Minus Case, Pornographers Soldier On
Reports of the New Pornographers’ demise are greatly exaggerated, if their Friday show at the Cannery Ballroom is any indication.
Despite missing core members Dan Bejar (on tour with Destroyer) and Neko Case (sidelined with a fractured ankle), A.C. Newman led the Pornos through a rollicking Friday night set heavy on its brand of tuneful pop songs.
Keyboardist Kathryn Calder didn’t merely replace Case’s vocals, but completely glossed over the indie rock goddess’ absence. When the group broke into the somber “Challengers,” the title track Case’s most prominent vocal on their latest album, it was the second biggest surprise of the night.
The largest opened the brief encore – an enthusiastic take on “Don’t Bring Me Down” from fellow Canadians ELO.
With their harmonies intact, the band didn’t stumble once. The hour-plus set easily surpassed the studio versions – even when the Pornographers went soft, they never sacrificed their relentlessness.
No Case meant one big silver lining - every pause in the music wasn’t loaded with badly coiffed hipsters shouting marriage proposals to her.
Sprinted through the layered “My Rights Versus Yours” then nearly every significant track off its last two long-players, Newman showed that he captained this ship even on Bejar tunes like “Myriad Harbor.”
With the news about Case, Okkervil River stood a good chance of upstaging their tourmates.
They came close, and Will Sheff’s heartfelt, literate songs demonstrated this Austin band qualified for its own headlining tour. With a tight crew behind him, Sheff ably warbled above his own acoustic playing, his soulful voice at times evoking a long-lost Davies brother.
The arrangements were nothing less than stellar, with bursts of trumpet, electric guitar and piano placed perfectly in nearly every song.
Minus its superstars, this indie rock twinbill went on without a hitch.
