The Mountain Goats @ The TLA.

Text by Kevin Stairiker.

Barely 24 hours had passed since Waka Flocka Flame and his Royal Brick Squad had gone hard in the TLA’s hallowed paint when the Mountain Goats took the same stage, playing to a mildly different audience.

Playing in support of their new album Transcendental Youth, the core trio of John Darnielle, bassist Peter Hughes and drummer Jon Wurster came together for a show that pleased both fanatics and new fans.  Joining the trio on a few cuts from the new album were opener Matthew E. White’ horn section, dubbed by Darnielle as “The Nameless Dark Three.”

The show began with the powerful Transcendental cut, “Lakeside View Apartment Suite,” and didn’t let up until the show ended an hour and a half later.

The crowd itself stayed mostly reverent for the band, with only the occasional call for deep cuts and “No Children” (which was surprisingly left off of the setlist). However, there was one briefly awkward call and response with one rowdy crowd member, after Darnielle gave a shout out to Jon Wurster.

Random Audience Member: “Jon Wurster is the tits!”

John Darnielle: “Can you rephrase that please?”

Same Random Audience Member: “Boobs are the tits!”

Though the phrasing was off, the unfortunate audience member was right on point with his sentiment. Wurster’s traditional drumming style is always a treat to see and on songs like “Harlem Roulette” and the title cut from Transcendental Youth, he was able to let loose a little and impress mightily. The same went for dapper bassist Peter Hughes, whose fretless bass oozed over every song he was featured on. Though most tend to forget that the Mountain Goats have been a cohesive unit for years, Wurster and Hughes remain a vital part of the sound that Darnielle has been carving for two decades now.

As for the man himself, Darnielle made sure to throw in lesser-known songs like “Marduk T-Shirt Men’s Room Incident” and the non-album, Bride of Frankenstein-inspired “Bride.” The focus was clearly on the new album however, with all but three songs played from it. The surprise of the night came in the form of a solo cover of Wye Oak’s excellent “Civilian.”

One of the few disappointments of the show was the audience itself, as they were usually became too used to standing still for the slow songs to dance or move at all during upbeat songs like the power-pop rager “The Diaz Brothers.” Darnielle more than made up for their lack of bodily enthusiasm though in the form of stomping, jumping and yelling throughout the course of the set, all with a smile on his face.

Though Darnielle was the obvious centerpiece of the night, the newly minted horn section that joined the band was one of the biggest thrills. They joined in on the fun exclusively on songs from the new album until the last song of the encore, instant crowd pleaser, “This Year.” The horn arrangement was apparently only a few days old, which was confirmed by the look of unbridled giddiness on Darnielle’s face as he played it. The crowd knew their part, shouting the triumphant, “I am going to make it through this year/if it kills me” hook (and every other word) at the top of their collective lungs.  When the lights came up, every face appeared to be exhausted in some capacity, whether it was physical, mental or spiritual.