Canadian bands these days have these HUGE ensemble of band members. Arcade Fire (8 members), Stars (4 permanent members, as much as 8 on stage) and, the one that takes the cake, Broken Social Scene (10 listed members, as much as 15 people on stage).
BSS takes their tour to the West Coast after somewhat mixed reviews of their shows in other cities (reviews ranging from: "lacks stage presence" or "one of the few bands that can give Arcade Fire a run for their money"). Well, my impression of this monster of a band is a glowing one.
BSS got on stage at around 10:30 and played for a solid 2 hours. That's right kids, 2 fucking hours. But it wasn't an agonizing two hours by any stretch, but one that is worth every minute. It seemed like they played every song that mattered from You Forgot It in People and their 2005 self-title release. They may have started off the set with something from Feel Good Lost, but I'm not entirely sure since the song didn't immediately click in my head.
The second song though was "KC Accidental" which made for a good start. The booming sound of the speakers made my wristband shake about and the entire band was crazy for this song. More and more and more songs were played such as excellent live versions of "Handjobs for the Holidays," "Superconnected," "Ibi Dreams of Pavement" and "Fire Eye'd Boy." Varying musicians also made special appearances, including Justin Small and James Payment of Do Make Say Think and the lovely Lisa from whatever band she is in. She's just really pretty and provided as a good fill-in for another lovely lady, Emily Haines, in "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl." There's just something about her hair, Lisa that is, that makes me get all excited.
Feist joined the fray during "Shoreline," which was probably the most energetic and most well-received song the entire night. She was playing with Kevin a lot, and their stage chemistry was unmistakenably perfect. She was also there for "Almost Crimes" which also was energetic and exciting.
Towards the end, BSS played more chill songs and relaxed the crowd a bit. "I'm Still Your Fag" was played I believe as the last song of the main set, which was a bit odd but it was really, really good.
They also played a 3 song encore, with Kevin teasing the crowd that their first song will induce them to dance. I then cringed for 2 seconds when he said that song is going to be Madonna's "Ray of Light." He did sing it though, bits and pieces of the lyrics, and that scared me because I thought they were really going to cover it. It would be a good cover, but it would just be plain weird. Instead, they played something off their s/t album (sorry, I forgot). They finished their set with a 10+ minute rendition of "It's All Gonna Break" (I think). By that time, everyone was so satisfied (and tired).
Overall, it was a fantastic show chock-full of excellent songs and stellar musicians. Definitely one of the great live bands touring today. And one of the great bands from our friendly neighbours up north.
Beer Rating:
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