Neutral Milk Hotel bandleader Jeff Mangum took to the stage carrying his guitar, and sporting a long grey beard and colourful knit sweater. Playing solo for a good five minutes, Mangum was later joined by the rest of the band during the song "Holland, 1945," just in time to yell the line "the only girl I've ever loved/ was born with roses in her eyes."
Looking more like a troupe of misfits rather than high-profile headliners, Neutral Milk Hotel proved that music could still be awe-inspiring without the use of strobe lights and smoke machines. Well nuanced from beginning to end, the group's set was at times a little slow but always inviting — infecting the crowd with happiness, and finally getting them to dance despite the cold.
Looking more like a troupe of misfits rather than high-profile headliners, Neutral Milk Hotel proved that music could still be awe-inspiring without the use of strobe lights and smoke machines. Well nuanced from beginning to end, the group's set was at times a little slow but always inviting — infecting the crowd with happiness, and finally getting them to dance despite the cold.