I saw Jeff Mangum at BAM last night, and it was magnificent. To think a man with a voice and four different guitars -- plus the occasional musician drifting onstage to lend French horn, trumpet, accordion or saw -- could emanate such powerful sounds… it knocked me off my feet then left me covered me in goosebumps. The entire theater felt the same way; the first song caused an explosive, spontaneous sing-a-long by the audience. We hummed every bridge, sang every refrain, clapped and cheered and jumped to our feet over and over again.

In a way, it was like seeing Billy Bragg or even (in his less produced shows) Elvis Costello. Listening to each of them sing full tilt, using their entire bodies to convey emotions and images and stories brings you face-to-face with their raw talent. You also become aware of how powerful music can be when the person delivering it SINCERELY MEANS IT—when every note, every word, every syncopated snap of string and hand clap is there for a reason, as the creative emanation of a singular mind, a unique idea. It’s a bit haunting, really.

Truly, I have not seen a show that affected me so deeply in a long-ass time. Too long, frankly.

And I'm not kidding about the sing-a-long! It takes a certain kind of commitment to memorize the lyrics to Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.