tomorrow, this year

So tomorrow I am seeing The Mountain Goats, an accoustic folk duo made up primarily of singer/songwriter John Darnielle, with Peter Hughes on bass.

There's a certain serenity with Darnielle's lyrics, and acoustic in general. Like a lot of punk is political, and pop punk seems fascinated with ex-girlfriends and girls in general, acoustic seems intent on telling stories, relying on the simpler things in life to provide laid back sounds.

I'd happily tell anyone they are a band I seriously rate, but it's hard to really pinpoint what it is about them. What does stand out though is that Darnielle's experiences that shine through on 2005's "The Sunset Tree" aren't exactly what you would expect from an infectiously catchy acoustic band - subjects such as domestic violence, death and bane existence in uninspiring lives are all touched on in The Sunset Tree. I guess he succeeds by effortlessly changing the tone of his unique, but oh so American, voice.

I found this article intriguing about Darnielle's approach to his lyrics - while his past albums would feature characters, talking about his life through a third, distant person, The Sunset Tree, and one assumes Get Lonely (his latest offering) as well, saw him change direction and speak from a first person narrative.

I'll say I'm heaps looking forward to tomorrow night. It's bound to be an intimate affair with a much older crowd than me, but I can tell you now it'll be one of the most honest shows I'll see this year (Mountain Goats pun intended).