The New Pornographers Would Kiss You If They Didn’t Have Puke Breath

A.C. “Carl” Newman, the brains behind the New Pornographers, could have it worse. His marriage was the subject of a feature in our magazine this week, his band released their fourth album Challengers yesterday, and last night they played a sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom. So how does a guy who’s having, like, the best week ever celebrate? Apparently by plugging the new Spoon record (it’s $9.99 at Target!) and polling the crowd on their favorite quotes from Strange Brew.

“I got to pee so bad, I can taste it!” exclaimed one female fan. He responded: “You’re so pretty, I would kiss you if I didn’t have puke breath.” According to IMDb, their quotes were a little botched, but Newman can probably be forgiven for having more on his mind than the cinematic genius of Rick Moranis — he had songs to play, after all. The band’s 90-minute set leaned heavily on material from the new album and 2005’s Twin Cinema, peaking with solid renditions of “Sing Me Spanish Techno” and the Neko Case–enhanced “Challengers.” One more thing: If you’re going to make a request at a New Pornographers show, make it for one of their tunes — they won’t play Spoon’s “I Turned My Camera On” under any circumstances, sadly. —Michael D. Ayers

Related: A New Pornographer in Town [NYM]