Elephant 6 “Holiday Surprise Tour” in Bloomington, IN

One of the most celebrated indie-rock recording companies, The Elephant 6 Collective, is currently on their “Holiday Surprise Tour.” The collective performed on Oct. 21, 2008 in Bloomington, IN. Here’s a recap:

Last night’s medley of indie-rock gods came together to celebrate and perform each other’s personal favorite songs.  The tour was initially scheduled to perform at Bloomington’s Cinemat, however due to increased demand, the Collective performed at the larger Rhino’s nightclub. The following singers and instrumentalists performed: Jeff Mangum, Bill Doss, Julian Koster, Scott Spillane, Peter Erchick, Robert Schneider, Will Cullen Hart, Andrew Rieger, Charlie Johnson, and Theo Hilton. And the following were the musical groups who are associated with the performers: Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, the Music Tapes, Gerbils, Pipes You See, Pipes You Don’t, the Apples in Stereo, Circulatory System, Elf Power, the 63 Crayons, and Nana Grizol.

There were many highlights to the night: Julian Koster on the saw, Scott Spillane cracking jokes and performing a secret song about sex, Neutral Milk Hotel’s The Fool, and Jeff Mangum’s Engine.

Here are pictures from the night, all photos by Brenden Eade:

Here is Andrew Rieger’s scheduled set list (side 3 was the encore) :

Side 1

-His Mr.’s Pet Whistle

-Yesterday’s World

-Love Athena

-Bill

-Music Tapes

-Scott

-Elf Power

-Pipes You See…

-I Have been Floated

-(Brian Dewar/Filmstrip)

Side 2

-Julian Saw

-Bill

-Robert

-Charlie 63

-Elf Power

-Music Tapes

-Nana Grizol

-Scott

-Pipes You Don’t

-Solid Forms Dissolve (Lately)

-A Sleepy Co.

-A Sunshine Fix

-The Fool

-Life Form

Here are two exclusive videos of “Engine” and “Forever”: