Went to the Rilo Kiley concert last night here in Raleigh at the Red Hat Ampitheater. Direct support from The Mountain Goats, who I was also excited to see again.
The Mountain Goats mix was really bad, which is a bummer but I guess not that surprising - it seems like this tour has had a rotating cast of support artists based on region. I assume The Moutain Goats ae supporting this stretch of dates because John Darnielle lives in Durham. Would have loved to see one of the shows with Waxahatchee opening. Anyways, it would be weird to complain about the sound not being perfect on a Mountain Goats song. Good set. They've put out so many albums, the only ones I really know front to back are probably Sunset Tree and Tallahassee. They played a couple from each of those - This Year, Dance Music, No Children. I didn't recognize anything from All Hail West Texas. Anyways, short set, good set, but I dig the whole John Darnielle thing. I know it's songwriting work ethic rather than instrumental proficiency that is his thing, but it is interesting how ham fisted he seems as a guitar player.
The concert overall was a fun experience - short of maybe my own band's reunion show earlier this year, this was the most "gathering of the middle aged millennials" moment I've had. I really wish I was going to this concert - I am certain I would run into somebody I know and haven't seen for 15 years every few seconds.
Rilo Kiley was great. They clearly put a lot of work into prepping for the show - I don't think they had played together for 15 years. But they were tight, the arrangements were well done, everything sounded really good. I don't think I ever sat with "Under the Blacklight", but I listened to their other albums a lot during my high school and college years and this was one of those shows for me where I was excited to recognize the beginning of almost every song. I might have to go rewatch The OC or something.