Indie rock supergroup The New Pornographers closed out the Stern Grove summer concert series on August 21st, and fittingly for an August afternoon in San Francisco, it felt like late autumn. Their most recent record, Bill Bruisers, came out early in 2015, so The New Pornos haven’t toured regularly in a while. This show was only their 4th of 2016, and only non-festival date, and this lineup for this show was more like the “traveling squad,” with the notable absence of singer Neko Case and singer/guitarist Dan Bejar (aka Destroyer). Unfortunately, that meant no Dan Bejar songs in the setlist, though Case’s parts were covered by keyboardist/singer Kathryn Calder and touring member (and Suffrajet frontwoman) Simi Stone, who contributed violin parts as well.
Still, as the saying goes, some New Pornographers is better than no New Pornographers, and this was a great show to close out the Stern Grove concert series.
The New Pornographers @ Stern Grove, San Francisco, CA, August 21, 2016
Setlist:
Brill Bruisers
Moves
Use It
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
Dancehall Domine
The Laws Have Changed
You Tell Me Where
Testament to Youth in Verse
Fantasy Fools
Adventures in Solitude
All the Old Showstoppers
Champions of Red Wine
Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
Backstairs
Sing Me Spanish Techno
Mass Romantic
The Bleeding Heart Show
Encore:
Challengers
Twin Cinema
Three Match Breeze 