They were more than ably supported by Mates of State. A husband and wife duo from San Francisco they played for almost an hour and seemed to impress most of the crowd with their keyboard and drums style of rocking.
I’d heard a few of their songs before, but nothing really stuck with me. That’s changed now as they played a really solid set.
I felt that this show was much better than the last time TNP played here in December. The sound was much better as they made more use of the stage. There was one member less this time as keyboard player Blaine Thurier was missing.
Although I’m still disappointed that Neko Case doesn’t seem to tour with the band anymore, I have warmed to Kathryn Calder, who sang and played all the keyboard parts on her own last night.
The highlights for me were Only Divine Right, Miss Teen Word Power, My Slow Descent into Alcoholism, set closer Sing Me Spanish Techno and the final encore Letter from an Occupant. Picking out highlights though isn’t all that necessary as it was a really strong performance with not a weak song all night.
It’s nice to get to see them again in such a small venue. They still seem to be something of an obscure band in the UK at least. They gave out earplugs to audience members in the front row, so concerned were they that they were loud.
Below are a number of photographs. The first few are of Mates of State. The rest alternate between Kathryn Calder and TNP main man Carl Newman.
Tommy also has a review up.
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