Pitchfork

Photos by Kathryn Yu

Cram some 150 people into a room meant for maybe 100-- with the overflow clamoring around the outside windows for a peak-- and sweat is bound to pour forth in earnest. Luckily, the folks who turned out to see John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats play a special solo set at Brooklyn's Sound Fix record store-- with a rare bonus appearance by Darnielle and Franklin Bruno's the Extra Glenns-- didn't seem to mind all that much. Instead, they rejoiced in watching a gleeful Darnielle play "old and obscure stuff," in his words.

John also played "Palmcorder Yajna", first referencing Ben Gibbard's cover and declaring, "I spent all day trying to learn how to play 'Transatlanticism', but I have a very short term memory. Instead, I'll play the one he played." With Bruno, Darnielle debuted a new Glenns tune, "Programmed Cell Death", calling upon an audience member to hold up the lyrics sheet. And when John forgot the first line of another, unreleased Glenns jam, "Carmen Cicero"-- one he claimed "only the hardest of the hardcore" would know-- the audience once again came to the rescue, with one super fan (in a Captain America t-shirt, no less) dialing up a live bootleg of the song on his iTunes so John could have a listen and jog his memory. Hardcore indeed.















Bleat happening:

06-16 Watkins Glen, NY - Farm Sanctuary (John Darnielle solo) *
06-17 Watkins Glen, NY - Farm Sanctuary (John Darnielle solo) *
06-20 Chicago, IL - Metro (Eff Cancer Benefit) #

* with Peter Hughes, Perry Wright
# with Superchunk