The Metro
Chicago, IL
Words by AW Henderson
Photos by Jeremy Farmer

Dan Bejar is a beautiful man, with beautiful hair. All of the front members of the New Pornographers are iconic and arresting in their own right, but Bejar steals my eye unfairly whenever I see him. He is the template of intellectual apathy, and his rumored disdain for his fan base only increases the impression one gets of this man, better known as Destroyer, that what he does is so effortless that he might as well not even try. I don’t know how much of it is put on for effect, but it is effective, so whatever.

The only downside to Bejar’s disaffected career distraction is that it kept him off the stage for most of the New Pornos’ show at The Metro last week. Not that Carl and Neko can’t handle things on their own, which any fan of the band can tell you they do with ease. It’s just that Bejar’s voice adds a completely three-dimensional twist to what is otherwise a pleasingly straightforward indie rock show. Neko’s voice countermaneuvers around Carl’s deftly on stage, and it’s obvious how much they actually do enjoy playing together. That’s what makes Bejar’s contributions so satisfying, because they feel at once superfluous and in short supply. His nonchalance is indulgently spare and over-the-top at the same time. And he plays the xylophone, too.

Backed by a giant eponymous light-bulb marquee, the band played a solid set in front of a sold out crowd. Favorites from Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema joined cuts from their new, faithful Challengers. Neko’s efforts fell largely on tambourine, which she played with charisma, while Carl Newman made a strong case for being the hardest working man in indie rock. It takes a strong musician to hold an eight-piece musical ensemble together, but Newman pulls it off. He channels the energies of the other band members like a jet-engine, and it’s amazing he doesn’t burn up in the process. He sure does sweat a lot, though. He provided a stark foil to Bejar; whereas the latter’s bemused wanderings propelled him around the stage, Newman seemed anchored to the spot by his guitar, unable to escape the spotlight until he muscled the rest of the band through the show.

Of course that doesn’t take into account the fun Carl and the rest of the band were obviously having. During several lulls between songs, whoever the guy was with the laptop would pump cartoon these songs through the speakers, and at one point in the night Carl might actually have fired Neko. The personalities of the individual members is a large part of The New Pornographers experience, and for that reason we were lucky to be in that sold-out crowd, because it’s not often that every Pornographer is actually on stage at the same time. And even though the entire band wasn’t always on stage for the whole show (we still love you, Dan), the fans in the Metro got exactly what they wanted.