The New Pornographers
Date: April 8, 2008 The Hope of Spring When The New Pornographers added an Ottawa date at the front of their previously-announced North American tour, it was great news for fans in the capital. Unfortunately, the tacked-on nature of the show meant that the concert went ahead without Okkervil River opening and without Neko Case joining the headliners. The latter absence was apparently a surprise to promoters, who had billed the event as including the star singer, which made for a disappointment in the crowd. Nonetheless, the band was as excellent as every other time that I had seen them play, also without Case, making for another great evening. Montreal's Land of Talk made the trip to act as openers for only this night of the tour. Since the first time that I saw the trio, they had apparently replaced their drummer, bringing in Eric Thibodeau. From my vantage point at the front of the floor, though, Thibodeau's face was obscured behind an angled cymbal, meaning that I could only see his ridiculous fuzzy-faced hat bobbing around, making it look as if the beats were being provided by a Muppet. Overall, I enjoyed the band more on this occasion, although Elizabeth Powell's compulsion with tuning her guitar before every song once again kept the set from building any real momentum. By contrast, The New Pornographers came out blazing, rolling through "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth," "Use It," and "The Electric Version" with only enough pause for drummer Kurt Dahle to count off each coming song. The fact that the opening salvo spanned three albums was indicative of a set that jumped throughout the group's catalogue. Neko's absence was never acknowledged by the band, perhaps indicating that they were unaware that the show had been advertized as including her. When the set rolled from "All the Old Showstoppers" to "The Bones of an Idol," though, it was clear that Case would not simply be taking the stage late, as the latter features her voice very prominently on album. However, I've always enjoyed Kathryn Calder's vocal contributions; and "Idol" was just another demonstration of her fine talent. The band continued to tear through songs with abandon and the sound mixing seemed to catch up to them and settle in as they moved on through "My Rights Versus Yours," "The Laws Have Changed," "Stacked Crooked," "Twin Cinema," and "Challengers." I always feel that The New Pornographers could shuffle any random setlist together and create a fantastic set; and there was no lull or misstep in this concert. The band's straight-ahead focus was tempered by A.C. Newman's comic asides. At one point, he mentioned the group have a single included in the Rock Band video game, laughing that he got 85% on vocals before pausing and adding "on expert, first try" with mock pride. As usual, half of the band was content to simply play well with little fuss, leaving Newman, Calder, and Dahle as the more dynamic performers. While I've always enjoyed Dahle's playing before, he was particularly captivating on this night, hamming it up from start to finish, joking with Newman, and constantly flipping and twirling his sticks. The high point of the entire concert was seeing Dahle try desperately to consume a beer, despite having it passed to him just as he was starting "Testament to Youth in Verse." He pounded away at the skins, while the mostly-full bottle shook precariously on his floor tom. When he finally had to use that drum, he snatched up his bottle and played one-handed, sneaking another gulp, before setting it back down and predictably tipping it over before the song's conclusion. It was a heroic effort, made all the more hilarious by Dahle's exaggerated facial expression as he realized his loss. From there, the set stayed sharp, whether touching on slower numbers like "Unguided," "The Spirit of Giving," and "Adventures in Solitude" or bouncing to the rapid-fire pulse of "Mass Romantic" and "Sing Me Spanish Techno," before reaching the set-closing sing-along of "The Bleeding Heart Show." A two-song encore saw the concert wrap up with a cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down," which was very well suited for the group, and "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism."
Even if it was not exactly as promoted, The New Pornographers delivered a concert that matched their previous high standards. The New Pornographers setlist 
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