Pitchfork

With My Bloody Valentine up and running again, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel has inherited Kevin Shields' mantle as the most reclusive man in indie rock. But on Saturday at the Knitting Factory in Manhattan, Mangum crawled out of his cave for a few brief moments in the spotlight.

As you might have already seen over in Forkcast, Mangum hit the stage with his buddies from the Elephant 6 collective, who were in town for the NYC stop of the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour. From videos (via Brian at the Daily Cross Hatch) and audience reports, it seems that Mangum was in good spirits as he joined in on Olivia Tremor Control's "The Opera House" and "I Have Been Floated" as well as Elf Power's "The Arrow Flies Close". Although Mangum didn't do any Neutral Milk Hotel songs, Stereogum reports that his NMH bandmates Scott Spillane and Julian Koster performed "The Fool", Spillane's song from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

Mangum hasn't played any of his own shows in a very, very long time, but he has been popping up at friends' gigs in NYC in recent years. In 2005, he joined Olivia Tremor Control at the Bowery Ballroom and Elf Power at the Knitting Factory, and in 2006, he sat in with the Instruments at Cake Shop.

And Saturday's appearance might not be the last we'll see from Mangum on the Holiday Surprise Tour. Koster recently told Billboard.com that "Jeff told me he wants to make it to the Chicago show and maybe the Kentucky show, so we'll see. I know he hasn't played out much in the past few years, but he seemed very excited about this tour when I talked to him."

As previously reported, the Holiday Surprise Tour features Koster, Spillane, Will Cullen Hart of Olivia Tremor Control, Laura Carter of Elf Power, Eric Harris of OTC and Circulatory System, and Nesey Gallons playing the songs of OTC and Elf Power as well as Circulatory System, the Music Tapes, and more. It continues October 14 in Portland, Maine.

Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour:

10-14 Portland, ME - Space Gallery
10-15 New Haven, CT - The Space
10-16 Purchase, NY - SUNY Purchase
10-17 Rochester, NY- The Bug Jar
10-18 Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox
10-19 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center
10-20 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Pike Room
10-21 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
10-22 Bloomington, IN - Cinemat
10-23 Lexington, KY - University of Kentucky
10-25 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge (Music Tapes only, part of Merge Records' CMJ showcase)