this year.

The Mountain Goats put on a great show. Two guys, one acoustic guitar, one electric bass, and a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears. It oozes from every note and soaks every lyric, leaving them drenched with truth and sincerity. If you stand in the first 3 rows you better bring a raincoat.

Got to Lee’s Palace in time to grab a beer and see the opening band The Prayers And Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers. Someone told me it’s taken from the movie The Big Lebowski, which I haven’t seen in a while, so I took their word for it. Short story for them is great band, but lead singer has no stage presence, no banter, and doesn’t really power vocals. I can see them being better on the album than live. As we will see later though, a few beers loosened the lead singer right up.

Around 10:30 the Goats graced the stage. “Hi, we’re The Mountain Goats”. Their understated introduction seems to incite great joy in the audience, and they break into song. I’ve talked about the Goats here before, so I’ll save the intimate description of their stage show. it’s good. The new album is loaded with instruments, but their live show is bare — but not. The bass player can make that bad boy sing, bring great depth the the music, and a solid base for the acoustic guitar. They put on a great show. It’s no rock-spectacular as put on by the likes of The Trews and The Decemberists, but its still an awesome time. Let me rephrase that. It’s not always a rock-spectacular. Sometimes it is. Near the end of the set they brought the opening band onstage to play a few numbers. It was at this point that the show rocked. The Prayer’s lead singer must have had a few beers because he now had some presence — and brought his tambourine to prove it. I’ve added it to my list of good things I like at a concert. I like a good violin, a good accordion, a good harmonica and a good tambourine. It was great before this, but awesome after this. I enjoy the stripped down live show they provide, but I love the full rock they can produce with a band. Eugene O’Neill even put down his guitar and focused on doing his best Gord Downie impressions (Gord is the lead singer of The Tragically Hip, and always plays with his mic stand, and generally points, motions, and flails himself around stage). It takes them into a whole new realm, and I wager that if they played with a full band at more shows, they would be playing larger venues.

A great show, and a great band. I recommend their newest album, Sunset Tree, for those looking to sample The Mountain Goats.