If the New Pornographers show at the Southgate House wasn’t sold out, it was darn close. From the people who rocked out in the back to the loyalists in the front, those in attendance were clearly enjoying themselves. And why shouldn’t they be? The New Pornographers were wrapping up their tour in support of Twin Cinema, and are probably one of the best acts out there.

After some amazing performances from Immaculate Machine and Destroyer (Dan Bejar doesn’t believe in talking, apparently), The Pornographers took the stage. For a band who has been criss-crossing the continent for weeks, they looked pretty well. I’ve seen some bands that are visably worn down by the time they make it to Kentucky (ex: Sufjan Stephens).

From the very get-go, the band seemed dead set on making this the best show of their audience’s lives. In a move that frankly surprised me, they opened with their new hits “Twin Cinema” and “Use It” back to back. I guess they figured they’d knock out their expected tunes from the new album before launching into the older classics. I’ve gotta tell ya, hearing “Mass Romantic” live is definetely up there with my favorite concert memories.

The weird thing about seeing The New Pornographers is that even though there were seven or eight on stage at any given point (Dan Bejar alternated between being on and off stage), each of them managed to connect with the audience. Between Carl Newman’s sly grins and Neko Case’s between-song banter, the Pornographers did a great job relating to their crowd.

But what impressed me the most about The New Pornographers wasn’t their great setlist or onstage presence, but rather that they seemed to be thrilled to be performing. It’s been a long time since I saw a band do two encores AND take requests from the crowd. It was refreshing to see a band that was happy to perform, and thankful for every minute they were on the stage.

The New Pornographers’ Official Website

Video coming eventually.

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