The Mountain Goats are like beautiful old friends who every time they visit they are most welcome. Their wit, heart and humanity are self evident and warmly received. Such was the case again last Sunday night in Sydney. A sold out crowd enjoyed every second and it was certainly a room full of love and warmth. The Mountain Goats have a huge catalogue so naturally there won't always be songs you wish you could hear but there will also be surprises and delights. I do believe their recent albums have lacked greatness but it was still a great night. They actually played a couple of tunes from their upcoming release in 'Goths'. One song was a bit average but I really enjoyed 'Shelved'. I also learned its slang meaning later which added a different perspective to the song.

John Darnielle, their fearless leader, is an extremely erudite and intelligent front man and it's always a treat to hear his mid section of the set when he goes solo. He delivered an old unrecorded song in 'Shower' which was definitely the highlight of the night. Of course the classics came late in the set too, culminating in another spectacular version of 'This Year ', with every single person singing along in full voice. I first saw this band back in 2007 and I stated then that seeing them live was like an old school revival meeting. This opinion still holds true to this day. It's always a pleasure and a great experience to see them live. Always and forever.

Set List
In the Craters on the Moon
Harlem Roulette
Damn These Vampires
Animal Mask
Heel Turn 2
Steal Smoked Fish
Shower (John solo)
The Alphonse Mambo (John solo)
Thank You Mario But Our Princess is in Another Castle (John solo)
We Do It Different on the West Coast
The Diaz Brothers
Shelved
New Zion
Oceanographer's Choice
Broom People
Song for Dennis Brown
Up the Wolves
This Year

Amy AKA Spent Gladiator 1
No Children
Spent Gladiator 2