[Neutral Milk Hotel]
I still don't see the big deal over Neutral Milk Hotel. People keep saying "oh, the new album is the best of the year" and "wow, they are a super live band. don't miss them." Why is it I get really bored every time I see them? Tonight they performed as a trio. It was just Jeff Mangum, Julian Koster (The Music Tapes) and Scott Spillane. No drummer or hordes of merry men (aka the Elephant 6 music collective), not like at the Florida Popfest when they had at least seven to fifteen people onstage at any given moment. So it was a bit "quiet." Jeff strummed and sang, sometimes by himself. Julian mostly played the musical saw and the moog while Scott used his arsenal of brass instruments (baritone, french horn, trumpet and tuba) to add to the music. Elf Powers's Laura Carter joined on for one song playing clarinet.
However, the second opener, Elf Power, ruled! We showed up very late (missing something called November Foxtrot and Whiskey) and one of the guys said "Oh, Elf Power is next" It was cool because I didn't know they were playing. I think they are pretty nifty. The singer (i always forget names) sat next to me at my table playing musical chairs with my brother. I had the digital camera with me so I showed him the pictures I took of his band. I like the song about the bird that has a candy bar for a head and all the other birds make him stay on the ground so they can fly around and around and when they get hungry they know where he is so they nibble on his head but one day he flies away and does his own thing.
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1998 Florida Popfest Elf Power, Neutral Milk Hotel and The Music Tapes all performed.
Writing and Photos ©1998 by Jeffrey Howard.
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