The Mountain Goats, At The Newport Folk Festival 2013 | NPR MUSIC FRONT ROW
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Published 2013-08-06
4:27 - Animal Masks
7:22 - You Were Cool
11:00 - Cubs in Five
Listen to the ENTIRE concert here: www.npr.org/event/music/203663270/the-mountain-goa…
The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle spent the 1990s recording his songs — just a voice, an acoustic guitar and bracingly articulate lyrics about catastrophe and survival — on low-fidelity equipment like boom boxes. It got to the point where the tape hiss felt like another instrument, but in the last decade, the Mountain Goats' music has become ever more polished. Darnielle now leads a full, versatile band, but his songwriting retains the capacity to stun: His songs can be gracefully poetic, painfully visceral and warmly empathetic, all at once.
Live, Darnielle is often wryly funny — and versatile enough to follow a somber ballad about death with a thunderous anthem. Hear The Mountain Goats perform as part of the 2013 Newport Folk Festival, recorded live on Friday, July 26 in Newport, R.I.
-- STEPHEN THOMPSON
All Comments (21)
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"We don't know that one as a group." plays it flawlessly anyway
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"a child is crying for cubs in five." i love you, john.
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lol at the kid requesting cubs in five "you magnificent young person we dont know that one as a group
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Best songwriter of our generation, hands down
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Watching this as the Cubs won yesterday. Fucking funny man
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I love how John innately knows which are his best songs and lets the audience hear them on a regular basis. I have never been disappointed at a Mountain Goats show, because they don't care if the best songs are old ones.
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Peter Hughes is such an underrated bassist. He's not the greatest bassist ever or anything, but damn is he good
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I remember when I first heard Mountain Goats, I was pretty shocked at their lyrics. Forgot about them for quite awhile, I dunno how long. Then I was watching Moral Orel and No Children played on it, and all I can do is say "Oh my god it's the Mountain Goats, on a pretty network, holy crap" Ever since then I hear them on bigger and bigger shows. So happy they get recognition, even if it's from these shows because this group deserves it.
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I always thought Cubs in Five was a cute little song from the opposite viewpoint of The Mess Inside ("I wanted you, to love me like you used to do" "I will love you, like I used to"), like, all these wonderful things are gonna happen and we'll be in love again...so beautiful... Then I realised it's one of the most hauntingly cynical songs I've ever heard, and what's worse is that it's telling the person in The Mess Inside that their hopes are worthless and that they will never love them again...
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"This is a song when people talk about triumph over adversity "adversity" sounds like sort of a faceless sort of a thing that you don't actually need to triumph over so much as get around. This is a song about triumph over the adversary."
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While everyone knows about how awesome John's lyrics are (and yes, by Jove, they are wonderful), can we take a moment to talk about the basslines played by Peter Hughes?? AND JOHN BLOOMIN' WURSTER ON THE DRUMS?! Oh it's all too good. Thank you, Mountain Goats, and thank you NPR.
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MG are one of those rare bands who can make me laugh and cry all on one album.
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As a Danish Nerdfighter (and thereby discovering and becoming a huge fan of TMGs as well) it is perplexing, and also extremely flattering, to see the Danish flag on John's arm! <3
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"You were cool"; brilliant performance. My son heard TMG when I made sure all five slots had their CDs when I loaned him the car for senior prom. This was on, in the middle of the song, when I got it back which I took as a sign that despite our best efforts, he'd gotten a good understanding of adulthood and that made me happy.
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THE MOUNTAIN GOATS!!!! I swear someday, someday I will see them in concert.
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I love peter hughes so much. The awkward dancing, the melodic bass playing, the kinda not perfect backing vocals that are actually totally perfect. Also the great suits
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one of the best bands i had never heard of. support them. please
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I really love that line about holding on for better days and being right.
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I will go see him live I swears it
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This might be one of John's best concerts. You can tell he really brought his A game that day.
