It took some time, but I finally came across a copy of the famed, final Neutral Milk Hotel performance recorded at the King’s Arms pub in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2001, at the beseech of Chris Knox from the Tall Dwarfs, Mangum agreed to one final NMH performance (done under the pseudonym, World of Wild Beards Inc.). The resulting recording is possibly the most endearing and poingant Mangum performance ever to grace tape (There are tons of bootlegs out there… the E6 site is a good place to start searching). Between sets he ruminates on his nervous breakdown, and in a way dispells some of the mystery behind his condition as well as the circumstances that brought about his reclusion. It’s interesting to contrast this performance with the commercially available Live At Jittery Joe’s, where a seemingly more starry-eyed (although still jaded) Mangum offers a very raw preface to the monumental In The Aeroplance Over The Sea. The King’s Arms performance re-introduces Mangum as a much more haggard soul, someone who despite his earnest searching will never find any comfort or answers. At Jittery Joe’s, I think Mangum held some hope that the forthcoming Aeroplane would help excorcise some demons. Damaged yet still utterly passionate about each song, with the King’s Arms performance, it sounds as if Mangum has kind of resigned to the fact that those demons will never leave. The performance offers some solice for concerned fans — it proves that at least in ’01, Mangum was alive and well. Hopefully in a few more years, he’ll decided to surface again… if only for a few songs.

The quality of the recording is quite pristine and I’d like to help propagate it if anyone’s interested… Comment.