Music aficionados around the world couldn’t contain their excitement when Neutral Milk Hotel announced a reunion tour back in April. Their lo-fi, indie rockness only existed between 1989 to 1999, but generations have passed along their material with care and love as if it were a part of their own family history. Now, 15 years later, Jeff Mangum and Neutral Milk Hotel reunited for the first time on Friday night to perform their first show at Baltimore’s St. John’s Church. See the full setlist after the jump.

The band performed an 18-song set, beginning with the gut-punching, emotional “Two-Headed Boy” and “The Fool,” running straight through until they closed with “Engine.” While they’re most famous for 1998’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, they also played material off of 1996’s On Avery Island and their 1994 EP, Everything Is. 

One fan wrote about their performance online, saying “They kept the stage banter to a bare minimum and stuck to what they do best, covering a good portion of their catalog in the ninety minute set… The real highlight of the show, for my money, was the haunting sincerity of Mangum’s voice that first drew me into his recordings. Time may have taken its toll on the walls of this old nave, but his sweet and familiar tone remains unscathed.”

Setlist:
Two-Headed Boy/The Fool
Holland
A Baby for Pree/Garden Head Leave Me Alone/Everything Is
King of Carrot Flowers
Aeroplane
Oh Comely
Song Against Sex
Ruby Bulbs/Snow Song
Ghost/Carnival in/Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2
Encore:
Naomi
Ferris Wheel on Fire
Engine

Neutral Milk Hotel Tour Dates:

10/12 – Richmond, VA @ The National *
10/14 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theater *
10/15 – Urbana, IL @ The Canopy Club *
10/16 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note *
10/18 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall *
10/19 – Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29 *
10/20 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City *
10/22 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club *
10/23 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club #
10/24 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club ^
10/25 – Asheville, NC @ Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit # &
10/26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle #
10/27 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernalce *$
11/12 – Brisbane, AU @ The Tivoli !@
11/14 – Sydney, AU @ Enmore Theatre !@
11/15 – Melbourne, AU @ The Forum !@
11/20 – Dunedin, NZ @ Sammy’s
11/22 – Wellington, NZ @ James Cabaret
11/23 – Auckland, NZ @ The Kings Arms Tavern
11/24 – Auckland, NZ @ The Kings Arms Tavern
11/28 – Taipei, TW @ Hostess Club Festival
11/30 – Tokyo, JP @ Hostess Club Festival
01/16 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
01/17 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
01/18 – Montreal, QC @ Olympia
01/19 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
01/20 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
01/22 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
01/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
01/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
01/27 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
01/28 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
01/29 – Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre
01/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
01/31 – Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
02/01 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
02/02 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
02/04 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
02/05 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
02/06 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera
02/07 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera
02/08 – Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theater
02/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
02/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
02/13 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theatre
02/14 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
02/15 – Dallas, TX @ Majestic Theatre
02/17 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater
02/18 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theater
02/19 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
02/20 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
02/21 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
05/16 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
05/17 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Albert Hall
05/18 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Albert Hall
05/19 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland
05/21 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
05/22 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
05/23 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
05/25 – Paris, FR @ Le Trianon
05/27 – Toulouse, FR @ Metronum
05/29-31 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
06/05-07 – Porto, PT @ Optimus Primavera Sound

* = w/ Elf Power
# = w/ Half Japanese
^ = w/ Circulatory System
& = w/ Daniel Johnston
$ = w/ Robert Scneider
! = w/ Superchunk
@ = w/ M. Ward

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Nina Corcoran

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