Showing posts tagged “The Mountain Goats”
Jesse Jarnow ·
3 Dec 2009, 10:59 AM ·
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Goat head John Darnielle (Photo by York Wilson)
Adding drums to your two-man indie lit-folk thing recalls what Chekhov said about pistols hanging on walls: Eventually, they’d best to go off.
Adding a light show, roadies, a Rhodes and a shaggy-haired, blazer-clad lead guitarist—as Durham’s John Darnielle did to his expanding band The Mountain Goats during their just-concluded Life of the World to Come tour—and, well, you have something else entirely. Continue reading »
Live Actions: Reviews Superchunk, The Mountain Goats, The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers
Grayson Currin ·
10 Aug 2009, 4:33 PM ·
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Guided by Juno? To Corcoran!
The Mountain Goats, going it solo with just John Darnielle and a guitar and maybe a piano, will join The Beast, Language Arts and a score of other local hip-hop and spoken word artists Friday, Aug. 21, at CCB Plaza (201 N. Corcoran St.) for the second annual Durham Be Easy celebration. DBE “encourages fun, togetherness, understanding, and celebration within the community. This annual event brings all walks of life together in the heart of downtown Durham to enjoy arts entertainment,” according to its mission statement. The free event runs from 6-10 p.m., and, in the event of rain, will head into the Durham Armory.
4AD is giving away “Genesis 3:23″—a tune from Darnielle’s new album, The Life of the World to Come, due on 4AD on October 6—here.
Live Actions: New Bills Durham Be Easy, The Beast, The Mountain Goats
Grayson Currin ·
25 Feb 2009, 5:07 PM ·
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Jandek (with John Darnielle, Anne Gomez and Brian Jones)
Gerrard Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill
Sunday, Feb. 21
Jandek at showtime in Chapel Hill, Sunday, Feb. 21 (Credit: Casey Throneburg)
Jandek spent the first 26 years of his career removed from the very human perils of live performance. During those decades, the prolific Houston songwriter/ improviser/ label head did just two interviews, made no public appearances, never revealed his true identity, and communicated with his zealous cult following only through a voluminous recorded output, mysterious album art and elliptical handwritten notes. In 2004, however, Jandek broke this embargo, playing a surprise set backed by Brit experimentalists Richard Youngs and Alex Nielson at a festival in Glasgow. Over the next four years, he joined musicians like Tom Carter, Susan Alcorn and Loren Connors for 40 concerts across the world, fronting minimally rehearsed pick-up bands organized by the show’s respective promoter. Sunday night, he appeared for the 42nd time ever, playing Gerrard Hall in Chapel Hill.
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Live Actions: Reviews Anne Gomez, Jandek, The Mountain Goats
Grayson Currin ·
18 Feb 2009, 3:59 PM ·
2 Comments
On Sunday, John Darnielle, the founder of The Mountain Goats, will make his first public appearance behind a keyboard since the age of 9. He’ll share the stage with bassist Anne Gomez (of Cantwell, Gomez & Jordan), drummer Brian Jones (of The Agents of Good Roots) and Jandek, the Texas enigma who’s been releasing albums on his own label for three decades but only began performing in 2004.
John Darnielle, outside of his Durham home (Photo: York Wilson)
Last February, I played a 10-track mixtape for Darnielle in his Durham living room for a feature in the final issue of the late music magazine Harp. The closing track was “Locked Up,” taken from Jandek’s Newcastle Sunday, a recording of his second concert appearance ever. The track sparked a long conversation about Jandek, reprinted here.
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Interviews and Long Cuts Cantwell, Gomez & Jordan, John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats
Grayson Currin ·
10 Feb 2009, 9:46 AM ·
7 Comments
Enigmatic Texas songwriter and improviser Jandek will play the 42nd show of his 31-year recording career in Chapel Hill’s Gerrard Hall Sunday, Feb. 22. Jandek didn’t make a public appearance between 1978 and 2004, finally appearing at a Glasgow festival in October 2004. Since, he’s played sporadic concerts across the world with pick-up, one-time bands. This is Jandek’s only currently scheduled stop.
According to the Chapel Hill concert’s organizers, Richmond’s Brian Jones—co-founder of funk-pop band Agents of Good Roots—will back Jandek on drums for the second time. John Darnielle of Durham’s The Mountain Goats will accompany Jandek on keyboards, and Anne Gomez of Durham’s Cantwell, Gomez & Jordan will join the band on bass. Jandek will play electric guitar. This marks Darnielle’s first public appearance on keyboards since age 9. Continue reading »
Live Actions: New Bills Jandek, The Mountain Goats
