A few weeks ago we went to see Jeff Mangum play a solo show at the 40 Watt. We did not think we would be able to get tickets, but lo and behold, our friends April and Kimberly had an extra pair of tickets, so we got to see at least one of the Athens shows. As usual, the show was brilliant, and it felt like 1998 all over again (almost). I was happy to see Jeff play again, especially after such a long time of not playing shows. I had seen Neutral Milk Hotel open for Superchunk the year I graduated college. It was great, but there was something very special about seeing the songs without the full band. Well, sometimes other Elephant 6 players came to play horns and cello, but most of the show was just Jeff. "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" was one of my favorites of the night, and I think this is what he opened the show with. It was easy to get a little misty during some of the songs, but then the sing alongs made it difficult to stay that way for long. Everyone seemed to have a good time and were genuinely excited to see Jeff perform, and Raoul really liked my dance I had made up to "Song Against Sex" that I forgot about since 1998, but it all came back to me at the show!
Andrew, Scott, and Laura were the show openers. They were so much fun; I especially liked hearing the Gerbils songs that Scott sung that night. They also backed up Jeff on some songs, too, so that was super. I drew them here and I think it came out okay, but I am not too happy with Andrew. Sorry, Andrew. I will work on your illustration in the future! You are hard to draw.
You were not allowed photos or recording of Jeff Mangum, but here is the marquee from the fabulous 40 Watt club.
I only took a few pictures of Andrew, Scott, and Laura.
Here are some of my favorite Neutral Milk Hotel songs.
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