In the Aeroplane over the Sea

On Sunday, Joe Ledbetter assembled a 10 piece band (3 horns, accordion, cello, mandolin, theromin, bass, drums, and vocals) to cover Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane over the Sea". It has been described to me as an album you either love or have never heard of. Lars thoughtfully gifted me with the CD for my birthday and I studiously listened to it many times prior to the concert.

The show was simply amazing. They did total justice to the album. I totally look up to Joe as a musician - to have the drive and vision to do something like this and then totally pull it off. They even improved some of the tunes with extra harmonies and instrumentation. The audience stood in rapture. I heard multiple people in the audience sign along. The band plugged away, no breaks in between tracks, nailing each song, all hard and strong, and well, now my pants are chafing me.

The album ends with a solo guitar/vocal song. The ultimate sign of respect was that in the club, where at least 40-50 people were in attendance, there was total silence while Joe sang the final song. I don't think I ever seen that before, ever.





Thanks Anne for the photos - you rule.