I hope that our few remaining friends give up on trying to save us.

You know those concerts where the atmosphere is so amazing that it wouldn't even matter if you didn't like the band, the show would still be absolutely phenomenal? Well, this was the case for The Mountain Goats show at Blue MooseTaphouse on Saturday night. John Darnielle, lyricist and mastermind behind The Mountain Goats probably could have taken off his guitar and told stories all night and the crowd would have been just as pleased. Darnielle, who used to reside in the Iowa countryside had many stories that much of the packed, sweaty house could relate to. He talked about his time working at a grain elevator, and football games, and meth addicts stealing from farmer's anhydrous tanks. However, he had a particularly amusing story about the inspiration for my, and clearly everybody else's favorite song, "No Children". He told the crowd that one day when he was driving from Ames to Des Moines "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack came on the radio and he absolutely hated the song, but was in a weird mood so he kept it on and listened to it in it's entirety. He took the idea of that song and gave it his own bitter twist. It seemed like every single person in the crowd knew all of the words to this song and many others that Darnielle said he wrote while living in Iowa, almost all of them. I can not put into words how absolutely psyched people were about their show, there was such a positive vibe from everyone. They are a truly talented group and I would suggest to anyone and everyone who has the opportunity to see them, do it. It was one of the more entertaining live performances I've been to in awhile. Here is an example of another audience and how loved this song is everywhere. p.s. I found out that all three members of the band are older than my parents...and they still rock. Impressive,

p.s. I found out that all three members of the band are older than my

parents...and they still rock. Impressive,