All the old showstoppers

When I heard that the New Pornographers would be coming to Milwaukee in support of their most recent album, Challengers, I knew I'd have to make the trip. Unlike the first two times I saw them, this tour would include Neko Case. I had previously determined that Neko's presence wasn't necessary for a great New Pornographers show, but it was still a goal of mine to see her perform with the band.

Wednesday night at the Pabst I attained that goal. The show included two openers, a concert paradigm I think I may be too old to appreciate. Especially for a GA show. I enjoyed both bands, though - Benjy Ferree was entertaining for half an hour, if a little goofy; and listening to Emma Pollack (and her Scottish accent) was quite a treat. The main act finally took the stage around 10:00 p.m. I resisted the temptation to look at the setlist beforehand, though everyone around me was peering at it. They were excited, which I took as a good sign.

The band opened with "Heaven and Earth" from Challengers, and followed that up with an energetic "Use It." They played almost all of Challengers over the course of the show, and included a very nice peppering of songs from their other releases. The first set's finale was "Bleeding Heart Show," which was as superb as I remember it from Madison.


Finally seeing Neko with the NP's was great, as expected. She sings backup vocals on nearly every song, not to mention the songs where she takes the lead. Kathryn Calder still provides excellent vocals in her turn, but Neko was a big part of this show. There wasn't a whole lot of banter between the band members onstage, which I missed a little bit - but I got the sense they were concentrating on providing the maximum amount of pop awesomeness in their allotted time. Carl did take some time to say that on their last go-round, Milwaukee was the best crowd of the tour - while the worst crowd was in Minneapolis. This prompted both cheers and boos from the crowd, though I think both were in the anti-Minneapolis spirit. Ah, rivalry between proximate Midwestern cities.

The real revelation for me on Wednesday, however, was Dan Bejar. Dan is another member of the New Pornographers who doesn't always tour with the band. I knew he was on board for this leg, and was pleased about it, but most of my anticipation was focused on Neko's presence. As it turned out, though, Dan's songs made the show for me. I've always been a fan of his unique songs and vocals, and was glad that Carl took over vocal duties so that band could perform a couple of them at the shows I saw last year. But actually having Dan (or, as Neko misheard from the crowd and joked about keeping as a nickname, "Dangelina") up there singing his own songs was really great. He certainly didn't say much, wandering on and off stage with a glass of wine in hand, but somehow that added to the charm. "Myriad Harbor" is one of my favorite songs on Challengers, and was a highlight of the show for me.


During the show it was pouring spectacularly outside. One might think it wouldn't be obvious that this was happening inside the theater, but between Emma Pollack and the New Pornographers we noticed something interesting. Either the lights were dripping a light mist of water onto the stage ... or the roof was leaking. This was somewhat alarming, and inspired Blaine to scoot his keyboard and laptop further forward to escape the shower, but didn't really seem to affect the show. At some point it must have stopped, and I was able to get from Milwaukee to my Madison exit before the downpour began again. Thanks, weather.

Setlist: (I think maybe they didn't play "From Blown Speakers" though? And maybe they played "Failsafe?" Wow, my memory is horrible.)

More photos here.