Jeff Mangum at Vicar Street on March 7th 2012
Review Sean Noone
It’s bang on 9.40 and a packed Vicar St has just enthusiastically welcomed Jeff Mangum (former lead singer of Neutral Milk Hotel) to a stage decorated solely with a stool and a few acoustic guitars. He waves to the crowd and picks up his guitar and shoots straight into ‘Two Headed Boy Pt.2’. His unique voice sounds as good and potentially divisive as ever (those in attendance are sure to fall on the ‘liking’ side of opinion on that matter).
‘Holland, 1945’ is a strange beast. While it is perfectly played and appreciated the crowd, the mind seems to subconsciously insert the trumpets. The next two songs, ‘Song Against Sex’ and ‘Gardenhead’ aren’t as well received by the crowd but are met with cheers and whoops when they end. While ‘Engine‘ isn’t too well-known by those in attendance, it treated with reverence. The place falls silent but for the slow chug of his guitar and his distinctive drawl as he sings his most emotional song so far.
King of Carrot Flowers (parts 1, 2 & 3) are almost sing-along. It is the one time of the evening when the crowd switch from reverential to raucous and, as encouraged by Mr Mangum, attempt to make the noises of absent trumpets.
The onstage banter is sparse and one of the few examples of the Mangum’s wry wit is when a cheer goes up from a section while he is tuning his guitar. “Oh, you like this song?” he asks the rowdy section. “It’s a bit different from my other stuff.”. The rowdiness dies down as the audience hushes each other as he starts into ‘Oh, Comely’. He gives the best indication that his voice has lost none of its power in the fourteen years since the song’s release. It is just as distinctive as ever. He even performs an excellent trumpet impression in the middle of the song. We emerge from the song eight minutes later, stunned.
‘Little Birds’ is a song with an almost marching tune telling a heartbreaking tale of an orphan and again keeps the audience en-rapped. ’Ghost’ returns to the sing-along type, though those who try seems to struggle with the pace he sets. He does encourage the crowd to ‘la’ along though.
‘A Baby for Pree’ falls flatter than anything since ‘Gardenhead’ much earlier in the set but ‘In an Aeroplane Over the Sea’ engages the audience in the same way the majority of the show has. The disaffected love song has everyone present singing along before Mangum stands up, waves and exits the stage.
He’s not gone for long and he’s soon back for ‘Two Headed Boy Pt. 1’. A few lighters are held in the air and the words are being sung from all parts of the venue. It’s another wave of euphoria in an evening littered with them. He exits to a cacophony of cheers and whoops and a standing ovation from those seated on the balcony. The last decade was lessened by his absence from the live music scene.
Setlist
Two Headed Boy pt 2
Holland, 1945
Song Against Sex
Gardenhead
Engine
King of Carrot Flowers pt 1,2,3
Oh, Comely
Little Birds
Ghost
A Baby for Pree
In an Aeroplane Over the Sea
—–ENCORE———–
Two Headed Boy pt 1