New Pornographers to stop in Bloomington

Canadian indie rock band The New Pornographers will be performing their first Bloomington show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Wednesday.

The band, including contributing and solo artist Neko Case, will begin their performance at 8 p.m.

“Their music is easy to listen to,” sophomore Will McHenry said. “It’s accessible and well done, and it’s easy to dance to.”

This is the band’s first stop on an eight-city tour.

“I am sure promoters have been trying to bring the New Pornographers to Bloomington for a long time,” said Marten Bout, marketing director for the BCT. “We’re thrilled that they’ve chosen to kick off their fall tour with a concert at the BCT. It is remarkable how many A-level bands and performing artists chose to play in Bloomington, and it really shows how Bloomington in many ways still is on the crossroads of America.”

The band’s fifth album, “Together”, was released earlier this year in May, followed by a late summer tour.

The New Pornographers were brought to Bloomington through a collaborative effort from local music label Secretly Canadian, The Billions Corporation booking agency and the BCT.

“The owners of Secretly Canadian were looking to bring more shows to Bloomington,” said Billions’ booking agent Ali Hedrick. “They were interested in Neko Case, but I told them I could get them a New Pornographers date. It all kind of fell into place.”

Case, who occasionally tours with The New Pornographers and contributes vocals, will be present at Wednesday’s show.

“She’s a pretty big musician in her own right,” McHenry said. “She’s my favorite artist, and I don’t know if she travels with them all that often, so when I found out she was playing with them, I freaked out.”

Hedrick said Billions, which often books The New Pornographers in large cities, makes an effort to book the band in smaller and college-oriented cities.

“Any touring rock and roll band needs to play to college kids — that’s where their fans are,” Hedrick said. “There are lots of people and excitement, and that’s where new fans are.”

McHenry said the tickets, which are $30 for the main balcony and floor and $27.50 for the upper balcony, were no concern when it came to buying a ticket for the show.

“I don’t go to a lot of shows, so if it’s one of my favorite bands, I’m willing to pay a lot,” he said.

Bout said ticket sales are doing well.

“The tickets have been flying off the shelf, and that is not surprising since the band has a very dedicated fan base here in town,” Bout said. “For concerts like this, we typically draw quite a few people from within 2 1/2 hours driving distance, because Bloomington is accessible and is well-known as a great destination.“

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Songwriter and vocalist for The New Pornographers, AC Newman, spoke to the IDS from his home in Woodstock, N.Y.

IDS You’ve never played in Bloomington before. Do you make an effort to perform in college towns or smaller cities?
NEWMAN We just don’t tour a massive amount. We’re not on the road eight months out of the year, so when we do go on a tour, we always hit massive towns. But it’s always cool to go to smaller places. It’s great to play in a new place because you don’t feel like you’ve oversaturated people.

IDS What have you been listening to lately?
NEWMAN I’ve been listening to a guitarist who died in the ’80s, Robbie Basho. I guess he was mainly known for playing guitar. I’ve also been listening to an old singer-songwriter, Judee Sill. She also died a while ago in the late ’70s. A lot of outsider folk embraces Judee Sill. I was shocked. I’d never listened to her.

IDS You’re one of the principle songwriters for the New Pornographers. Do you draw influences from who you’re listening to at the time when it comes to writing songs for new albums?
NEWMAN I’m always influenced by whatever I’m listening to. People call me a classicist. I know people say I have a certain style, but I absorb whatever is around. I’ll hear a cool band and be like “Yeah, we should sound more like them,” but it never really works out that way. I just try to listen to a lot of music.

IDS Is there anything you do to keep yourself occupied on long trips?
NEWMAN It’s hard to stay sane on long trips. I try to get myself reading a lot to keep myself sane. It’s so easy to live an unhealthy, unfocused life on tour. It’s hard not to drink too much, stay up late, sleep in. Neko is good about keeping herself together. She exercises a lot, and I don’t.

IDS Is there anything you’d like to say to the people coming out to see you Wednesday?
NEWMAN Sorry it took us so long.