The Mountain Goats bring music back to Austin

As the Austinist walked a deserted street downtown last night, we wondered just how many would attend a mid-week concert at Emo's after the overload of SXSW. The crowd that greeted us surpassed our expectations. The Mountain Goats have brought Austin's music scene back to life after only three days of rotting in a cave.

After a "surprisingly good" poem about vodka, Jesus, and George Jones, The Mountain Goats began their late-night set on the indoor stage. The duo got the packed house singing along to their tunes and calling out for requests. Lead singer, John Darnielle, sounded a lot like Colin Meloy, of the Decemberists, but you know...less nautical. Darnielle managed to keep a dialogue going with the crowd, and in a diplomatic move, compared himself to us saying, "If you like these songs, there must be something wrong with you. But then there must be something wrong with me for writing them." He then demanded the crowd sing along louder. We took a moment to admire him for his aggressive charm.

Opening for The Mountain Goats were Black Mountain and Crystal Skulls. (Not to be confused with The Dark Crystal.) If you think 80s throwback bands are slowly fading, you're right. We're taking that cue from Black Mountain who reminded us at times of Pink Floyd and other trippy '70s rock. (The '70s are the new '80s people.) The really great aspect of Black Mountain's set was the vocals, which rang through the smokey bar, clear as a bell. How often can we say that about a show at Emo's? Not very.