I thought Emma Pollock was very good, not quite great (yet), but very good. What is Scotland putting in their water that they keep churning out such fascinating female singers/frontwomen as Emma Pollock, Tracyanne Campbell, and KT Tunstall? I picked up Emma's CD (and the NP's live CD; all CDs were reasonably priced at $10).
The New Pornographers were excellent! As I told Kosmo and Dr. Anton Phibes in the BackBar after the show, this marks the fourth time I've seen the NPs live in concert, and this was by far the best yet in my experience. They were just nailing song after song. The set list was perfect, mixing in lots of tracks from Challengers with plenty of fan favorites from Twin Cinema and Mass Romantic and Electric Version. Neko, Carl, Dan, and Kathryn's harmonies were just breathtaking at times. In the past, I've hated Dan Bejar with a passion, but he was actually tolerable this time. Maybe it's because I'm getting used to his "style." Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Dan Bejar's songs on Challengers are some of my favorites on that album. I would have liked a little more Neko probably. I think she only sang lead on two songs, but that is twice as many as Kathryn. Kathryn's one song was a little shaky, but she was trying to play keyboards and an accordion and sing all at the same time. Carl was in fine voice, and Kurt Dahle's drums anchor the whole band. He impresses me with his drumming more each time I see him perform. (His backing vocals with Emma Pollock were good too!)
The sound could have been a little better. I don't know if one of the front speakers was having a problem or couldn't handle the volume or if it was poor sound engineering, but it sounded as if the vocals were clipping at peak volume, like when more than two members of the band were singing at the same time. Fortunately, it was a minor problem.
The lighting was very good. Loved the New Pornographers sign on the backdrop.
Excellent show over all! My thanks again to the boardie who hooked me up with a ticket and my thanks to the other boardies who offered. You know who you are.
Later,
Ed