In all honesty, I never thought I would get to see Jeff Mangum perform live. Even as he took the stage at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday night, I found myself filled with uncertainty. Would he actually play Neutral Milk Hotel songs? Would he just play a Chris Knox cover? Would he play more than one song? Was it really him? Luckily, all these fears were instantly assuaged once Mangum strummed the opening chord of “Oh Comely,” an act that kicked off one of the most powerful performances I have ever witnessed. Listening to Live at Jittery Joe’s and other late ’90s Mangum/NMH bootlegs in college, I often wondered, what would it feel like to be in that room, to stand a few feet from Jeff Mangum while he unleashed those singularly haunting, beautiful songs on an awestruck audience? I feel privileged that I now know the answer to that question. Read my full review of the show at PopMatters.
