Archives @ Neumo’s

Neumo’s has never looked better than it does now in the good hands of its triumvirate owners. There’s a new bar in the main room, a red curtain has been hung over that god-awful clown mural, and the VIP room downstairs has been polished up and fitted with new sound. For this show, another curtain sectioned off the back of the main room, creating a cozy little space for Archives’ first live show.

The band played the four songs from their demo, plus one untitled song that Mat Brooke admits doesn’t really have lyrics yet, either, but is “a lot of ooh la las.” Interviewing him a couple weeks ago, Brooke was understandably worried about getting the band’s delicate sound and harmonies right live, but except for a couple nervous falters they totally nailed it. They played “Sleepdriving” and “Southern Glass Home” back to back as they appear on the demo, and the transition was even more spine-tingling live. The live versions of “Southern Glass Home” and “Torn Blue Foam Couch” rocked much harder than the demo versions, with the latter’s cathartic climax providing a fittingly triumphant set closer.

Mount Eerie @ A Secret, Magical Cave

Okay, not actually a cave (which would be a pretty sweet setting for a Mount Eerie show), but rather a warm little warehouse space that shall remain nameless for now. Mount Eerie (aka Phil Elverum) played with a six piece backing band, including saxophone and keys, comprised of Golden Boots and maybe Jason Anderson (I got there late, I’m not sure who was who). He’d show them the chord progressions before each song, and then the band would improvise around him. I read somewhere once that the Microphones was originally inspired by Nirvana, and you could kind of see that when he rang out big, distorted chords on an electric guitar with a full band instead of on his usual solo acoustic. The band lent his songs a decidedly Southern rock feel.

He sang about meeting friends for dinner, loving his home, feeling rain on his skin, walking out into the darkness of his small town at night, reconciling with the Moon, and stabbing himself (on the same night as a Modest Mouse show across town—Eerie, indeed). I had to leave before he performed some solo material. How was it? Was there a sing-laong? How were the other bands?