Before I begin, I want to take a moment to apologize to the couple in their mid-forties that stood in front of me at the Mountain Goats concert at Tipitina’s this past Sunday who I’m sure have been fans longer than I have been alive and had the misfortune of me screaming The Mess Inside at the top of my lungs right into their ears, I’m really sorry. You two did not deserve that. 

If you didn’t gather from my screaming, the concert was incredible. I’ve listened to the Mountain Goats since high school — shoutout to John Green and Welcome to Night Vale — so seeing them live was an absolute joy. Frontman John Darnielle along with his current bandmates — Darnielle regularly works with a wide variety of musicians as part of the Mountain Goats project — saxophonist and keyboard player Matt Douglas, drummer Jon Wurster and guitarist Peter Hughes were fantastic. 

I’m going to be brave and admit to not knowing every song performed — it’s not my fault that the Mountain Goats have been active since before I was born — but it was incredible regardless. Every show on the Summer Duo Tour, Darnielle does a ‘solo set’ in the middle of the show, where he admitted at our show he doesn’t plan ahead what he will play during this time. This led to him performing several deep cuts like Transjordanian Blues and Alpha Omega. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the opener, Sweeping Promises. I’ve had the privilege of going to a lot of shows, but I can’t think of one where the guitar solo and vocals were equally face-melting. Frontwoman Lira Mondal and guitarist Caufield Schnug absolutely brought the house down with their incredible set that reminded me of Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. They were an immediate follow on Spotify and I highly recommend you check them out too. 

Overall, this show blew my high expectations out of the water. I had so much fun, and if you ever get the chance to see either the Mountain Goats or Sweeping Promises live, take it.