This was my first time seeing the Mountain Goats and my first time seeing anything at Triple Door. I say that because there's a mystique about seeing one of your favorite bands live for the first time and there is also a mystique about going to a really cool venue for the first time and those things definitely had an effect on my impression of the show.
Having said that though, it was possibly the best show I've ever been to and to give you some context for that, here is a list of concerts I've been to:
Madonna (at the King Dome)
New Kids on the Block (at the King Dome)
Alanis Morisette (at the Paramount Theater)
Steve Miller (at the Gorge)
Alanis Morisette (at the Gorge)
Ringo Starr and the All Star Band (at the Pier)
Indigo Girls (doing Jesus Christ Superstar, at the Pier)
No Doubt, Beck, The Posies, etc. (Endfest 1996)
Blues Traveller (at Memorial Stadium)
Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell (at the Gorge)
Modest Mouse, and Death Cab for Cutie (at the Showbox)
Built to Spill, and Death Cab for Cutie (I think also at the Showbox but it might have been the Pier II)
Pedro the Lion, and Death Cab for Cutie (at the Pier II)
John Hiatt (at the Pier)
Modest Mouse (at the Paramount Theater)
The Who (at the Gorge)
BB King (at the Paramount Theater)
Chuck Berry (at the EMP Sky Church)
Fire Marshalls of Bethlehem, The Daylight Titans, and The Rite Flyers (at Stubbs)
Coldplay (at Key Arena)
Black Crowes, Drive by Truckers, and Robert Randolph and the Family Band (at White River Ampitheater)
The Who (at Key Arena)
Augustana (at The Showbox)
The President's of the USA (at The Showbox)
Snow Patrol (at Key Arena)
That's not all the concerts I've been to, certainly it doesn't include any of the times I saw my dad's band play or friend's bands play (with the exception of Death Cab for Cutie which my ex and I used to go see because we'd gone to school with their bass player but now that they are huge rock stars they count), but it's most of the shows I've been to and certainly all of the truly memorable ones. The only ones that even come close to last nights Mountain Goats show were The Who (at the Gorge) and Bob Dylan. I'll admit there are some great acts, some of my favorites, that I've missed out on seeing live that might have trumped The Mountain Goats (U2, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead for example). There are stories of regret about great shows I missed.
The Grateful Dead came to Seattle for Memorial Day weekend in 1995 when I was a Junior in High School. My mom said we should go to one of the shows (they played 4 shows, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday), but I had to work, she said I should just call in sick, blow off work, and go to the concert anyway, but The Grateful Dead had been touring pretty much constantly for decades and I figured I'd have another chance to see them. Four months later Jerry Garcia died.
Pink Floyd won't come to Seattle anymore, there's some story about why, they actually refuse to and haven't come to Seattle since sometime in the early 70s (i.e. before I was born). So, the closest they've been is Vancouver (Canada), and the last time they came that close I was still in High School. Chances are pretty good that my mother would have taken me to Vancouver to see them, though it would have meant skipping school, but I was in a play at the time and I didn't want to miss rehearsal so I didn't go. I think that was the last time Pink Floyd really toured, certainly it was the last time they ever came near enough to Seattle for me to go.
There was always something more important, it seemed, than seeing my favorite bands play. This year though I decided that I wasn't going to live my life that way anymore. If I have regrets I want them to be about things I've done not things I didn't do. So, last January I decided to fly to Austin to see an episode of my favorite television show and some great live music. I decided to do a study abroad program even though it seemed wildly irresponsible and that decision is the genesis of this blog. And I decided that I wasn't going to miss anymore of my favorite bands. Even if it means travelling great distances, even if it means paying ridiculous prices for tickets, even if it means taking days off from work. The Mountain Goats show was part of my living life to its fullest, for the thrill of it, to quote Robert Randolph (and the title of this blog incidentally).
So, enough about my concert going history. The show, last night, was amazing. To start with the opening act as great. My friend Ivy and I were talking about how there aren't a lot of really great girl bands. We are both big music fans, and we share a love of classic rock and punk and we were talking about our top 5 favorite bands ever (because we were at the Mountain Goats show and they are one of my favorites). Neither of us had a single woman represented on our top 5. Now, this band, that opened for The Mountain Goats, isn't probably going to crack our top 5 lists but they were really good and all girls. They are called Pony Up and they definitely have a girl band style but with sort of a folk/punk fun element to it that makes it interesting. 
They were funny, the lead singer came out wearing no shoes and the guitar player was so short she had to stand on tip toes to sing into her mic. In fact, they were all very petite girls, tiny actually.In addition to that, the Triple Door is an amazing venue. I suppose it's a venue that only works for a certain type of show, a more mellow type of show, but it really is such a cool place that I wish every show I see could be there. The mellowness factor, which I'd heard about prior to going, was the main reason I decided to see The Mountain Goats there rather than at Neumo's (where they played on Thursday night), but now I wish I'd gone with my original plan to got to both shows. Now, I think if The Mountain Goats played every night I would go.
John Darnielle is a lyrical genius. He's also, kind of a spaz in a totally adorable way which I should have guessed would be the case given his music. He writes these amazing songs with lyrics that are pessimistic and cynical often to the point of being downright depressing but the music and the way he sings them has so much hope and optimism in it that the resulting songs are kind of hilarious and spazzy in a totally adorable way. The Mountain Goats have, or more specifically John Darnielle has, a sort of cultish following so the energy in the crowd (which is one of the best things about live music) was really great, maybe not quite as great as the energy you get from a crowd at a Who concert when they start in to Baba O'Riley, but still pretty amazing. I normally hate songs with depressing lyrics and upbeat music but he makes it work and people connect with his music in a way that I've never seen before. I don't know that I'd say he has charisma, but something like it, something more accessible.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any great pictures of The Mountain Goats. I took a few, but I don't really like to use a flash with my digital camera, I don't like the unnatural look it gives digital pictures. So, I take pictures without a flash and I have to take way more of them to get ones that are good. I got some pretty good shots of Pony Up but their lighting was brighter and I took way more pictures during their set because I wasn't as absorbed in their show as I was once The Mountain Goats came out. Hopefully, I'll have many more opportunities to see The Mountain Goats and get pictures, but if not at least I will never have to regret not having gone to see them in the first place.
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