The Dears (The Independent, 1 December 2006)

It's that time of the year again. The craziness that is the holiday season. As I'm writing this entry on this fine Sunday afternoon, I'm thinking of all the things I need to accomplish. Shopping, holiday cards, planning the holiday party, year-end stuff I need to do, ranking all the 50 best albums and the 20 best shows I attended this year, getting psyched for The Faint, work stuff, etc. It's enough to do your head in, you know?

So, I went to the Dears show on Friday for the sole purpose of crossing off what I've been meaning to do for a couple of years: see them. I had a ticket to see them at Cafe du Nord but gave it up because I was too tired. I had an opportunity to see them at Popscene, but, again, I was too tired to go. Last Friday, I was also really tired, but I pushed on and went.

Was it worth it? Well, kind of. The company was good as always, but the Dears live is, to me, just average at best. Before they took the stage, they started off with these weird theatrics that, quite honestly, should have been avoided. If they want better lighting tricks and theatrics, they should consult with Secret Machines or the lighting guys for Kasabian.

As for the songs themselves, I always found the Dears' songs to be good. Borderline "average" Coldplay/Keane like in some ways, but the rockin' elements and the lyrics give the Dears a bit more edge than Coldplay or Keane.

The Dears started off with "Ticket to Immortality" from their new album Gang of Losers. It was a very promising start to their set. Murray Lightburn doesn't sound like Damon Albarn live, despite his album vocals. To the sides of the stage were the ever so beautiful Valérie Jodoin-Keaton and Natalia Yanchak providing some backing vocals, synths and some percussion. I focused on them if I was bored, which I was during some of their set.

"Lost in the Plot" was the 4th or 5th song and it wasn't as good as I'd hope for. I played that song non-stop at one point two years ago, but it lost its lustre live.

"Death or Life We Want You" was one of the few outstanding live songs they played. The guitar work was pretty good to hear. And Valérie's and Natalia's backing vocals were pleasing as well. "You and I are a Gang of Losers" was also wonderful. For this song, Valérie, Murray and Natalia did some amazing harmonizing towards the end, prompted someone from the crowd saying, "Fucking awesome!" immediately after the song. I concur.

I left early, before their set ended. It just went on and on and on. Granted they were good, but I was just bored and tired. Just when I think they were about to end, they kept going. The ending of most of their songs are just too epic.

Beer Rating: 1/2