The Olivia Tremor Control In Concert

By Robin Hilton

Published September 21, 2011 at 8:00 AM EDT

Former Neutral Milk Hotel members Julian Koster (also of The Music Tapes) and Scott Spillane (also of The Gerbils) joined members of The Olivia Tremor Control for a sometimes mind-boggling night of live music from in New York City Wednesday. The band quickly shook off early jitters and a shaky mix in the first song to perform nearly two hours' worth of music for a transfixed audience.

For fans who discovered The Olivia Tremor Control after the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2000, the concert at Le Poisson Rouge marked their first chance to see the band bring its experimental sound collages and infectious psych-pop to life on stage. The group didn't disappoint, as it re-created the intricate sonic soundscapes from the albums Dusk At Cubist Castle and Black Foliage, along with songs from a collection of singles released in 2000.

Some in attendance were hoping for a surprise appearance by elusive Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum, an early member of The Olivia Tremor Control when the band first formed in Athens, Ga., in 1994. While Mangum did show up for the concert, it was as a fan, not a performer.

The Olivia Tremor Control never officially broke up. But the group's members, overwhelmed by publicity and major-label offers, opted to withdraw from the public eye and take a break in 2000. No one in the band could have predicted it'd take 10 years to reunite for a new record and tour. But now, more than a decade after releasing its last album, the group is finally back. The Olivia Tremor Control is currently on a nationwide tour, with a new album due out early next year.

Set List

Opening
A Peculiar Noise Called Train Director
I'm Not Feeling Human
Memories Of Jacqueline 1906
Define A Transparent Dream
Courtyard
A Place We Have Been To
The Game You Play Is In Your Head Parts 1, 2, 3
Jumping Fences
Grass Canons
California Demise 3
Green Typewriters (suite)
NYC-25
Black Foliage
Paranormal Echoes
I Have Been Floated
No Growing
A Sleepy Company
Mystery
Hideaway
The Sylvan Screen

Encore:
Holiday Surprise 1, 2, 3
The Opera House