at Neumos

At an all ages show at Neumos on Monday night, Phil Elverum, Mt. Eerie’s center of gravity, stood behind a white milk crate filled with Mt. Eerie and The Microphones vinyl. Promptly at 9:20, he and his new lineup took the stage to play their debut show as a band. And you could tell they hadn’t played live before. The bassist exchanged nervous glances with the mostly inactive keyboardist. The keyboard player’s shining moment was when the slight notes she played eked out between excessive reverb and the roar of two drummers, during “Mouth of Sky.” This is one of the softer songs they played. The tempo of their set never settled. Every other song ripped into a heavy and cacophonous roar only to be followed by the sparse lyricism of Elverum’s fragile vocals during more minimal songs.

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