The musicians inspired by Neutral Milk Hotel are many, and the fans of the seminal Athens band are countless. Their 1998 album, ‘In the Aeroplane over the Sea,’ has been named by many as one of the greatest albums of all time. Given perfect scores by numerous music blogs and magazines, the albums is somehow still not a household name. Music lovers, however, are beyond devoted to the songs of Neutral Milk Hotel, yet are given very few chances to gather and show appreciation.
Soon after the release took the independent music world by storm, the bands leader, Jeff Mangum, all but disappeared from the face of the earth. Fans have had very few chances to see the master works performed live, and despite a recent treat, it looks like there is little hope for this to change any time soon.
Enter ‘Neutral Uke Hotel.’ This group, fronted by Shawn Fogel and featuring a front and center Ukulele attack, has come into existence as a way for musicians and fans to share in their love for the work of a now-reclusive creative core. According to the NUH site, “Neutral Uke Hotel’s mission statement is simple: to unite obsessed fans of Neutral Milk Hotel for a live performance of their critically acclaimed ‘In the Aeroplane over the Sea’ album.”
After shows, Shawn and company encourage all in attendance to walk around and meet each-other, since they already know that they all “have at least one thing in common.” The concept here is pretty great, since it stays far from exploiting the works. Instead of just stepping in and making money off of another bands absence, this project has kept everything very communal and low-key. They make a point to push it as a way for fans to come together and celebrate, and on top of that they routed a very modest tour to accompany the work. All in all, it is a very tasteful adaptation of the work – enjoy!
If you are interested in hearing more from NUH, I highly recommend checking out their Daytrotter session.
