Video: Surprise, Jeff Mangum Played Occupy Wall Street Last Night

Last night, the Occupy Wall Street protesters received something even better than a Radiohead concert (sorry, Thom): a 32-minute surprise set by Jeff Mangum. At around 10 p.m. last night Mangum, donning one of his trademark sweaters, arrived unannounced—after finishing his first song, he told the crowd: “I’m here to serve you. What do you want to hear?” Here's what he delivered:

1. Themselves (Minutemen cover)
2. Holland, 1945
3. Ghost
4. Song Against Sex
5. Two-Headed Boy pt. 2
6. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
7. King of Carrot Flowers pt. 1
8. Oh Comely

You can watch the full thing via the Livestream video—where he introduces himself, “I’m Jeff from the band Neutral Milk Hotel," and tells the protesters, “You guys have done a beautiful fucking thing." (They tell him in unison: “You have done a beautiful fucking thing!”) Goosebump-generating footage below:

Here he is being accompanied by the protesters, who (for better or worse!) enjoyed singing along.

Mangum plays Town Hall at the end of the month, and tickets are going for $200 a piece (minimum) on StubHub.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on October 5, 2011 9:56 AM

Comments [rss]

soothsayer

occupy wall street, hottest trend to up your street cred.

bawlsdeep

Listen up, if you have no clue who this guy is just check out the WSJ's coverage!

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy...

Thanks WSJ!!

-Guy who reads the WSJ

el_squishface

I can think of about two people I know who have any idea who this guy is, which only makes this more awesome. He's apparently one of those artists who sounds exactly like his album when he performs live. Thanks Jeff! And Internet! And Gothamist! (And Wall Street occupiers, I guess.)

brian

AWESOME minutemen cover! i am impressed

brian

what a treat

Rayski_LaRue

Wait a minute... are you saying Jeff Magnum is "too big" to be updating his own Wikipedia, but common enough to play for free at the protest? I'm confused.

ktinnyc

You can't figure out how threaded replies work either. No wonder you're confused.

Rayski_LaRue

What did I say that is not true? It IS on his Wiki. And it's on there to give him SOME kind of credibility. Don't get your panties in a bunch! He knows you luv him and are his biggest fan!

Amber

Do you know how Wikipedia works? There is a slim to zero chance that Jeff Magnum is actually the one updating his own page.

Rayski_LaRue

And not even 24 hours later, it's listed as one of his accomplishments on his Wiki page. I can't wait till next year, when this protest is the new Warped Tour, an annual event with sponsors, bands, energy drinks, maybe even merch booths, if there aren't any already!