The New Pornographers- Pabst Theater, 11/13/14

photo courtesy of Benjamin Wick Photography

It's been a good four years since the indie-rock super group from Canada had visited Milwaukee for a concert.  I have had the pleasure of seeing the New Pornographers several times in the past including their March 11, 2006 show opening for Belle and Sebastian at the Riverside Theater, along with their October 2007 and June 2012 shows at the Pabst Theater.  This show, like the ones in the past, saw the New Pornographers playing to their strengths-- performing high-octane indie power-pop rock with minimal breaks between songs.  Thursday's concert was perhaps the best I've seen the New Pornographers live as they now are drawing from a deeper catalog, and putting on a nearly two-hour concert, including a double-encore highlighting tunes from throughout their career.  As a wise person once said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it," and this mantra surely can been seen as the formula of success for the New Pornographers, and their longevity to engage and draw near capacity crowds each time they play.

photo courtesy of Benjamin Wick Photography

The band was touring in support of their latest 2014 release, Brill Bruisers, a record which sees the seven piece super group return to old form, focusing on three chord guitar riffs, quick vocal interplay between Neko Case and A.C. Newman/Dan Bejar, and a heavy dose of keyboards to hold the melodies together. The concert opened with "Brill Brusiers," the most infectious and title track off of the new album.  "Dancehall Donine," was another highlight from Brill Bruisers that was played early in the set and well-received by the fans.  Later in the set, the group performed, "Champions of Red Wine," another new stand-out track which accentuated Neko Case's powerful vocal range.

However, the highlights of the show were clearly material from the group's back catalog.  The crowd erupted into a sing-along during the Dan Bejar track, "Myriad Harbor" (from 2007's Challengers). As is customary, Bejar will join the band for numbers he plays on, and then disappear backstage to until he is needed again.    He certainly got the crowd going when he was on stage though, performing an anthematic "Testament to Youth in Verse," (from 2003's Electric Version) mid set.

Neko Case had her share of highlights, nailing crisp vocals on "Challengers," (from the 2007 album of the same name), and"Crash Years" (off of 2010's Together).

A.C. Newman is certainly the band leader who keeps the eclectic personalities of the New Pornographers in order, and deserves his place as the front and center leader of the band during numbers like, "Moves" (from 2010's Together), "Use It" (from 2005's stellar Twin Cinema), and "The Laws Have Changed," (from 2003's electric version), to name a few.

The band knows how to craft a set list to make fans go home happy, and ended the show in grand fashion, closing with a riveting "Mass Romantic," (from their 2000 debut release of the same name), encoring or the first time with "Bleeding Heart Show," (off of 2005's Twin Cinema, and arguably the band's signature number), and even dusting off "My Slow Decent," (of off 2000's Mass Romantic) to end the concert after the crowd demanded a rousing second encore.  

If you didn't like the New Ponrographers before, I am not sure how much Thursday's show did to recruit new fans to the band.  Their performance was highly energetic, tried and true and the show had the audience cheering for more even after a set of over twenty tunes.  As long as the New Pornographers keep crafting their infectious pop-rock, I am certain their Milwaukee audience will come out to see it.  .

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Wick Photography