The New Pornographers + Midlake @ Battery Park: Sing Us Spanish Techno

For the fifth year running, I headed to Battery Park to check out River To River's annual July 4th afternoon indie-friendly concert. Last year's show featured the Scots in Belle & Sebastian (review here), which ranked high as one of my favorite gigs of that summer. Yesterday's sets by Midlake & The New Pornographers served as the perfect musical combination to celebrate Independence Day '07.

Texas-based former jazz students, Midlake, opened the show at 3:30 with their alt-country meets indie-pop meets shoegaze tunes. The band focused primarily on last year's stunning LP, The Trials Of Van Occupanther, but also managed to squeeze a few unreleased new songs into the mix as well. The group has declared in numerous interviews that their biggest influences include Travis, Grandaddy, Radiohead + The Flaming Lips. In a way, their live sound incorporates all of those bands' core sounds with a heavy dose of Wilco and/or M. Ward to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed their hour-long set.

MP3: Midlake - Roscoe

In spite of a brisk wind and a pounding rainstorm, The New Pornographers put on a spectacular show, showcasing tracks from their upcoming album, Challengers, as well as wowing us with a slew of older fan-favorite selections. For those curious, yesterday's show featured Neko Case but also saw the absence of Dan Bejar. Win some, lose some, I gather. Neko's voice was beautiful yesterday, as was the band's entire set. Though I enjoy each and every one of their albums, I was particularly excited to hear 'Sing Me Spanish Techno', 'Use It' from their last effort, Twin Cinema. However, the most well-received tune of the afternoon would have to be the always-lovable 'Mass Romantic'. See below for an MP3 of the track. A great gig, start to finish. For another perspective on the show, head to Pat's review @ Pop Tarts Suck Toasted. How was your 4th?

MP3: The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic