rather than glory hunter.

i think the thing that left a sour taste with me was that this was mangum buying into his own hype/legend rather than debunking it. for 10+ years we had the hype/legend growing because of his silence/reticence, last night i inferred "you're right, this is all i've got and i've been unable to surpass it".

I'd say that, unlike for example Kevin Shields who I think said/felt that he couldn't top Loveless, Mangum disappeared because of his own mental health problems and to sort his life out rather than to build his mystique. I don't begrudge him finally enjoying playing his tunes to an appreciative audience but I also didn't expect to see him play anything new or try to pretend it was ever going to be anything other than him playing tunes from the two Neutral Milk Hotel albums. It was much as I expected it, but I enjoyed more than I expected. I think they are a lot of good songs and it'd difficult to carry a whole gig with just an acoustic guitar (and a fairly rudimentary playing style) and voice.

 

[hermie]

detracted from a monochromatic performance of juvenilia? curious what mangum would say if asked what he currently thinks of his 15+ yr old material. if he'd put out 5 or 6 albums since aeroplane, i reckon maybe 2 or 3 of last night's tunes would have got a look in. the show is necessarily about voice and lyrics as there was nothing else to catch the ear... always thought he was better suited as a team player rather than glory hunter.

i think the thing that left a sour taste with me was that this was mangum buying into his own hype/legend rather than debunking it. for 10+ years we had the hype/legend growing because of his silence/reticence, last night i inferred "you're right, this is all i've got and i've been unable to surpass it".

You don't go to the Dirty Three and give out because they haven't added any new members, you don't go to Dan Deacon and complain that there was too much running around. The guy's been off the radar for years. There was never any suggestion of new material or accompaniment. Even the recorded material, large parts of it are unaccompanied. He's famous for his distinctive voice and dreamy, surreal lyrics. That's what people paid to hear up close I'd wager. Shocked that it left a sour taste. Especially as he's such a sweet guy.