A.C. Newman & the Broken West @ 400 Bar

(The Broken West)

Tuesday night may have been rainy and miserable in the Twin Cities, but a double bill of two great bands brought a large crowd in from the cold to the 400 Bar. A.C. Newman and the Broken West proved to be a great tandem and showed the heights that the “power-pop” genre can reach.

First up were the L.A.-based Broken West, who are a five piece band that features a pretty conventional 70′s rock and roll sound. Their sound, which reaches into various genres, including pop, country and rock, actually could have fooled some of the late arrivals in the crowd to thinking they were hearing a local band. With their crunchy, yet melodic, guitar sound and plaintive vocals, they proceeded with a sound slightly mellower than what a lot of local bands, like the Evening Rig, are doing right now. While the guitars sounded great, the keyboards, which add another dimension to their songs on their two records, were too far down in their mix to really help balance things out. In addition to their Byrds-meets-the Replacements sound, they showed some twin guitar muscle to during a few songs where they really let loose and jammed out. The band played tracks from both their debut record I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On and their 2008 effort Now or Heaven, both of which are great discs.

(A.C. Newman)

I am always perplexed by what a name can do to a band. When the New Pornographers come through town, the band sells out larger clubs like the First Avenue, yet when Newman (their creator and leader) comes to town, he plays much smaller clubs like the 400 Bar. This might not seem strange, as main groups often draw bigger crowds than their various solo projects, but in recent years the New Pornographers have essentially become a Carl Newman affair. Neither Dan Bejar nor Neko Case, the two other “stars” in the New Pornographers, generally tour with the band, so it becomes Newman as the sole front-person. No matter what the venue or moniker he comes to town under, Newman always finds a way to impress me, and Tuesday night was no different.

Tuesday night he showed the strength and diversity of his songs from his two solo albums, 2004′s The Slow Wonder and this year’s Get Guilty, during his 70 minute set. Backed by five piece band, Newman showed why he is regarded as one of the strongest songwriters working right now—he dabbles in the art of writing songs so simple and direct that you wonder why no one else is able to do it. The bells and whistles are kept to a minimum, with Newman on both acoustic and electric backed by keys, lead guitar, bass, violin and drums. Both the bass and violin players were women who also helped round out the highly melodic vocal lines and added some great depth to his sound. He started the set with a great three song barrage, playing “There are Maybe Ten or Twelve,” “Miracle Drug,” and “Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer.” The whole set showcased both Newman and the bands’ talent, with the highlight of the night being the back to back songs “The Palace at 4 a.m.” and “All my Days and All of my Days Off,” both from Get Guilty. These two songs, which both included guest vocals by Nicole Atkins, epitomized why the night’s performance was so great. Both songs were light-hearted and fairly straightforward affairs, but they were played with much gusto from the band and were perfect vehicles to show the depth and talent of Newman’s unique songwriting. The set ended with a strong version of The Slow Wonder‘s “On the Table,” with the band running downstairs long enough to grab new drink before returning for a two song encore. Both songs from the encore also came from Newman’s 2004 solo-debut, and both sounded great and left the crowd with smiles on their faces as they left the club. First was “Come Crash,” which climaxed with the whole band joyfully singing “Christine, come crash on my floor,” followed by a great version of “The Town Halo.”

(A.C. Newman)

Both bands provided ample evidence that power-pop, a musical genre which is so often mangled, can be done right. While the Broken West took a slightly more country and jammy vibe, Newman proved the accolades he has accumulated over the years are warranted. The fans that packed into the 400 Bar Tuesday night seemed perfectly happy to see Carl Newman and band, with or without the New Pornographers behind him, and he gave them a wonderful performance in return.

[Review by Josh Keller, photos/video by guest contributor Brody McCoy.]

A.C. Newman: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia
The Broken West: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Also: A.C. Newman on the Late Show with David Letterman