Pitchfork: Jeff Mangum Sings With Elf Power in NYC

You'd think that a Jeff Mangum appearance in America's biggest city would've attracted more attention. Or maybe people have just stopped obsessively tracking the reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel ringleader's public sightings. Nah...

In any case, last Thursday, November 17, at New York City's Knitting Factory, Mangum made a brief appearance on stage alongside fellow Athens, GA musicians Elf Power in the middle of one of their songs. And he didn't just stand there. According to one Elepant 6 message board maven, Mangum sang on the last verse of Elf Power's "The Arrow Flies Close", looking very self-assured and not rattled, unlike during the reunion-fueled frenzy of his last public appearance, on stage with Olivia Tremor Control at NYC's Bowery Ballroom in August.

Another show attendee, Kara Palmore, wrote Pitchfork to describe the scene. Near the end of "The Arrow Flies Close", after Elf Power frontman Andrew Rieger sang the words "And I hope Jeff will sing us a song", "a figure entered the stage from the side door. And according to his wish, Jeff Mangum joined in singing while the crowd went momentarily silent before basically going nuts. Jeff came out on stage wearing regular plain garb: plaid shirt, khakis, baseball cap. He sang along with the band for a minute, and then sang by himself and ended the song with his well-known warble. The crowd went crazy with applause as Jeff walked back off stage, but not before hugging Laura [Carter, multi-instrumentalist]. It was a very intense minute and a half."

Hey Andrew, how about writing a song with the chorus "And I hope Jeff will reunite Neutral Milk Hotel and record another album" and singing it at your next show? Please?

Elf Power have three more dates scheduled on their current tour. That rattling sound you'll hear today, tomorrow, and Wednesday is NMH fans in DC, Charlotte, and Atlanta rolling their dice:

11-21 Washington, DC - Warehouse Next Door
11-22 Charlotte, NC - Tremont Music Hall *
11-23 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *

* with the Earlies

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-11/10.shtml#elfpower">Elf Power Touring in Support of Forthcoming Album