The New Pornographers
Date: October 9, 2006 To Repeat With Feeling Given the quality control that The New Pornographers employ on each album, I continue to insist that could seamlessly insert any song into their live set. Despite that depth of material, the song selection on their latest visit to Ottawa strayed only slightly from that of their Bluesfest performance. Fortunately, the musicianship and effort also matched that earlier show, making for a great, if familiar, night. This concert marked the start of a tour jointly celebrating the fifteenth anniversaries of Mint Records and Exclaim! magazine. Novillero got the night started for their labelmates, churning out a solid opening set. For much of the early going, any subtleties or hooks in the band's songs were buried behind a noisy, indistinct mix. The group showed a lot of energy and personality from start to finish, though, and their later songs connected more strongly, with "Hypothesist" ranking among the more memorable offerings. Kathryn Calder made her first appearance of the evening as part of Immaculate Machine. The sound mix was better for the three-piece outfit, with the clean keyboards and guitar being pushed along by frantic drumming. I knew little of the group going into the night, thinking of them simply as Calder's non-Pornographers band. As it turns out, the band is very collaborative, with each of its members interacting with the crowd and taking turns on vocals. Despite my unfamiliarity with their songs, I was happy that they found the time to pad their set with a request from the crowd, as I enjoyed all that I heard from them. When Calder returned with The New Pornographers, the band showed their confidence by opening with the biggest song from their last album, "Sing Me Spanish Techno." The previous two times that I saw the band this year, they had saved that song for a set closer. Of course, that start received a strong reaction from the crowd but each of the songs that followed was a similar success. Another surprise was the early inclusion of "Graceland," from the Matador at Fifteen compilation. For the most part, though, the concert was a battery of well-worn material, delivered at a breakneck pace. It seemed that the band was through "The Laws Have Changed," "Jackie Dressed in Cobras," and "The End of Medicine" before they even took a breath. When someone in the crowd asked where Neko Case was, Calder muttered "sorry" but her soaring vocals on the follow-up of "The Bleeding Heart Show" and "Mass Romantic" answered any implied criticism. In fact, she and A.C. Newman were in fine form throughout the night, both in terms of singing and stage presence. Although Newman only rarely interrupted the musical flow to talk to the crowd, he still displayed his usual sarcastic charm. The other member of the band to truly capture attention was drummer Kurt Dahle. Whether standing out through prominent playing, as on "The Jessica Numbers," or through his presence and style, Dahle was always a force. He may have dropped half of the sticks that he tossed in the air but his constant smile mirrored those found on many in a delighted crowd; and he certainly made his contribution to the fun mood. Although the band bypassed "Miss Teen Wordpower," which was on their printed setlist, a concluding pass of "From Blown Speakers," "It's Only Divine Right," and "Use It" made for a very satisfying cap to a consistently great set. When the band took requests for the encore, they settled on a pair from their debut album. Newman answered my call for "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism," claiming that it was suitable as "an easy one that everyone can relate to," before the group wrapped up with "Letter from an Occupant." As has been the case surprisingly often lately, I was impressed by all of the bands on the bill. Novillero and Immaculate Machine made a solid showing before The New Pornographers blew the roof off with a fast-paced set whose musical excellence and sense of joy never faltered. Immaculate Machine setlist 
The New Pornographers setlist 
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