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| Photo of the band at Fitzgerald's by me. |
Due to my partner being a huge fan of the band, I have now seen the Mountain Goats an unusually large number of times over the past couple of years for someone who was previously a fan of the band, but in a more detached, intellectual manner.
For someone like me it’s been both fascinating and rewarding to suss out the group’s connection to its fans on one level while experiencing the band’s rapid evolution mastering a sprawling mélange of styles that often seems like both a burst of curiosity and the increasing means to explore whatever musical corner they want to inhabit at that time.
The audience at a the Mountain Goats show is frequently passionate while remaining exceedingly polite, and I have experienced their honest conduit of shared emotions between the crowd and the band, a positive feedback loop of sorts. Of course, this is what most live music aspires to do, but there’s something in the Mountain Goats that makes that bond seem eagerly effortless and natural. And I have enjoyed being allowed to share in that communion and enjoy the energy, even if I sometimes still feel slightly detached and looking in (which is all me and a result of so many years working in, on, and/or writing about music.
We recently saw the group twice in the last week of June—at Summerfest in Milwaukee and as part of Fitzgerald’s Outdoor series—and the show at Fitzgerald’s was a particularly potent one for me: the crowd, the music, the vibes; everything was perfect. But since I posted about the band yesterday, I was hesitant to share anything from last night. But it was too good not to share SOMETHING and mark the occasion. I could have chosen one of “the hits” but I think you can find a million versions of the band playing “No Children” and “This Year” out there. (I’m sure I have shared a few of them myself.) Instead, I’m posting the super-fun Fitzgerald’s performance of “Charlie Sheen Reaches Out to the Feds” from their forthcoming album ‘Days.’ It rocks, it grooves, it’s ebullient, it’s dark, and it was an early crowd pleaser in the set. I hope some of its magic remans in the video I managed to capture.
The new album is out this Friday and while I am precluded by saying anything much about it until then, I can confirm that it is filled with bangers.
Y’know, I wrote most of this about a month ago to accompany the Reel embedded above, so I feel the need to add a little extra bonus to this post. (I mean, on one hand I still view this site as the core Tankboy resource, and while I have grown more comfortable cross-posting over the years, I still have the reflexive need to tailor each one slightly for its intended location.) Lemme see…
I’ve got it!
While I focused on the Fitzgerald’s show here, the Milwaukee Summerfest gig was a ton of fun as well, as the band focused their set to festival length due to strict time constraints. And we were treated to something special for a festival gig; a truly unexpected encore. So unexpected that when the band came back onto the stage, the soundman had already left the board. (In their defense, how could they have expected an encore, and how likely was it they were taking a bio break before having to do sound for the next act on that stage?)
The band started playing anyway. I’m still not sure if they knew the house sound wasn’t on at first, but once it became apparent the front speakers were silent, the Mountain Goats kept playing and the crowd stepped in to provide the vocals.
Here is a snippet of that experience I captured, and I can still feel the euphoric rush of the group sing-along, and the rapturous response from the crowd the moment the front speakers finally kicked in. You’ll see.
Glorious.
