The Mountain Goats + JohnVanderslice @ The MetroTheatre, Sydney (06/01/07)

Sun 7th Jan, 2007 in Gig Reviews

At the beginning of the evening, it felt like nothing could save the early arriving crowd at The Metro Theatre. Treated to a DJ set that appeared composed at first of bluegrass and then even more obscure pieces, things were not off to a very good start as the audience spoke over a mixture of songs that dragged on; only appeared to be the personal taste of one man; and tried, desperately, to ignore the strange dancing of said one man.

By the end of the evening, this angst was forgotten.

John Vanderslice, sometimes Mountain Goats producer eased the pain of the awful DJ set by sharing his own work, songs that felt remarkably similar to the band yet to come. With a sense of sun soaked depression, each track told a story, drawing on unique images but unfortunately, this came with little vocal variation. It seemed almost as though the emotional highs and lows had been drained, leaving the crowd with the sort of music that felt destined for a hangover, never particularly seeping into the skin. Some songs captured the moment – as seems to be the case at a lot of gigs, the crowd pulled together to rally behind an anti-Bush track (Pale Horse) and Promising Actress summed up the story of Mulholland Drive with a concise emotional ache.

And then.

There was not a single thing wrong with the Mountain Goats set. A mix mainly from the last three albums, with favourites like The Best Death Metal Band in Denton and No Children thrown in, the stage was set from the first song. Wild Sage was so quiet, it was possible to hear the sounds of phones beeping and the bar registers, but by the end of the set, the crowd had grown so loud in their enthusiasm that the only person who threatened to be drowned out was John Darnielle himself. This was a crowd who knew the songs offered inside outs, joining in to scream the lyrics back to a band that only seemed to match their excitement. The fact that, despite this level of knowledge from the crowd, the band still seemed fresh is a testament to their skills.

Foremost, The Mountain Goats write good songs and secondly, they know how to play live. While John Vanderslice tried to do just this, his vocals let him down. In comparison, bass player Peter Hughes and Darnielle create their own world of drug abuse, alcoholism and broken relationships and this view is nothing less than captivating. Inherently comfortable on stage and with each other, the pair let the crowd in every second. Stories of how tracks were written were offered with a humor that seemed in stark contrast to the subject matter and the crowd were drawn into these stories, only to have the far more depressing truth offered a moment later. At times, it was like watching a therapy session play out on stage, but the contortions and twisted faces of Darnielle managed only to capture the emotion of the songs that little bit better, with the leading bass a perfect match for the ever changing voice offered. Lyrically, the band remain inventive, but their unique styling was obvious through out all the changes in pace.

At each turn, it was impossible to glance away. Dance Music highlighted the band’s capacity to draw the crowd in for the first time and this was repeated later as John Vanderslice was bought back out to add a second acoustic guitar to several tracks. Again, screaming at the top of their lungs, the audience fed off the energy of the band for “See America Right” but for every emotional high, there was another low. Get Lonely and Maybe Sprout Wings took the band, and the crowd, to a different place. The strength of Darnielle’s voice was still there, but this time it was almost broken, barely above a whisper. It is rare that a crowd offers musicians the respect that the Mountain Goats received, with the silence falling almost instantly around these quiet songs. It is possibly as rare that a band treats the crowd with this same respect and perhaps the great part of all was their obvious appreciation. Thanks were mumbled many times, the grins were huge and the connection between the band and crowd always stayed electric.

There is a strange contradiction offered by the Mountain Goats – the songs vary in pace, volume and emotional responses, but they all dance around the same themes. This is the music of people who have been hurt, but the energy at The Metro Theatre was always positive and the tracks themselves seem to hold onto this lingering sense of hope and strength. Walking away, you had to wonder if some of this hope comes from the existence of music that just gets it so right.