When I bought my ticket to see Neutral Milk Hotel at Leeds uni for 13/08/14, I didn't
really know what to expect. I'd never seen them before, I'd never been to the venue before and I didn't even know who the support act was going to be. I went into the venue with an open mind, and, weirdly, without my ticket being checked at all.
The posters told me that the support act was a guy called Mick Turner. He arrived on stage with a guitar and did an entirely instrumental set, with the aid of a drummer that constantly looked vaguely possessed. They looked like how I'd imagine Drenge would look in 30 years, but certainly didn't sound like it. Admittedly, they were both quite skilled at their individual instruments, but I was kind of expecting Turner to sing, especially considering he was stood behind a microphone. Their set finished after 20 minutes, by which time I think they'd realised the crowd found them more bizarre than anything. And then we waited.
Let me set the scene: the venue was packed, with hipsters and balding men filling every nook and cranny (including the staircases). It was as though they'd carried on selling tickets regardless of whether they'd gone over capacity or not. The stage was littered with instruments, most of which were brass, and atop a keyboard sat a glowing plastic sheep.
They started with
Two Headed Boy, during which, for the start, bearded frontman Jeff Mangum stood alone on the far right of the stage. Then, just as it does on the album, came
The Fool; for this, the rest of the band emerged onto the stage to play their respective instruments, including that beautiful brass section. The band's adorable accordion/bass/banjo/saw player (yes, saw) Julian Koster introduced them by saying "Hello everybody!" in the goofiest voice I've ever heard anyone speak in, and then they went straight into
Holland, 1945 with the familiar "1, 2, 3, 4" which was not only shouted by Mangum, but by every member of that overpacked audience. It was sensational. Koster was leaping about the stage and the crowd was moving almost as much (which I wasn't sure they would do), and singing along wholeheartedly.
 |
Since we weren't allowed to take pictures of
the band, here's one of my friend with
the poster he nicked |
Of course, the biggest singalong came later, for
King of Carrot Flowers parts 1, 2 & 3 (particularly part 2) which they played in sequence. Hundreds of people around me yelling "I LOVE YOU JESUS CHRIST" at the top of their lungs was almost enough to turn me vaguely religious.
Littered throughout the setlist were songs from
On Avery Island and various EPs, including the riotous
Song Against Sex, but as you'd probably imagine it was the songs from second and most critically acclaimed album
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea which got the best reception. In fact, I'm not sure anyone in that 500 strong crowd would have opposed to them simply playing it in full.
During the encore, the band again left Mangum alone on stage to play
Two Headed Boy part 2, and I was sure that would be the end of the gig; a nice full circle with all that brilliance stuffed inside. But no, they came back on again to end with
Engine, and left with huge applause and many cheers of "We love you Jeff!".
Whoever you are, I would absolutely recommend that you seek out a Neutral Milk Hotel gig near you and buy a ticket for it. Right now. It's for your own good!
10/10
Written by Molly McGrath
