(all photos by Chris Bergman)
Peter Adams and His Band made my dream come true on Saturday when they performed Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea in its entirety. The show at Rohs Street Café was a celebration of the album’s 1998 release. As an avid Peter Adams fan, and an even more hardcore fan of all that is NMH, I had been anticipating this show for weeks.

By the time Matthew Shelton’s Picnic took the stage, the small café had filled to capacity. Guitarist Eli Maiman and drummer Martin Diller from Peter Adams’ band joined the Picnic – Sharon Udoh on piano, Laura Sabo on bass clarinet, Kathleen Moniaci, and Peter Adams on violin –to perform selections from On Avery Island. Neutral Milk Hotel’s first album.

Shelton started hesitantly with “Song Against Sex”, but gained his footing with a beautiful interpretation of “Avery Island/April 1st.” A discouraged and apologetic Shelton, who had fumbled with lyrics on a couple songs, got encouragement from the crowd before playing “A Baby for Pree.” The acoustic waltz led into “Marching Theme”, a fantastic, buzzing anthem, featuring enough fuzzed out guitar to do Jeff Mangum proud.

The second half started with a quick introduction before Peter Adams dove straight into “King of Carrot Flowers Part 1.” It was a strong start, true to its original. For “King of Carrot Flowers Part 2 & 3”, the band was joined by a horn section, consisting of Adam Machaskee on trombone, Mike Jones on trumpet, and Evan Roberts on saxophone. The band played flawlessly and with so much energy, I was surprised the audience was able to restrain itself.

“Holland 1945”, a highlight of the show, was followed by “The Communist Daughter” and “Oh Comely.” Adams’ voice was clear and subdued. I looked around at the audience; many were quietly swaying to the music with their eyes closed, while others watched enraptured, mouthing the words. Some even appeared to have tears in their eyes as the band played.

Peter Adams’ performance of “Ghost” charged the audience once more before the band erupted into “Untitled.” The carnivalesque instrumental epic was led by a duet between Andrea Lee on violin and Evan Roberts on soprano saxophone, replacing the bagpipe solo (but still doing it justice). The show concluded with Peter Adams alone onstage, performing “Two-Headed Boy Part 2.”

The show had high expectations among the illustrious album’s followers, and Peter Adams and His Band effortlessly exceeded all them. The band’s performance, accompanied by a stellar horn section, was spot on, with all the energy and diversity that only could be created by such a talented group of musicians. Peter Adams, meanwhile, took the miles of lyrics by Jeff Mangum and sang with them with ease and confidence, as if he had written them himself. The show was a huge success, and with any luck, will bring the band the attention it deserves.

As of yet, the band has no definite plans to release the recording.

A couple more photos can be found after the jump!