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Over the past 20 years, The New Pornographers have proven themselves one of the most excellent bands in indie rock. They have released nine studio albums, including their classic debut Mass Romantic and their latest 2023's Continue as a Guest, which marked their debut for Merge Records.
They've constantly offered new sonic surprises with every album, and have established themselves alongside modern luminaries like Yo La Tengo and Superchunk when it comes to their ability to evolve while still retaining what made them so special in the first place. Of the newest record, New York Magazine lauded, "The New Pornographers are a massive unit bursting with unique and intersecting talents...the band's ninth album serves another helping of their signature dish."
The band's new single "Ballad of the Last Payphone" is out now with a new full-length album slated for release in 2026 - more details to come.
Critical acclaim for The New Pornographers:
"Over the course of their 20-plus-year career, the New Pornographers have often specialized in catchy ambiguity. If leader Carl Newman was just a machine cranking out power-pop tunes, it would get boring. But there's also a lot of mixed emotions going on under the surface of their studiously nuanced pop-rock formalism--like if Cheap Trick was as quick-witted as Steely Dan, or the Romantics were as thoughtful as R.E.M."
- Rolling Stone
"Pure, blissfully irresistible power pop"
- NPR Music
"[The New Pornographers] make catchy, sophisticated alternate-universe hits."
- Stereogum
The whole crew was there and was spirited and in fine voice. I hope they can get together again soon to treat the rest of the country to what the coasts were lucky to see and hear over the past year.
I flew across the country to attend both San Francisco concerts. They group was simply at the top of their game with powerful voices, excellent harmonies, great energy. Let’s look forward to new music, and also hope the entire the entire lineup reassembles soon.
Back to back shows for two of my favorite records from one of my favorite bands - it doesn’t get much better than that. The New Pornographers sounded fantastic, incredibly tight, the sound was dialed in and everyone in the crowd was into it.
The band looked like they were truly enjoying themselves, interacting with the crowd, taking song requests, cracking jokes, in no great hurry to get off stage—easily the best live New Pornographers’ performance of the four that I’ve attended…and it was pretty clear that they love that venue, the 9:30 Club. Two-plus hours of joyful music!
My first live show since the pandemic began and it takes a little getting use to things like vax checks and masks but the management made sure the process went smoothly. The 9:30 Club is still a great venue but be prepared, there is a lot of construction in the neighborhood so parking may be different than your last visit. That said, it is really all about the music and The New Pornographers delivered a great show. Faithful rendition of Mass Romantic with some additional gems during their encore. Such a tight group of pros who were clearly having fun performing in a live setting!
Shame on 9:30 Club for not requiring masks during pandemic - Vaccines are just part of the protection against spread. Consequently I didn't go
Not only was the show top notch - this band always seems to sound at their peak - I loved how they confidently asked the audience not to video or take photos by posting little signs all over the Fillmore. I am so tired of people holding up their phones to video record entire songs - videos that they have like 1% chance of ever watching again. It was so nice to have a room full of people all being present! The set list was great - not a dud in the bunch.
The venue was great, but the band looked tired. They skipped High Ticket Attractions, which I don’t understand. I also don’t understand why this band restrictS the use of photo or video. Why do they want to dictate the way I want to enjoy the show? It’s extremely annoying
Was a fairly enthusiastic performance but nothing extraordinary. Long time fans of the band will be pleased but more casual fans will likely be underwhelmed.
Love the Neptune, but for some reason it was hot as hell for the New Pornographers show. Either they had the heat on or forgot to get some air moving. We started in the balcony and moved down mid-way through the show because it was at least a little cooler below. Still way too hot!
The New Pornographers are superb. Alas, the sound at the fox was all flattened out. Worst sound at a show I've seen there yet.
Wonderful. Put a great show. Crowd wasn't smoking pot like crazy either !
4/18--San Francisco Regency Ballroom (week of my b-day): awesome show, full band except Dan, venue had room for dancing in front by stage & we took advantage of it. Energetic crowd, TNP had most of us out of our seats. The Regency has great sound. Perfect early b-day present to myself. 5/6--Bellingham: special surprise (to us at least) Kathryn Calder & band were the 1st opening act!! They were fantastic & after the set Kathryn signed my newest TNP shirt. 2nd opening band was ok....then TNP (sans Neko & Dan) hit the stage & really got the crowd up & going. There was a bit of a balance problem with the mics during 1st song but it was sorted out by the 2nd one. In spite of limited space in front people were dancing & filling up the aisles & having a great time.
It was all business. After opening with Moves, the NPs reeled off a mix of their best from all five albums. The audience in the small charming venue had a number of hardcore fans, myself included. The NPs managed to give all the songs a rockin' treatment, including My Rights Versus Yours, All the Old Showstoppers, and Testament to a Youth in Verse. Nineteen songs in all and one three-song encore. I got my fix.
The New Pornographers were incredible! They played a perfect set, were so in the moment, and the crowd ate them up. Such a joy to watch. My only complaint was that the concert started an hour late, and the openers had a longer set than i would've liked.
The bill sounded too good to be true; two great bands playing on the same stage. However, while the line up sounded great, the actual performance sounded terrible. I don't know who did the sound but I've heard boom-boxes with better quality. Frankly, I can't really say how good the bands were because the sound was just awful. Which is terrible as they both had tremendous energy and were clearly excited to play Iowa City.
The Walkmen stole the show. Every time I see NP, this was the fourth time since Electric Version era, they have less and less enthusiasm. Fortunately they have an incredible catalog to draw from so they'd have to be half-asleep to put on a truly bad show. That said, there were moments - especially at the beginning when Neko Case's mic wasn't mixed properly (in fact, the sound in general was off and the rooms acoustics ar garbage to begin with) that I wondered if maybe they sat around backstage and made the decision to break up. It was truly uninspired until about halfway through.
Excellent live show - they are all very talented and it shows. Each person was showcased in some way. I was very pleased with the performance and the venue. Parking could have been a little better, but there just isn't much space.
Great show in Indy. Have seen band several times in Chicago. It looked like Neko was have a great time at this show- not quite as reserved as some performances. Continues to be one of the most creative bands out there. Carl Newman is such a great song writer!
Huge fan but first time i've seen them live. They were terrific. Played music from all of their albums.