XPN welcomes Jeff Mangum to the Strand Theater.  The reclusive frontman of indie leaders Neutral Milk Hotel announced plans for a final tour this past fall, stating a desire “to play to all the silver citizens dwelling in citys [sic] that he has yet to sing in.”  Following the dissolution of Neutral Milk Hotel in 1998, Mangum continued to make periodic solo appearances and released the live LP Live at Jittery Joe’s.  Though his elusiveness is certainly intriguing, its Mangum’s poetic lyrics and sincere delivery that keep his shows selling out in seconds.  Tickets and information for tonight’s show with Tall Firs in York, PA can be found here.  Below, watch a live video of Mangum performing “Oh Comely” from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea at Penn’s Irvine Auditorium.

XPN welcomes Rufus Wainwright to the McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ.  The singer-songwriter continues to tour in support of last year’s Out of the Game full-length and will be performing a special solo acoustic set tonight.  Though songwriting is his primary craft, Wainwright has branched out to work in other artistic media over the years including film and opera - elements of which are discernible in his charismatic and sometimes dramatic stage presence.  Tickets and information for tonight’s all-ages show with Lucy Wainwright Roche can be found here.  Watch the video for “Out of the Game” featuring Helena Bonham Carter below.

Philly outfit Cheers Elephant play Johnny Brenda’s tonight.  The upbeat rock band released their third record Like Wind Blows Fire last May.   Growing up in the Philadelphia area, the band was exposed to local scene anchors Dr. Dog and The Teeth during Cheers Elephant’s formative years.  That exposure, both to the style of music and work ethic of the two bands, has definitely informed Cheers’ psych rock / pop sound, though they make it their own with hints of Arctic Monkeys-like Brit alt-pop.  Tickets and information for tonight’s 21+ show with The Explorers Club and Honeychurch can be found here.  Below, watch the video for “Doin’ It, Right.”

hello friends in a flock of finches unfolding from the face of a foam horse on the phone to inform you that jeff is heading out for one last u.s. acoustic tour, giving him the chance to play to all the silver citizens dwelling in citys that he has yet to sing in.

Tickets are $30 and will go on sale this Thursday, November 15th.  Below, watch a live video of Mangum performing “Oh Comely” at Penn’s Irvine Auditorium from this past January.

Mangum is hardly a musical pioneer, but he did have several things right when he recorded On Avery Island in 1996 and even more right when he recorded In the Aeroplane Over The Sea in 1998. Mangum’s success can essentially be pegged to three aspects of his music. First, there are his deeply personal, yet far-fetched folklore lyrics. For instance, Mangum’s “Little Birds,” tells the story of a man who is literally full of song; he has so many birds inside of him that they can be heard when he opens his mouth. The song hardly seems autobiographical, but it does touch on a basic element of Mangum’s appeal. In twisted, Grimm-esque fairy tales, Mangum crafts songs and stories that speak to what we all keep inside ourselves. He sings the birdsongs that we “swallow up and promise to protect.” Often, these are stories of loss and love, like “King Of Carrot Flowers pt. 1,” which juxtaposes the break-up of a marriage with the child’s first love. Of course, Mangum’s lyrics are highly complimented by his delivery. On his recordings, croaking vocals take unpredictable and memorable leaps against a backdrop of lo-fi guitar melodies. His cacophony is of a vintage sort; he sounds like he’s singing from a million miles and a hundred years away, especially when he features trumpets or accordions, as he does on “Holland, 1945.” Mangum’s influence resounds in the music of contemporary acts such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Beirut, even the story-singer Sufjan Stevens, who each seem to branch out in different directions from Mangum’s archaic, discordant style.

The final charm is Mangum himself. The man is awkward. His bittersweet songs and messages are bolstered by the fact that his privacy is neither reactionary nor a publicity stunt. His privacy makes his songs all the more personal. During his set last night, Mangum choked up a bit.  “Playing that song ["Engine"] took my breath away… I put these messages in a bottle and sent them out to the world all those years ago. It’s amazing to see all the people they connected being here.” And it was an amazing thing to see. One man in the front row cried through all eight minutes of “Oh Comely.” When Mangum first invited everyone to move closer than their assigned seats, people tentatively gathered on the ground and sat before him like children at story time.  Mangum sat too, but slouched, hiding under long, dark hair and a newspaper boy cap.  The audience was silently attentive, and Mangum sang them stories.

A few songs into the set, though, Mangum asked everyone to sing along—and by the time he played “King Of Carrot Flowers,” the entire auditorium was harmonizing. The audience participation wasn’t a sing-a-long. Judging by the shining eyes and interlocked hands, singing along with Jeff Mangum was a religious experience. For many in the audience, the dream of seeing Mangum live had seemed, for years, totally unattainable. Yet, here they were. The 35-seconders, those so devoted to Mangum that they’d bought up all of his tickets in record time, all looked a bit like Mangum. The room was full of people who needed haircuts, wore flannel because they just never put it away after the ’90s, and loved Mangum because, in his awkward and urgent way, he sang the stories that they couldn’t tell for themselves. Yet, the effect of such overwhelming homogeneity was softened by Mangum’s modesty and desire to stay off of a pedestal. He sang in “Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone,” “there are some lives you live and some you leave behind.” Jeff Mangum’s late-’90s rock life left a tremendous legacy on the genre, even after he tried to leave it behind. Early in the set, an audience member shouted, “I missed you, Jeff!” to which Mangum responded, “I’m right here.” Someone else shouted, “We’ll see you soon!” And, typical Mangum, he shouted back, “Maybe,” and launched into “King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1.” It seems that Mangum defies his own lyrics, simultaneously living and leaving behind the messages he cast out all those years ago.  –Naomi Shavin

Set List:
Two Headed Boy Pt. 2
Holland, 1945
Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone
Engine
Ghost
Little Birds
King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1
King of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 & 3
Naomi
Oh Comely
Two-Headed Boy
Fool

Encore:
Song Against Sex
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Jeff Mangum 2012 Tour Dates:
01/18 – Shubert Theater – New Haven, CT
01/20 – Gilman Opera House – Brooklyn, NY
01/25 – Irvine Auditorium – Philadelphia, PA
01/27 – Lincoln Theatre – Washington, DC
01/30 – Memorial Hall – Chapel Hill, NC
02/01 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
02/04 – Pantages Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
02/06 – Anthenaeum Theater – Chicago, IL
02/07 – Anthenaeum Theater – Chicago, IL
02/08 – Pabst Theater – Milwaukee, WI
02/10 – 40 Watt Club – Athens, GA
02/11 – 40 Watt Club – Athens, GA
03/07 – Vicar Street – Dublin, IE
03/09-11 – All Tomorrow’s Parties – Minehead, UK
03/13 – Union Chapel – London, UK
03/14 – Union Chapel – London, UK