The Mountain Goats' gig at ULU is a typically raucous and joyful experience. Even with their rapidly swelling audiences, the band still bring a room together with songs about relationships spiralling into alcoholic oblivion, lead singer/songwriter John Darnielle's personal experience of an abusive childhood and meth addiction, wizard love, heavy metal and a library's worth of obscure literary references.
Whilst these may not be the most cheerful of subjects, Darnielle's lyrics are infused with a irrepressible optimism and subtle wit which makes even the blackest subjects uplifting; and his sheer genius lies in the ability to write catchy, relevant, toe-tapping melodies about potentially murdering his step-father, with 'Lion's Teeth' and 'Dance Music', which is given an unusual 'lounge' makeover, being cases in point.
This is their first London gig with a drummer, and Jon Wurster (from Superchunk) proves to be a welcome addition for a band who are professionally going from strength to strength. The rhythm section defines their stage presence and allows them to play crowd pleasers such as This Year and Lovecraft in Brooklyn with increased urgency. At times the drums are slightly overpowering, and you sense that the band are still working out some kinks in the performance after years of playing solo. But that's only a minor complaint about a highly polished performance.
Darnielle is an enthusiastic and physical performer; he immerses himself in the theatricality of the songs and interacts easily with the crowd. Even if he does occasionally look as though he's having a seizure (it's hard to be enthusiastic whilst keeping your cool sometimes…), he never seems to be feeling anything other than utter love for his audience, which is mirrored back to him from the eager crowd; sometimes literally as one girl continually screamed 'I love you!' only to be told 'I'm afraid I'm married and can't really take this any further' by a bemused Darnielle.
On recordings, The Mountain Goats' lyrics tend to wind around your emotional core like an slick, articulate serpent. Playing live, without the confessional sense of stories being whispered through your ipod headphones, the power and emotion of Darnielle's voice is all the more striking. Due to the narrative structure of The Mountain Goat's records, their fans tend to be tenaciously dedicated and involved in the personal and introverted universe Darnielle has meticulously crafted. Whilst this means their shows can offer revealing insights through crowd banter and lyrical deviations (Darnielle will occasionally reveal whether an incident actually happened by casually tossing character pseudonyms aside), the evening contains some in-jokes and references to recurring characters which can be confusing for the uninitiated. First-timers won't necessarily be hooked in by the live show which is a shame as it is the band at their most visible.
The only real disappointment with the show is the absence of Kaki King who is touring with the band in America. Given the rapturous reception they received they will surely be back with their friends soon.
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