Recap The New Pornographers at First Avenue

The New Pornographers might be one of indie rock’s greatest cases of substance over style. From their almost dizzyingly bad album covers (one of which—2007’s Challengers—adorned the face of guitarist Todd Fancey’s Les Paul) to their nearly stage-presence-less frontman (head Porno Carl Newman, who walked onto First Avenue’s stage in chocolate-brown corduroys and a pale blue button-down, looking for all the world like Will Ferrell’s Stranger Than Fiction character trying out guitars in a music store), New Pornographers put their music front and center, with little fanfare and no flashing lights or smoke machines. And so, to some extent, it seems inevitable that their live show will suffer in comparison to their immaculately crafted albums.

Having often-absent touring members Neko Case and Dan Bejar along for the ride this time certainly helped things, improving considerably on their opening set for Belle And Sebastian at the Orpheum in 2006. On Friday night, Case was a key contributor throughout the show on both lead and background vocals, while Bejar wandered onto the stage when appropriate to either sing or strum guitar with his back to the audience. His shiny black loafers (in contrast to Case’s awesomely ratty Iron Maiden slip-ons) only reinforced the sense that he was the coolest guest at the party, and his numbers, from “Myriad Harbour” to “Jackie, Dressed In Cobras,” brought out the best in the band.

Throughout the night, the band drew on all corners of its extensive catalog, reaching all the way back to 2000’s Mass Romantic for “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism.” Some niggling feedback problems seemed to discomfit the band for the first chunk of the set, but when Case stepped up to sing lead on the title track from Challengers, everyone relaxed. What followed was a great suite of songs, moving from “Challengers” to Bejar’s “Testament To Youth In Verse” from Electric Version to “Moves” and “Your Hands (Together)” from the new Together. Suddenly, the music was bigger and softer and more human than on record. That is, more or less like what you hope for from a live experience.

But then Newman exerted his controlling hand again, asking the crowd for requests that he made clear would only be honored if they were songs the band was going to happen to play anyway. When someone shouted out for “Bleeding Heart Show,” perhaps their best-known track, Newman confirmed they would play it, saying that when they did, “You’re gonna go: 'Shit, they played that perfect.'” And sure enough, when they did, they did. But it brought to mind Voltaire’s quote that “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” Yes, everything was in just the right place and the show was never less than enjoyable, but there was little room for the rough edges and unplanned moments that make a concert something more than just a collection of greatest hits, performed well.