Under the Covers: Robin Pecknold tries out Neutral Milk Hotel, Fleetwood Mac

A live show staple in any degree is arguably the cover. I’ve heard some gems in my time, including The Flaming Lips’ take on Led Zeppelin and The Who, as well as a Nada Surf rendition of the Smiths’ classic “There is a Light.” It’s rare when these tracks get a proper recording, so we really only have the general audience member with a handy recording device to bootleg this glory onto the awaiting Internets.

Over the weekend, Robin Pecknold (of Fleet Foxes) played his Seattle hometown spot, Neumos, for a benefit show and in addition to the material from his band’s stellar 2008 debut, he performed folk traditionals (a specialty of his solo project, White Antelope) and a few covers. Included in the latter were offerings from the catalogs of the Magnetic Fields, Fleetwood Mac and Neutral Milk Hotel.

Sound on the Sound has the full Pecknold setlist, as well as the live bootleg, captured by Jackson Barnes. For a quick peek to what sort of aural treat the audience members got, take a look at the YouTube proof:

“Dreams” (Fleetwood Mac cover)

It’s really something to hear a man go toe-to-toe with Stevie Nicks, but I think she’d be proud.

Stereogum‘s got .MP3s hosted of both “Dreams” and a worthy cover of NMH’s “Two-Headed Boy.” As stated in the comments over there, “What do you know, a NMH cover that doesn’t make me want to stab my eardrums with a rusty screwdriver.”