New Pornographers/Midlake @ Battery Park

Well, the rain gods held out for a good 1 1/2 sets yesterday [July 4th], with a steady stream falling during the second half of New Pornographers' set. All in all, Battery Park was a pretty mellow atmosphere yesterday. I guess they didn't hand out all the tickets they had, cause when we went through the gates around 245PM, there were people just handing bunches of tickets to whoever came over. And it still wasn't too packed.

Midlake went on at 330PM, right on schedule. They definitely won me over with their pleasant, Southern indie rock. I was most impressed with their vocals, which sound amazing, and are definitely a highlight of the band. My favorites in the set were: "Branches," their version of "The Pills Won't Help You Now" (which they wrote with the Chemical Brothers and appears on the new Chem. Bros. album), "Van Occupanther" and "Roscoe." I also really enjoyed their new song, "Children of the Grounds."

The New Pornographers went on around 5PM. It was really a miracle that the rain held out as long as it did. From the minute we got there, we felt tiny droplets of rain, but it wasn't until New Porn's fifth or sixth song that the rain was falling in a steady stream. But no matter, because NP's powerpop was definitely worth getting wet. They played a lot from New Cinema, with a bit of Electic Version and Mass Romantic thrown in as well. And I really enjoyed their new stuff, which Neko Case kept confessing she was nervous about. My favorite of the new stuff was the title track off their new album, "Challengers," which is a song with a lot less of the bells and whistles that the New Pornographers usually pull out. This song featured sparse guitars and drums, and mainly focuses on the great vocals.



Neko Case being there was really special. Of the four times I've seen this band, yesterday was the only time I had seen her play with them. And she definitely adds a great texture to the band's sound. Hopefully she plays with them more often now...Also, the band added a few more people to the stage yesterday: an accordian/french horn player, a flautist, a violinist and a cellist. I definitely enjoyed seeing those additions to the band on stage, but it didn't really result in the tightest sounding band.

Set highlights include: "The Jessica Numbers," "Twin Cinema," and "Mass Romantic." They closed out with "Sing Me Spanish Techno" and "The Bleeding Heart Show." Perfect. And then their encore was: "These Are the Fables," "Testament To Youth In Verse" and "Slow Descent Into Alcoholism."

Challengers is out on August 21st. Check out the Matador site for the many Buy Early, Get Now incentives.

DOWNLOAD: The New Pornographers - "My Rights Versus Yours" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The New Pornographers - "Twin Cinema" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The New Pornographres - "Mass Romantic" (MP3)