The Mountain Goats are a band that needs to introduction. The group, led by frontman John Darnielle, has released 15 albums during its impressive two decade career, never quite slowing down. Each record tells its own memorable story, making a lasting impression in its own unique way. Their latest record, Beat The Champ (released via Merge Records) is a special one, as it’s an album themed around professional wresting, a passion of Darnielle’s that serves as an effective means to write about personal matters through a fun subject. On Sunday April 12, The Mountain Goats played a sold out City Winery, the 2nd show of their two night run there, and their third New York City show of the week, with a sold out show at Webster Hall coming a few days prior.
The wrestling theme was set right from the get go, as the famous Dusty Rhodes legendary Hard Times promo was played before The Mountain Goats took over the stage. This helped ease us into the mood of the show, as the cramped dinner style seating at City Winery is a bit strange for those used to general admission rock shows. But we all settled in once they took the stage, launching comfortably into “Get Lonely.”
Darnielle was a fun enthusiastic presence on stage, providing plenty of humorous bits throughout the show, giving us plenty of witty stage banter that provided some lighthearted information about the songs he was about to play. This mostly pertained to the wrestling themed songs off of Beat The Champ which Darnielle realized a lot of audience members may not have known much about. But with his funny explanations Darnielle made songs like “Foreign Object” easy to enjoy no matter how little you knew about wrestling.
They played an impressive 23-song set that featured four solo songs from Darnielle, which included lighthearted covers of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Shot In The Dark,” and The Grateful Dead’s “Saint Stephen.” With such a deep catalog, Darnielle weaved in and out of so many albums, allowing many eras of his songwriting to shine through. The best moment of the night came at the end of the first encore during “No Children.” Darnielle walked barefoot across a row of tables, urged on by eager fans seated, who along with the rest of the audiences, helped sing the lyrics, not missing a single word. Leaving the table, he swigged from a jar of water, before embarking through the rest of the crowd, delighting every table that he passed.
The band emerged for a second encore, performing “Amy AKA Spent Gladiator 1.” It was a fantastic finish, but the image of Darnielle orchestrating the crowd through “No Children” while walking across tables will be the memory that I will forever associate The Mountain Goats with from here on out.
Find photos from their performance posted below, along with opener Stephen Brodsky and The Mountain Goats setlist.
The Mountain Goats Setlist:
1. Get Lonely
2. Werewolf Gimmick
3. This Year
4. Animal Mask
5. Slow West Vultures
6. Foreign Object
7. Luna
8. Deuteronomy 2:10
9. Shot in the Dark (Ozzy Osbourne Cover) (JD Solo)
10. Steal Smoked Fish
11. Saint Stephen (Grateful Dead Cover) (JD Solo)
12. Cotton (JD Solo)
13. The Ballad of Bull Ramos
14. Cry for Judas
15. Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph Of
16. Love Love Love
17. Choked Out
18. Up the Wolves
19. The Legend of Chavo Guerrero
Encore:
20. The Diaz Brothers
21. Southwestern Territory
22. No Children
Encore 2:
23. Amy AKA Spent Gladiator 1
Stephen Brodsky:
The Mountain Goats:
Join the conversation