Live Review: The New Pornographers

The Workshop is a new venue, located in the depths of the Adelaide Festival Centre building, literally a former workroom brought to life for the 2020 Adelaide Festival. It’s a large space with walls painted in a jungle theme, punctuated by multiple stuffed animals suspended from the ceiling. An interesting concept, but once the lights went down, the effect was lost on the crowd and seemed to benefit the performers more than us.

After a decade-long absence from our fair city, The New Pornographers were a must-see addition to this year’s Adelaide Festival program. The Canadian band took to the stage to the sounds of Suzi Quatro, bang on time, with the room at near-capacity.

Openers Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile (from the band’s most recent album, In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights) and the much older Use It both highlighted the great vocal mix of singers Carl ‘AC’ Newman and Neko Case. Since the band’s last visit, a few line-up changes have taken place, with Dan Bejar no longer present (having formed the band Destroyer), while new drummer Joe Seiders is a welcome addition, perfectly holding the band together.

The Laws Have Changed, an indie favourite from 2003, was a highlight. Introducing their "F-word song”, Higher Beams, Newman commented, “My son is here tonight... Don’t say this word in school... You should only sing it at high volume on stage... Do not mutter it under your breath at me!”

The onstage banter was minimal for much of the first half of the set. Audience interaction consisted of an occasional, “It’s been a while since we’ve been here, it’s good to be back,” and, “Thanks for coming out on a school night.” An awkward silence between songs was filled at one point by an audience member half screaming, “Welcome to Adelaide!” Later, Case reprimanded the crowd for filming the show, labelling such an act as “creepy as fuck”, and responsible for making her forget her lyrics. This was a vibe killer that left the next few songs feeling a little flat.

The band have eight albums of material to choose from, and gave us a taste of them all. While Newman is the creative force behind the collective, Case shined on Mass Romantic, which ended the main set brilliantly. The band returned for a three-song encore that finally saw the mood lift. Case introduced Challengers as a “beautiful love song” which, together with Brill Bruisers and The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism, left everyone happy.