Neutral Milk Hotel at the Roundhouse
Laetitia Sadier Trio
Roundhouse, 22 May 2014
Apparently the last time Neutral Milk Hotel played a headline show in London it was at the tiny, tiny Camden Underworld in October 1998. A few months later and the band were no more and singer/songwriter Jeff Mangum had become this mysterious, indie hermit, all of which only seemed to add to their mystique. In the intervening years between then and their reformation late last year, the band's second and last album, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, has become almost legendary, in the world of alternative music at least, and gained the band way more fans than they ever had first time round. It was no surprise then when this run of shows, three in all, at the Roundhouse was announced that it sold out pretty much straight away. Pretty amazing to go from the Camden Underworld to selling out three nights up the road at the Roundhouse without doing a thing other than letting time, reputation and word of mouth do its thing.
I don't think I was even aware of Neutral Milk Hotel back in 1998, I probably didn't even discover them for about five more years and I must admit it was only In The Aeroplane Over The Sea that caught my attention (although I have since listened to their debut On Avery Island). Although I always loved that record I think it was curiosity more than anything that drew me to this show. What does an almost-mythical cult band that returns from the dead (or retirement) look like? Can they pick up where they left off all those years ago, when they were on the brink of much bigger things? How does a frontman, who quit due to the tolls of fame becoming a Salinger-like figure, suddenly deal with a much larger and even more adoring audience now?
When Mangum takes to the stage alone at the start of the show, he does, funnily enough, look like he's just returned from a hermit's cabin in the wilderness. With his army cap, crumpled check shirt and red jeans, along with his long hair and magnificently huge bushy beard, he looks like an escaped revolutionary from some colourful land. Strumming the first notes of The King Of Carrot Flowers, Part One, from the get-go it's clear how the band have influenced the likes of The Decemberists, Okkervil River, Arcade Fire and more. Mangum may look more grizzled but his voice is the same as it was 16 years ago and just as impassioned as ever.
The rest of the band, looking just as ramshackle (most notably, Scott Spillane with his big, white gnome-like beard, Julian Koster with his elfish knitted hat and drummer Jeremy Barnes who appears to be channeling Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood) join him on stage and take up a variety of unusual instruments (for a rock band) from accordion to singing saws, to trombones and flugelhorns, to bowed banjos and Lord knows what else, making a gloriously celebratory, carnival-style noise. Luckily for me, there's a lot from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (all but one track in fact), and it's all received by the audience like the band playing their greatest hits. In particular Holland, 1945 and Ghost, sound wonderful in full-band flow, and the energetic band and its instrumentation are eccentric enough to be hugely entertaining without relying on flashy light shows or backdrops. Strangely though its the moments when Mangum is by himself, with just his acoustic guitar, that are most affecting, notably Oh Comely, which sounded particularly power sang alone on the empty stage with so many around me singing along in low voices so they didn't overpower's Mangum's solitary voice. It's clear that for many this was some kind of sacred event and although it wasn't as much as a religious experience for me (it felt a little like going into someone else's church) I am glad I witnessed it.
Much like my experience with Neutral Milk Hotel in the 90s, Stereolab were one of those bands I just never got round to listening to. I was more aware of them though and even had a small connection to the band as the late Mary Hansen actually played on a record by my brother's band Left Hand. But tonight's support slot by Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier is really by first proper introduction to her music, albeit from her two solo albums. Sadier is very French and comes across like a cool school teacher. Her solo music seems more of the singer-songwriter ilk with breezy poppy lines, light monotone vocals singing smart, sophisticated lyrics. I'm not sure how well it went down with the Mangum devotees in the crowd but it's definitely convinced me I finally need to check out Sadier's music, with and without Stereolab, at long last.
Despite the band having signs up (and even a request said over the speakers before the start of the show) for no phones, photos or videos during the Neutral Milk Hotel show, one video from the Roundhouse has just popped up on YouTube and luckily it's the show I attended, so I've posted it below. It's the song Ferris Wheel On Fire and actually sounds pretty great.
When Mangum takes to the stage alone at the start of the show, he does, funnily enough, look like he's just returned from a hermit's cabin in the wilderness. With his army cap, crumpled check shirt and red jeans, along with his long hair and magnificently huge bushy beard, he looks like an escaped revolutionary from some colourful land. Strumming the first notes of The King Of Carrot Flowers, Part One, from the get-go it's clear how the band have influenced the likes of The Decemberists, Okkervil River, Arcade Fire and more. Mangum may look more grizzled but his voice is the same as it was 16 years ago and just as impassioned as ever.
The rest of the band, looking just as ramshackle (most notably, Scott Spillane with his big, white gnome-like beard, Julian Koster with his elfish knitted hat and drummer Jeremy Barnes who appears to be channeling Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood) join him on stage and take up a variety of unusual instruments (for a rock band) from accordion to singing saws, to trombones and flugelhorns, to bowed banjos and Lord knows what else, making a gloriously celebratory, carnival-style noise. Luckily for me, there's a lot from In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (all but one track in fact), and it's all received by the audience like the band playing their greatest hits. In particular Holland, 1945 and Ghost, sound wonderful in full-band flow, and the energetic band and its instrumentation are eccentric enough to be hugely entertaining without relying on flashy light shows or backdrops. Strangely though its the moments when Mangum is by himself, with just his acoustic guitar, that are most affecting, notably Oh Comely, which sounded particularly power sang alone on the empty stage with so many around me singing along in low voices so they didn't overpower's Mangum's solitary voice. It's clear that for many this was some kind of sacred event and although it wasn't as much as a religious experience for me (it felt a little like going into someone else's church) I am glad I witnessed it.
Much like my experience with Neutral Milk Hotel in the 90s, Stereolab were one of those bands I just never got round to listening to. I was more aware of them though and even had a small connection to the band as the late Mary Hansen actually played on a record by my brother's band Left Hand. But tonight's support slot by Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier is really by first proper introduction to her music, albeit from her two solo albums. Sadier is very French and comes across like a cool school teacher. Her solo music seems more of the singer-songwriter ilk with breezy poppy lines, light monotone vocals singing smart, sophisticated lyrics. I'm not sure how well it went down with the Mangum devotees in the crowd but it's definitely convinced me I finally need to check out Sadier's music, with and without Stereolab, at long last.
Despite the band having signs up (and even a request said over the speakers before the start of the show) for no phones, photos or videos during the Neutral Milk Hotel show, one video from the Roundhouse has just popped up on YouTube and luckily it's the show I attended, so I've posted it below. It's the song Ferris Wheel On Fire and actually sounds pretty great.
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