Mount Eerie

What is Phil Elverum running away from? Or: What has he run away from? A decade deep into a successful, accelerating indie career as the Microphones' sole constant member, the Anacortes, Washington-based musician/producer simply pulled the plug. Just like that: No more gray, lilting horrific/sensuous absurdities, thermonuclear thrashers, or collaborator-crammed concept albums about death. Instead, Elverum rechristened himself Mount Eerie and made like Dave Eggers after Might folded: He hung out his own label shingle, P.W. Elverum & Sun, Ltd, so he could issue books, 7-inch singles, and other odd sundries by friends and family members when not producing others or embarking on marathon tours to promote releases you're unlikely to find outside of his website. No Flashlight—Mount Eerie's 2005 debut—imploded everything that made Microphones so affecting, knocking Elverum from the underground radar. Our hypothesis: Dude couldn't stand the limelight and beat a hasty retreat into the shadows. Who can blame the guy? Production gigs and these train-wreck solo jaunts probably pay the bills, plus no one can take that amazing back catalog away from him. All ages.
Mon., Oct. 22, 7 p.m., 2007