Hey La, it’s the New Pornographers

I rolled up to the 9:30 Club last Saturday night for the New Pornographers show, and was greeted with the sign that read, “At the artists’ request, no audio, no video, no yadda yadda”. I thought to myself, what a bunch of self-important Canadian pricks. The giant flashing “New Pornographers” sign hoisted above the stage did little to disavow me of that opinion. Then, the strains of Spanish guitar that signaled the band taking the stage started, and all my preconceptions melted away. Their aurual attack was surprisingly loud and visceral, even from my perch at the back of the room. In the span of a song they established why they remain one of the most vital bands in rock.

With Neko Case and the peripatetic Dan Bejar in tow, there was a full contingent of Pornographers on stage. Their four-headed vocal attack highlighted the diversity of their sound, from the Cheap Trick (or is that Big Star?) influenced power pop of Sing Me Spanish Techno, to the off-kilter, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah style attack of Myriad Harbor.  The freewheeling vocal harmonies of The Bleeding Heart Show display that the Pornographers are at their most powerful when they layer their distinct voices into a multi-headed musical beast, and Adventures in Solitude demonstrates that Newman’s niece Kathryn Calder may be the best best kept secret (and the best voice) in the band.