Review: The Mountain Goats @ The Gov 16/04/26
Indie folk icons The Mountain Goats burst into Adelaide to a packed crowd, ready to journey through the lyrics of John Darnielle.
Words and Image Brad Pine
The Mountain Goats w/The Flying Squad @ The Gob 16/04/26
The foundation of The Mountain Goats, John Darnielle, is prodigious in his writing, not only for music but for novelisation as well. Knowing this, I went in with a clear mind, ready to absorb some knowledge and education along the way of this stop in the Heralds Of Triton tour. I was not disappointed.
For a band that might be unfamiliar to many readers, I personally saw some familiar faces from my past in the crowd. Initially, the waiting patrons were not as numerous as some previous outings, only to become massive as their set neared. The merch stand was awash with vinyl, books and t-shirts, singposted with a generous line of concertgoers ready to grab something to remember the night.
Before the main attraction, local alt-country outfit The Flying Squad arrived on stage. Their set ranged from “sad songs to fucked up songs”, according to singer Tris Beaumont. Songs like ‘Fever Dream’ and the closer ‘Heart Attacks’ definitely fit the bill. There were moments throughout where I felt a strong Paul Kelly influence, be it deliberate or accidental. But this warmed up the crowd nicely for The Mountain Goats.
Interrupting the house music, drummer Jon Wurster strutted onstage in a pink suit jacket, matching the pink shirt of Darnielle under his cream suit jacket. Multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas missed the memo, primarily in demin blue. ‘Rocks In My Pocket’ from Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan started the set, with an audience looking on in awe. But ‘First Blood’ grabbed the first large cheer to complement the driving beat.
Darnielle warned us, “If you came to avoid the sad songs,” maybe we should have stayed home. This was singposted with ‘Woke Up New’ and the early highlight ‘Moon Over Goldsboro’. Primarily, this was due to Matt Douglas’ saxophone prowess, which had the audience in the palm of his hand. Definitely a moment to remember.
For someone who has not seen The Mountain Goats live or watched a clip of Darnielle performing, it was a joy to witness him onstage. He is someone who genuinely enjoys performing. He smiled as widely as a quokka would, and engaged with everyone in the crowd. He shuffled, jumped and loved every minute of it, which made us follow suit.
READ MORE: Review: The Whitlams @ Festival Theatre 11/04/26
Darnielle was left alone on stage, maybe mirroring his time as the sole member of The Mountain Goats. But I digress. In this solo section, he wanted to share stories and warned us to “tell the babysitter this may take some time.” He called us respectful as we waited for his song selections. Choosing ‘Going To Scotland’ and ‘Maybe Sprout Wings’ seemed to back the idea of reflecting on the early days of The Mountain Goats. With ‘Younger’, the band rejoined to add depth to the climax of the song.
Even though the band gets classified as indie folk, the genres adjacent to it also grace the extensive Mountain Goats catalogue. ‘Possum By Night’ had a lounge feel, with Darnielle discarding the guitar to move to the keys. “It was a cool show but then he found this tone on the keyboard. He played for twenty minutes.” Darnielle started to write his own review, which could save me some time. However, he didn’t do that, but I am now waiting patiently for an ambient record from the group.
After another “little lecture in the middle of the set,” this time on outlaw country, which bled into ‘Waylon Jennings Live’, the set moved to the crowd favourites. ‘See America Right’ and ‘Sax Rohmer#1’ brought the biggest cheer until the inevitable crowd pleaser – ‘This Year’. It was in this moment that I realised how important this song is. Twenty years on from its inception, it is still as poignant. I’m gonna make it through this year, if it kills me. Truer words were never spoken
The inevitable encore arrived, with Douglas and Wurster the first on. Darnielle broke into ‘Let Me Bathe In Demonic Light’ from the new album, garnering a new favourite for a sing-along. ‘The Diaz Brothers’ and ‘Psalms 40:2’ came about after some conversation between the band members. It showed a collaboration between the trio, even with Darnielle as the driving force. To end the night, Darnielle created a little story before easing into ‘No Children’ – another crowd pleaser which had him almost invading the crowd.
A band with thirty years of songs and six albums in the last five years made it hard to know what would come next. The Mountain Goats have a strong following here in Adelaide, and anyone in attendance who didn’t know many of their songs will now go out and find more. What a journey, and one I want to continue to take with The Mountain Goats moving forward.
