Okkervil River’s performance of “Pop Lie” on David Letterman last night wasn’t sweetly sung or especially succinctly stated. The The Stand Ins track sounded pretty shaggy dog (like hirsute Will Sheff, trying out for Mastodon in the accompanying screengrab), especially in comparison to that more staid singing interview from a couple months back. For his part, Dave claps and gives a shout out to Austin, but doesn’t seem half as excited to be there.
The Stand-Ins is out via Jagjaguwar.
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really ‘gum? i thought they sounded pretty great, entertaining/compelling performance. didnt realize willly got/ was (?) so goddamn confident. a little pompous though, especially that ending.
hum stereogum? maybe you’ve never heard this song before or seen them live?
i thought it was pretty good! i missed it yesterday and had been waiting all day for this video.
they looked confident and energetic, not the usual scared-of-looking-like-a-fool-on-tv performances you usually get at these late night shows.
okkervil river are winners, a truly great band! not fabricated by hype, they’ve got all the credentials/amazing music to prove it.
I concur, I did not realize Mr. Sheff was so damn confident.
I think it was a damn good performance.
They seemed glad to be there and put on a performance that showed that.
I absolutely agree with every comment, this was a solid performance and it sounded right on. Not to mention the energy they had up there, that’s hard to do on tv, especially on letterman.
this is good but maybe don’t point at the audience. love you wil!
I thought that was an awesome performance! They were all so into and sounded great.
i concur. i just listened to the recording and it sounds amazing. plus, i saw them a few months back in New York and they put on an awesome show. and will’s quirky stage mannerisms are part of his charm
i meant ‘will’ . anyway this is my 2nd favorite song on the album but i dunno, maybe this version is too synthy but i actually don’t like it as much as on the album. it also feels slower, but maybe i’m imagining that.
i liked the sing a long interview they did for mtv better than this performance personally. i agree that dave didn’t seem to enthused after that performance, but i guess it was solid for what it’s worth.
I actually like this more than the record and what’s wrong with pointing at the audience
anyone else notice at the end breakdown it looks like a string broke on his guitar? maybe its just me but well done will! i loved it
Who cares if Dave Letterman gets enthused or not, perhaps his autocue wasn’t working? They played my least favourite song from The Stand Ins and they still sounded freakin’ awesome. I also noticed the broken string, kinda added to the performance.
OMG it’s not shoegaze?!?
Great performance. Classic Will Sheff vocals, that. I thought the look on his face when they went to profile during the second run of “You’re lying when you sing along” was hilarious.
I get the impression that David Letterman really hates his job these days, so hopefully they didn’t take his indifference personally.
Who cares if David Letterman wasn’t into it. I thought it was pretty damn good. Makes me wish I caught these guys while I had the chance.
oh i’m sorry, did you want letterman to dance on his desk with a boner or something?have you ever seen his show before?
I was there and the synth was not turned up that high in the mix and you could actually hear Sheff’s acoustic guitar fills. That is all.
What the clip doesn’t show is that Dave was actually enthusiastic before they played, talking about them being from Austin and how it’s one of the best music towns in the world. (And he gave props to the Salt Lick.) I thought it was a top notch perf.
I don’t get it. That was an annoyingly showy performance, and the vocals were pretty terrible. The music sounded like generic bar rock. I’m ready for the negative arrow clicks. Bring ‘em on.
Not familiar with them, but it seemed like a pretty decent performance. Vocals sounded fine to me. People are too critical these days. You get people who read overly critical music sites like Pitchfork and now everybody rips everything apart. The bar has been raised astronomically high and nobody can measure up. I don’t see you up there trying to sing.
I thought Okkervil River were amazing and put on an amazing performance!
Although this song is not necessarily my favourite from the album but they played the song brilliantly and with so much energy and confidence.
I love this band
Awesome. It’s like the entire OR streetteam heard about this negative post and showed up for the street fight.
apparently none of you watch letterman regularly. this was actual the most enthused i have seen him about a musical guest in a while. seriously. stereogum, this is the most tabloid-esque blog post ever. shame on you.
Will trying out for Mastodon? That’s a great idea for an episode of “Made.”
Jeez, Will…need some attention? We get it…we all think you’re a genius rock star so stop with the stage antics, OK! That’s what happens when you move to Brooklyn and get caught up in the douche baggery.
Jeez, Will…need some attention? We get it…we all think you’re a genius rock star so stop with the stage antics, OK! That’s what happens when you move to Brooklyn and get caught up in the douche baggery.
I thought this was a stupendous performance.
I defy anyone to find a more well-rounded band. Their ballads are pretty, their pop songs are catchy as hell, and their rockers really rock. Not to mention wonderfully structured songs and great lyrics. To me they’re a modern-day REM.
More and more bands are looking and sounding shaggy dog nowadays.
It is ridiculous that everyone today thinks that when bands or musicians perform they just have to stand (or sit) there and do nothing.
Why do you even need to see a band if they are just going to stand there like a statue.
When a musician struts around and is in to what he is doing it just makes it all the better for me.
Instead everyone today just wants their folky airy vocals, sung by a guy sitting on a little foot stool and not even acknowledging their fans.
Looking at you Fleet Foxes.
Definitely. I’ve been in this ska phase lately, and thier shows are always so energetic!
Then yesterday I went and watched old Interpol shows on Youtube, and I was just too bored.
They used to be my favorite band.
this is a very pretentious band
That’s not Jordan Geiger on keys, is it?
If so, AWESOME.
Yeah, basically a very solid performance.
Was this post an excuse to use the “pop lie” pun?
On a side note, the last I’ve seen David Letterman really excited about an artist was when smooth-jazzer Stanley Jordan played his show… which was like, in ’85 or something…
take a gander if you enjoy laughing your ass off ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWAId2fR3rA
now we know what dave really wants.