William Tyler, a guitarist from Nashville, TN, opened for The Mountain Goats last night at the Blind Pig. He started his set by playing “a song about the desert,” which turned out to be a beautiful acoustic Travis-pick style number. An example of his music is my recording of “We Can’t Go Home Again,” wherein Tyler displays his inverse knowledge of the guitar and his plentiful talent.
My favorite song Tyler played was called “A Portrait Of Sarah” (his album, Impossible Truth, is also dedicated to a Sarah). It was incredibly complex, changing tempos in the middle, and really painting an image of Sarah in my mind.
Throughout Tyler’s performance, he would record himself in the middle of a song and play it back while creating a self-harmony. Sometimes, he would lean down to adjust the recording and just keep playing almost absentmindedly with his left hand. As a guitarist myself, it was truly refreshing to see someone with such a passion for the guitar.
Tyler was even kind enough to take a photo with me, which is pictured below!
A few minutes after Tyler left the stage, The Mountain Goats made their appearance (much to the excitement of the sold out venue). What struck me the most about their performance was how the audience really seemed to connect with the band. John Darnielle, the main singer of The Mountain Goats, would announce a song by saying, “This is a song about professional wrestling,” and the entire building would shake with the answering roar of the crowd. I haven’t been a fan of the band for too long, so at the time I didn’t understand this, but my friend later told me that there is an album called Beat The Champ (which concentrates on the professional wrestlers Darnielle admired as a child).
The only song I caught in full on video was “Maize Stalk Drinking Blood.” Throughout the show, the band (Darnielle especially) proved themselves to be genuinely happy to be playing for us. There was a wonderful, positive dynamic around them as they exchanged grins during sax solos or simply shut their eyes and listened during one of the amazing clarinet pieces. Darnielle was not the man I was expecting – instead of being cool and calm, accustomed to fame, he was vibrant and funny and very good at dancing.
There was a time during one of his four solo songs where he abruptly stopped, obviously confused. He explained himself as he remembered his place, stating that “I can’t absolutely guarantee I know them as well as I think I do.” Much to the amusement of the gathered crowd, he did this a few other times, laughing at himself and picking the scattered fragments of the song right out of the air. Apparently the band only plans set lists halfway through, producing a genuine, spontaneous performance.
The Mountain Goats played “The Day The Aliens Came,” “Get Lonely,” “Game Shows Touch Our Lives,” “This Year,” “Up The Wolves,” a Merle Haggard song, and a Grateful Dead cover (as requested via Twitter). Peter Hughes, the band’s bassist, reminded me at times of Pete Townsend with both his appearance and dramatic hand movements. Jon Wurster proved himself to be an extremely talented musician, playing saxophone, clarinet, keyboard, and other instruments throughout the show. The band’s stage presence and overall talent made me realize how lucky I was to witness them in such an intimate setting.
