I have been toying with the idea of reviewing Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea for a long time, but have come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no way I could properly give that album justice. It is, in my opinion, hands down the best album I have ever heard. Jeff Mangum put together the perfect combination of art, simplicity, storytelling, and core emotion into a short but powerful record that will hold a place in my heart for the rest of my life (despite what Robert Christgau has to say on the matter...). However, Aeroplane does have a tendency to overshadow the rest of Mangum’s Neutral Milk Hotel years, which is quite unfortunate. Although it doesn’t quite reach the caliber of that final album, the music Mangum wrote before it really helps one delve deep into the mind of the artist.
Live at The Side Door is a forty minute live set that was recorded in May of 1997; right between the releases of On Avery Island and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. This was a perfect time to witness a live performance from the group considering Mangum had not yet been overwhelmed by the attention caused by Aeroplane, but he had still recorded a full album with the band as a whole. Before I start talking about the actual performance, I want to make it clear that this live set is one of the most natural performances I’ve ever heard. Jeff wasn’t known for going all out at his shows. He was just a normal guy, who wanted to share his music.
The whole show starts off with Jeff telling the crowd that their drummer couldn’t show up, and that the entire show will be more acoustic. He also lets them know that the show may not be that great because he and one of the other band-mates has the flu really bad. Well, he may have thrown up his lungs that morning, but his heart is definitely still intact in this performance. The set opens up with “She Did a Lot of Acid;” an intense Neutral Milk Hotel B-side that is almost entirely driven by Jeff’s voice. The flu definitely doesn’t hold him back on this one. He wails out those notes like his immune system is impenetrable. Opening with this song must have really got the crowd thinking that this was definitely not a typical acoustic set, it was something much more.
The next two songs, "Gardenhead" and "Naomi" are a great pair of songs that slowly bring the intensity down, becoming less and less instrumentally involved. The insecurity of Mangum comes out after "Naomi" when he tells the crowd that he’s sorry they are so pathetic, trying to work through their illnesses and technical problems. His insecurity allows you to see him at a more personal level, nothing like any other concert you will ever see.
The fourth song in the set, “Engine,” is one of my personal favorites. It’s a slow guitar/Theremin duet that discusses the human goal of adapting to life’s ever changing “tracks.” The next song in the set is called “Up and Over,” which brings me to another great aspect of the performance. Some of the songs in the set are actually unfinished versions of Aeroplane tracks. “Up and Over” in particular, is actually the predecessor of the second half of “King of Carrot Flowers, Part II & III,” the second track on Aeroplane. This almost allows you to take part in the mental construction of Neutral Milk Hotel’s final album, as you get to see the small pieces before they were put together as the finished puzzle.
Next, Mangum belts out an excellent version of the opening track to On Avery Island, “Song Against Sex.” The performance of this song is no holds barred, and Jeff takes no prisoners, shoving the uncomfortable concepts of drugs, death and sex into the crowd’s ears. Another Aeroplane track finds its way into the set just after an instrumental transition of “The Fool;” Jeff performs an early solo rendition of “Oh Comely.” This is the part of the show that really begins to wear down his voice. Even though the notes aren’t always where they should be, his intensity and drive is consistently spot-on, making this one of the best performances of the song.
The whole show ends with an “under construction” version of “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.” Like I said before, it’s truly awesome to here the in-progress versions of these songs, and it's not different here. This song in particular actually has an entire verse that wasn’t kept in the final version of the song. I personally enjoy it as an addition, since it adds sort of a third element to the song, aside from the typical verses and refrain. Although, I can understand why this verse didn’t make it into the final product, since it does give the song a little more depth than need be.
Overall, I believe that this album is a truly special piece from the repertoire of Neutral Milk Hotel and you owe it to yourself to give it a good listen. If you haven’t heard much (or any, for that matter) of Neutral Milk Hotel, then I highly encourage you to give them a listen. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is a great place to start. It will give you a great understanding on Mangum’s musical and poetic stance, which will in turn help you to appreciate the finer things in his earlier work. If anything, just listen to Live at The Side Door merely for the experience; to connect with the band at a more personal level. Everything from the construction of the songs, to the heart put into the performance, even the quiet and accepting way Mangum thanks the crowd after every song is something surely worth experiencing at least once. So please, I highly encourage you to check out Neutral Milk Hotel’s Live at The Side Door.
You can check out the set with the following link. Live at The Side Door (along with many other live bootlegs) is about halfway down the page. All the songs are free for listening and downloading, so enjoy them!
http://www.the-collective.net/~sashwap/media.html
Here are also two links to On Avery Island and In the Aeroplane Over the Sea respectively:
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