I first saw The New Pornographers in March of 2001, at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. While the internet was purring along at this point, it was before the advent of Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, and the onslaught of online media. SXSW was still somewhat in its infancy and there was still a sense of novelty and mystery about the festival, where part of the joy was seeking out new acts and secret day parties, hopefully with free beer and tacos, without all the online media buzz. So before arriving in Austin, I scoured the alternative press and fanzines to make my plans to catch both my favorite artists as well as the “next big things.”
In the latter category, I read a lot about a new power-pop “supergroup” from Vancouver, British Columbia. And while I’m quite proud of my Canadian heritage—my mother and four older brothers and sisters were all born in Canada—I was rather skeptical that I was going to be wowed by any band from Vancouver, let alone a so-called “supergroup” boasting members from obscure bands I had barely heard of, if at all, including Evaporators, Zumpano, Superconductor, Limblifter, and Destroyer. Having just released their debut album Mass Romantic in the fall of 2020 to little notice, including by me (I had only heard one song at that time), my expectations that The New Pornographers would be the next big thing were marginal.
Nonetheless, rather than catching The Strokes—yet another new “it band” playing that evening—I arrived early at La Zona Rosa to catch these Canadian musical ingenues. The room filled quickly and when the band bounded on to the stage they opened up with the tremendous first track from Mass Romantic, “Letter From An Occupant,” before blazing through most of the rest of the debut album. For an amazing encore, the band invited Ray Davies to the stage to join the band in a cover of The Kinks’ “Starstruck.” That night they proved the hype was warranted, and Mass Romantic barely left my CD player all summer back in Milwaukee, and remains a top LP of the last 25 years. I was indeed starstruck by what has been described as their “hook-heavy, euphoric power pop” and uncanny ability to summon up seeming “instantly earworm-y melodies on a whim.”
Friday night at Milwaukee’s historic Turner Hall Ballroom The New Pornographers proved they still deserve the hype 25 years later. While now the band is predominantly the vehicle of founding member and primary songwriter A.C. Newman, the six-piece band played a tremendous set of old and new songs to an appreciative and enthusiastic audience. While two of the “supergroup’s” founding members, Neko Case and Dan Bejar, are not on this tour, the band did not miss a beat with both longtime and new members.
Though she has been a permanent member of the band since 2006, Kathryn Calder, Newman’s niece, was originally a fill-in for Case as she was often unavailable while she worked on her own solo projects and tours. However, Calder’s vocals and keyboards are now central to the band’s signature sound and profile. Rounding out the band are longtime members Todd Fancy on guitar and John Collins on bass. Joining the band on this tour are Destroyer drummer Josh Wells, and Jess Nolan on vocals and keys. Nolan, who has worked with Jenny Lewis among others, played a prominent role Friday night, adding a welcome punch to the band while taking lead vocals on two songs, and by joining Newman and Calder throughout the night in angelic harmonies.
The band is touring in support of their 2026 release The Former Site Of. Newman’s characters and wit shine throughout the albums 10 tracks about personal and societal extremes, but the delivery, while captivating, seems more somber than past efforts. Not surprisingly, the set leaned heavily on the new release, comprising six of the night’s 22 songs; while released just months ago, all the songs felt familiar. They opened with the new “Pure Sticker Shock,” an upbeat synth-pop jam about self-doubt and about which Newman says: “This song is not about a specific event, but it has felt very ‘applicable’ to me and this year of my life. It basically asks the question ‘What has worth? Who is deciding?’ Your market value is not always your value.”
Mixed in with the new tracks the band played selections from nine of their 10 albums, with the second song, the cheerful “Use It” from Twin Cinema, kicking the night into gear. The night continued with gems from Mass Romantic forward. Always crowd-pleasers, the band had everyone singing along to “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism’“ (which always seems a bit unsettling) and “All The Old Showstoppers.” The set ended with a thee-song “hit list” of “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk,” “Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile,” and “The Bleeding Heart Show.” Like every song that evening, each was a lesson in harmonies and perfection.
The band concluded the night with a two-song encore of “Mass Romantic” and “Testament To Youth In Verse,” which sent the near-capacity crowd home comfortably satiated. The band has clearly evolved since I first saw them in 2001, both in terms of personnel and style, but as demonstrated Friday night, while the energy level may have mellowed, they continue to deliver power-pop perfection, live and on record. And they also continue to be the best supergroup from Vancouver, hands down.
Opening was Will Sheff, the driving singer-songwriting force behind indie-folk rockers Okkervil River. Sheff shared that he made the difficult decision to tour without a band, nobly saving the money to provide kennel care for his ill dog in Los Angeles during his absence. Performing solo, primarily with only a guitar, Sheff provided a tight set of his literary, narrative-driven songs, which regrettably were somewhat disrupted by a few extra chatty folks by the bar. As Sheff noted: “I get it, I am just a guy with a guitar.” Nonetheless, Sheff persevered, playing both his solo work and that of Okkervil River, including “It Was My Season,” “Okkervil R.I.P.,” and an old favorite, “A Stone,” which Sheff dedicated to “Waukesha’s own” Travis Nelsen who was on drums when that song was recorded during the band’s heady days in Austin.
SETLIST
1. Pure Sticker Shock (LP: The Former Site Of)
2. Use It (LP: Twin Cinema)
3. Brill Bruisers (Bill Bruisers)
4. Votive (LP: The Former Site Of)
5. The Laws Have Changed (LP: Electric Version)
6. Calligraphy (LP: The Former Site Of)
7. Whiteout Conditions (LP: Whiteout Conditions)
8. Cat And Mouse With The Light (LP: Continue As Guest)
9. All The Old Showstoppers (LP: Challengers)
10. The Jessica Numbers (LP: Twin Cinema)
11. Ballad Of The Last Payphone (LP: The Former Site Of)
12. Adventures In Solitude (LP: Challengers)
13. Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies (LP: Continue As Guest)
14. Champions Of Red Wine (LP: Brill Bruisers)
15. Great Princess Story (LP: The Former Site Of)
16. The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism (LP: Mass Romantic)
17. Spooky Action (LP: The Fromer Site Of)
18. Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk (LP: Together)
19. Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile (LP: Twin Cinema)
20. The Bleeding Heart Show (LP: Twin Cinema)
ENCORE
21. Mass Romantic (LP: Mass Romantic
22. Testament To Youth In Verse (electric version)
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