A near- capacity crowd packed last Wednesday night as returned to Denver to promote their recent CD, “Together.” The band’s 2010 tour has sold out in many cities, despite less attention from the rock press, in favor of newer “flavor of the month” acts. People still love the band … to a point. Ask any of your friends — the New Pornos are pretty much everybody’s fourth or fifth favorite band.
Also on the bill was the Dodos. Their percussion- heavy yet melodic sound resonated with the crowd throughout their set. Utilizing mostly acoustic guitars, drums and electric vibraphone (a.k.a. vibes; think huge xylophone, with aluminum bars, not steel), often played to a nicely distorted effect by Keaton Snyder’s use of string bows along with the usual mallets.
Launching into “Sing Me Spanish Techno,” an eight- member version of the New Pornos seemed already in mid-set form. Guitarist and chief songwriter Carl “A.C.” Newman, along with drummer Kurt Dahle, are the two most prominent musicians in shaping the sound beneath all those vocals.
Three songs in, Destroyer’s Dan Bejar (seemingly an occasional New Pornos member and contributing songwriter) sauntered out, beer in hand, to sing another crowd favorite, “Myriad Harbor.” Finishing, he wandered off again, just as casually.
The primary combination of Newman and singer Neko Case’s voices is what brings the New Porno’s dense, clever songs alive. “Crash Years” off “Together” was the first of numerous winning moments, keyboardist Kathryn Calder’s vocals providing even more coloring to the boy-girl harmonies that the New Pornos are famous for.
The well paced, 20- song plus set mixed early New Porno’s songs (“The Laws Have Changed,” “Jackie,” “Mass Romantic”) with songs from later albums. From “Twin Cinemas” they played “Use It” and the title track, with that crunchy riff and one of the best Newman/Case vocal volleys in their catalog.
Bejar popped in and out as needed, the show’s vibe shifting whenever “Spooky Dan,” as Case jokingly referred to him, drifted back onstage. His “Silver Jenny Dollar” was one of the best parts of the show, the “la la la la’s” utilizing the band’s voices perfectly.
The eccentric musical and lyrical twists in New Pornos songs are presented matter of factly, with out of nowhere, hooky choruses you reflexively sing along to. Played live, the song’s sudden surprises kick harder. Sure, their records are great, but most of the songs are even better live.
The runaway train of a (regular set) finale, “The Bleeding Heart Show” never fails to rouse the hell out of a crowd, the “hey-la, hey-la” coda, almost like a revival song … from the coolest church in the world. Case‘s powerful voice singing, “We have arrived too late to play the bleeding heart show” over the “hey la”s, while Dahle’s breakneck drum fills practically cave your head in.
A three (!) song encore followed, the highlight: “Challengers” from the band’s previous album. A very good show, perhaps the fourth or fifth best I’ve seen all year.
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Mike Long is a Longmont-based writer and comedian and a regular contributor to Reverb.
is a Denver freelance photographer and regular contributor to Reverb.
