The Mountain Goats at Tipitinas January 21st

Is it normal for your throat to bleed from yelling?  Is it normal for your throat to bleed from yelling at a folk music show? The Mountain Goats were in New Orleans on January 21. John Darnielle come out and began the show saying how glad he was to be playing at Tipitina’s, and I was just as glad that he came.  He doesn’t do too much touring in the south, so I knew this would be a rare opportunity to see the group. 

I’ve been a fan for several years now, which means I’ve barely scratched the surface of a thick discography, but he gave a good smattering of old, less old, new, newer, and recent.  The first few songs included one of my favorites, “See America Right.”  The song is fast paced and full of vicious and automotive imagery.  Coming so early in the show, I was glad to see how positive the crowd’s response was.  This is the same crowd that would end the evening screaming “I hope you die, I hope we both die.”

The new father came dressed in a jacket covered in patches and pins– If you were there, post in the comments about which piece of flair was your favorite.  He reminded me of a NASCAR driver, or a waitress at one of those family themed restaurants.  His bassist, Peter Hughes wore a more traditional if not especially sharp looking suit and tie.  He also sang back up vocals during several songs, giving us the melody that we know and love from The Mountain Goats recordings, while Darnielle screamed his lungs out.

He played all the highlights I needed to hear.  “Game Shows Touch Our Lives” came near the beginning of the set, and made way for a section where the band stepped off for Darnielle to play a couple solo.  This group included “Billy the Kid’s Dream of Magic Shoes.”  “International Small Arms Traffic Blues” came about three quarters into the show– and they played it pretty heavy; much more so than on the recordings anyway.  Near the end, he gave us “Quitto” and “Pigs That Straightaway Into The Water, Triumph Of” off my favorite album We Shall All Be Healed.  He ended his set with “No Children,” with the whole crowd screaming every word.  Then, Darnielle came back for an encore of two songs, “1 Samuel 15:23,” which he screamed without his microphone.

There is something to be said for a venue that can hold as many people as it did, and can still hear the singer unamplified.  The last song was “This Year,” which was just perfect.

Great artist, great venue, great show. Check out Mountain Goats when they come back in five years.