Canadian indie rockers The New Pornographers are on the road supporting their new release Continue As Guest. The tour has two dozen dates on the East Coast and the Midwest, with support from Wild Pink.
The new album was released on March 31st, 2023, and was recorded in Carl Newman‘s upstate studio. It’s the band’s first collaboration with Merge Records.
I was first introduced to the New Pornographers in 2007 after the release of Challengers, still my personal favorite album from their catalog to date. It captures, to me what they are about; Canadian power-pop filled with catchy hooks, great harmonies, great lyrics, filled with humor and wit, accompanied by very unique lead vocals from its three, sometimes four vocalists.
Over the years the lineup changed quite often, I’ve seen them consistently at least once a tour since 2007, never knowing what to expect from the live show.
This current leg that started in Ashville, North Carolina mid-April, is coming to an end in a few days oddly enough back in North Carolina, after two more stops this week in Philly and Washington DC.
The band’s last visit to New York City was in 2021 at Webster Hall which included two nights with full performances of their 2001 album Mass Romantic and 2005’s Twin Cinema.
This night’s stop was at Brooklyn Steel, the band played a 23-song setlist spanning their 23-year career, leaning heavily on songs from Continue As Guest, but making sure to include at least one song from their other 8 releases.
The lineup last night was; Carl Newman on Guitar and Vocals, Neko Case on Vocals, Kathryn Calder on vocals and keys, John Collins on Bass, Todd Fancey on Guitar, Adam Schatz on Keys and Sax, and Joe Seiders on Drums.
Co-Founder and Destroyer frontman Dan Bejar who exited after 2014’s Brill Bruises, was absent from the stage, which was to be expected, yet personally as a fan, still a disappointment somehow (he did appear with the band as a guest on the 2021 tour). I often find him to be the secret sauce during TNP’s live shows, but regardless, last night, for two hours, the band as a whole seem to always be greater than the sum of its parts, they did not disappoint!
The new songs sounded great and familiar, the chemistry on stage and banter in top form and the harmonies between Neko, Carl, and Kathryn still ring true. The highlight of the night for me being “Adventures in Solitude”.
Setlist:
01. Marie and the Undersea
02. Use It
03. Dancehall Domine
04. Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile
05. Really Really Light
06. The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
07. Cat and Mouse With the Light
08. All the Old Showstoppers
09. Continue as a Guest
10. Adventures in Solitude
11. Testament to Youth in Verse
12. You’ll Need a Backseat Driver
13. Last and Beautiful
14. Champions of Red Wine
15. The Laws Have Changed
16. Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies
17. The Jessica Numbers
18. It’s Only Divine Right
19. Whiteout Conditions
20. Mass Romantic
Encore:
21. Challengers
22. Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
23. The Bleeding Heart Show
Follow The New Pornographers online:
Long-time traveling Concert Photographer, Official Photographer for Counting Crows, In-House Photographer for City Winery New York. Publications inc. Rolling Stones, The Aquarian, Brooklyn Vegan, Elmore, The Village Voice, and more. On-tour photography, In-Studio Photography, and documentary assignments. Artist Portraits and Album Covers shoots.
