And with those words Kevin Drew pretty much summed up why I thought last night’s Broken Social Scene show at the Manning Bar was pretty special. While the show was certainly not of the epic proportions and sheer insanity of their last headlining show in Sydney, I came away from the gig feeling that, yet again, Broken Social Scene were unforgettable.

The first great sign of the evening was seeing Andrew Whiteman and Charles Spearin puttering around the stage during support act Belles Will Ring. I had no idea they had made the trip over with Broken and I was assuming the band would be the same 6-piece that was touring in support of Spirit If… late last year. Instead we got what amounted to a stripped-down “classic” version of BSS: Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Whiteman, Spearin, Justin Peroff, newcomer Sam Goldberg, and to the immense joy of all in attendance, the incomparable Leslie Feist.

The gig started with Kevin Drew taking the stage to LCD Soundsystem’s Someone Great. With a glass of tequila in one hand he took the mic in the other and introduced the band (sans Feist). The band launched into a lengthy instrumental piece and when the final notes died away Drew announced one more member for the night. When Feist walked on stage the crowd temporarily lost their shit. It was great. I’d never actually seen Feist perform with Broken before so I was stoked to say the least. Feist quickly picked up her guitar and the band tore through KC Accidental and Stars And Sons before dipping into Kevin Drew’s “solo” record with Farewell to the Pressure Kids.

While it was a solid start to the show their were some sound issues and the band were at times a tad sloppy…but that’s all part of the charm of a BSS gig; since the lineup is always changing there are bound to be some hiccups. That thin line between brilliance and total chaos that Broken Social Scene are always treading is what makes their gigs so special. No show is the same and every show could be their last.

One of the highlights of the gig was Feist taking lead vocals (or at least harmonizing with Kevin Drew) on Fucked Up Kid. While I had anticipated her dominant vocal appearances on Almost Crimes and Shoreline, it was her presence on Fucked Up Kid, Cause = Time and Looks Just Like the Sun that added to the magic of the gig.

After Fucked Up Kid the band left the stage for a few minutes to let the sound guys sort out the monitors and when they returned they let it all out with Fire Eye’d Boy, 7/4 (Shoreline) and Backed Out On The… . I can’t tell you how long I’d waited to hear Shoreline live with Feist on vocals. It was amazing. Whiteman got his chance to take centre stage with a great version of Looks Just Like The Sun (with superb backing vocals from Feist). Is there a more fun guitar player to watch in any band right now? Andrew Whiteman is just nuts up there…he seems to spend half the gig on one leg.

The band played a couple new songs towards the end of the set. Water In Hell featured a lead vocal by Brendan Canning so I’m assuming it’s going to be on his record which, I believe, comes out in May. It didn’t blow me away, but the second new one was more memorable. It’s called Tepeslan and it featured a Kevin Drew lead vocal and hopefully it shows up on a future BSS record.

Now, Almost Crimes. That has to be the greatest live version of it ever played. Feist absolutely belted out the vocal, Andrew Whiteman was destroying his guitar and the rest of the band were just amped. It was, hands down, my favourite song of the night. Major Label Debut, which followed, was nearly as good as the band decided to end the night on a massive bang rather than a more subdued (Lover’s Spit) note.

After the band left the stage Kevin Drew was, once again, alone on stage chatting with the crowd. When he looked over to see if they had more time (it was already 30 minutes past curfew) and got the “cut it” signal he picked up his guitar and started strumming out It’s All Gonna Break. Charles Spearin and Brendan Canning then joined him on guitar and the trio played through most of the song. But then the rest of the band took the stage and the show ended with the triumphant finale of It’s All Gonna Break. 45 minutes past curfew….it was a perfect ending to an amazing gig.

Setlist
Unknown Instrumental
KC Accidental
Stars And Sons
Farewell To The Pressure Kids
Cause = Time
Fucked Up Kid
Fire Eye’d Boy
7/4 (Shoreline)
Backed Out On The…
Looks Just Like The Sun
Frightening Lives
Water In Hell
Tepeslan
Superconnected
Almost Crimes
Major Label Debut (Fast)
——
It’s All Gonna Break

I’ve put up some photos here and a video of Shoreline here. Amanda’s got a couple of photos up while Wayne has a somewhat different take on the gig here.

And a news tidbit. According to an interview I read with Feist, Broken Social Scene will be having a family reunion at the end of March in Mexico to write some new songs. So it seems as though another “proper” BSS album is on the way.

And speaking of Feist, we just got home from her gig at the Metro…she is ridiculously talented. Review, setlist, photos to come tomorrow (SPOILER: she played 1234).

Just a quick clip from last night’s amazing Broken Social Scene gig in Sydney.

Guess who was the seventh member in the band last night…

A review/setlist is coming soon….just off to see the lovely Leslie Feist on her own.

Last night Stars played their second of two headlining shows in Sydney. A very excited crowd was PACKED into the tiny confines of Spectrum to witness what I thought was a pretty damn good show. The band just drip energy on stage and all six of them were covered in sweat just minutes into the gig. Singer Torquil Campbell and bassist Evan Cranley were all over the place (or as all over the place as you can be on that tiny stage).

Pulling mainly from their last two records (with the exception of only a couple songs) the band really impressed me. At the gig I realized it had been nearly exactly five years since I last saw them which kind of stunned me. Their music has continued to progress as has their live show. The lush pop of their last two albums was translated beautifully on stage. The Ghost of Genova Heights, for instance, absolutely captured the magic of the studio recording while adding even more emotion to the story – Torquil sang his ass off.

There were plenty of highlights. Elevator Love Letter, featuring the gorgeous vocals of Amy Millan was great but it was the crowd pleasing Your Ex-Lover is Dead that stole the show; as soon as that bassline kicked in the crowd was hooked, bellowing back every word to the band. When the band returned for an encore a hyper-version of What I’m Trying to Say got everyone up and moving and was quickly followed by the last song of the night, Barricade. Featuring only Torquil on vocals and Chris Seligman on keyboards, the quiet number was probably Torquil’s finest vocal of the night and a perfect way to end the evening.

The band seemed geniunely excited by the reception they’ve had in Australia and mentioned that they are planning to come back “soon.” They were in great spirits all night and were pretty chatty with the audience as they used all the Aussie lingo they’ve picked up over the last few days. I think everyone left not only impressed with the music, but with the band themselves. I can’t wait to see them again on Sunday.

Setlist
The Night Starts Here
Elevator Love Letter
Soft Revolution
Window Bird
One More Night
The Ghost of Genova Heights
Bitches in Tokyo
Personal
The Big Fight
Going, Going, Gone
Midnight Cowards
Take Me To The Riot
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
Ageless Beauty
In Our Bedroom After The War
——
My Favourite Book
What I’m Trying To Say
Barricade

Download
Stars – Going, Going, Gone (via)

Some photos I took at the gig are here.

Sidenote 1: Towards the end of the gig Torquil introduced their lighting guy Jeffrey Remedios. He happens to own and run Arts & Crafts and he was greeted with a big cheer. I guess he’s out here with Stars/BSS/Feist and is busying himself with doing the lights. I’m pretty sure I saw someone ask him for an autograph later on. You know you’re a respected label-head when…

Sidenote 2: According to Torquil, Broken Social Scene need weed tonight.

Sidenote 3: Melbourne’s Plastic Palace Alice opened the show and were pretty damn good. Certainly a good match in sound with Stars. Definitely keep an eye on them as they release their debut album next month.

Download
Plastic Palace Alice – The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Despite members residing all across Canada, Reverie Sound Revue have managed to get together and record an album which, I believe, is in the final stages of completion. I would expect the album and the band to get some much deserved attention with this release if for no other reason than their singer, Lisa Lobsinger, is a sometimes member of Broken Social Scene. On the bulk of their last tour it was Lisa that filled the huge void left by Feist, Emily Haines, and Amy Millan who were all busy with their own stuff. If you saw Broken on that tour you’ll know that Lisa did a wonderful job as her voice is a pretty powerful one.

I’m not quite sure why, but Reverie Sound Revue have made a video for a song that has yet to go through it’s final mix (it may well have done so by now). Regardless of it’s final state, this track is a beautiful little dream of a song that reminds me of a stripped back BSS playing a Stars number. If the rest of the album sounds like this I can’t wait. Check it out.

Download
Reverie Sound Revue – An Anniversary Away

Watch the video

Expect much much more Canadiana on A Reminder this week as Stars, Broken Social Scene, and Feist all invade Sydney/Australia in the coming days. Should be a great week.

The great thing about having pretty low expectations of a gig is that very often the band ends up surprising you. On Thursday night Interpol hit Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion (which is a shit place to see anyone, nevermind a band that should be playing dank bars) and I must say, I enjoyed the gig more than I thought I would.

It had been a few years since I’d last seen Interpol live and my interest in them has steadily dropped since the first record (which I still think is pretty friggin’ great). Upon taking the stage the band opened with one of the few songs from Our Love To Admire that I really enjoy, Pioneer To The Falls. Bathed in beautiful blue light the song filled the Hordern with just the right mix of atmosphere and intensity. The show continued on a high note with a rambunctious version of Obstacle 1 which had the whole crowd bouncing along.

I was impressed throughout the night with band’s tightness – they know how to play; the extended jam/intro on PDA was brilliant, for example. Paul Banks was also in fine voice. I seem to recall him looking a bit rough and overweight when I last saw them, but he seemed very healthy and happy on Thursday, hitting all the notes and thanking the audience in a voice that reminded me of Johnny Cash.

Most of the highlights from the set for me were, unsurprisingly, the songs from Turn On The Bright Lights. Mid-set back-to-backers Say Hello To The Angels and Hands Away were a wonderful reminder of how great this band can be. The best tracks from Antics were also given an airing to the audience’s pleasure…with Slow Hands receiving one of the loudest roars on the night.

However, the set was dampened by some absolutely poor setlist choices from Our Love To Admire. I’m not sure what possessed the band to play Rest My Chemistry and The Lighthouse back to back but I’ve never seen a crowd hit the bars and bathrooms so quickly. The Lighthouse works on the record (a bit) but on stage it just flopped flat on its face. And the only way Carlos D. could make Rest My Chemistry cool was by smoking a cigarette as he was playing bass. And while he looked like a total badass, the song just plodded along with such boredom that I found myself struggling to take any interest in it. Mostly I just watched Carlos smoke.

The crowd came screaming back into the venue when the opening notes of Evil reverberated through the Hordern and Interpol managed to grab my interest again. The end of the set was strong, in particular the encore where Interpol conceded defeat to their back catalogue and dropped three songs from their debut. The Untitled/Stella/PDA finale was fantastic and I left the venue more intrigued by the band than I have been in a few years. While their recent work leaves a lot to be desired I still hold out hope that they can reclaim past glories once again.

Setlist
Pioneer To The Falls
Obstacle 1
C’mere
Narc
Pace Is The Trick
Say Hello To The Angels
Hands Away
Mammoth
No I In Threesome
Slow Hands
Rest My Chemistry
The Lighthouse
Evil
The Heinrich Maneuver
Not Even Jail
——
Untitled
Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
PDA

Apparently NYC was on the setlist as a possibility in the encore, but they went with Untitled instead. NYC would have been a highlight for sure as I love that song.

A few of my photos from the gig here.

Wayne’s review here.

Download
Interpol – NYC
Interpol – PDA (EP version)

Last night Sonic Youth played their first of two shows in Sydney under the Don’t Look Back banner in which the band would play their certifiably classic album Daydream Nation front to back (Providence included).

I must say I was pretty impressed with the gig. The band took the stage without saying a word and just launched into Teen Age Riot. To say that is a great way to open a gig is a massive understatement. From there the band continued through Daydream Nation without saying a word to the audience which I kind of liked; the record is good enough to speak on its own. What surprised me most about the set was that it didn’t feel nostalgic in any way; it didn’t seem like the band was playing an entire record they released 20 years ago – the music and the band seemed as relevant and vital as the day it was released. That is no small feat.

I’m generally a bigger fan of Thurston Moore’s songs (especially on Daydream) so the highlights for me were Teen Age Riot (of course) as well as Total Trash and Hyperstation. The band certainly didn’t clean up the record either as the set was filled with lots of nasty distortion, feedback, and guitars abused with drumsticks and cello bows. For a little while I was able to pretend I was seeing the band in 1989…

The encores were pretty heavy on Rather Ripped material with only Drunken Butterfly representing any other Sonic Youth record. While the Rather Ripped material sat along well with the Daydream Nation stuff (at least in style and sound if not quality), by the time the encore rolled around I was pretty much ready to call it a night. Last night was about Daydream Nation and that’s how I will remember it.

Setlist
Teen Age Riot
Silver Rocket
The Sprawl
‘Cross The Breeze
Eric’s Trip
Total Trash
Hey Joni
Providence
Candle
Rain King
Kissability
Trilogy: The Wonder
Trilogy: Hyperstation
Trilogy: Eliminator Jr.
——
Incinerate
Reena
Jams Run Free
Drunken Butterfly
——
Pink Steam

Photos here.

Download
Sonic Youth – Eric’s Trip (live 1990)
Sonic Youth – Dirty Boots (live 1990)

Thanks to Wayne for help with the encore setlist…and it was so great to finally meet you and Karen! You are officially not a phantom.

Last September when I found out that Constantines had signed with Arts & Crafts and that a record would be released in 2008, that record seemed very, very far away. But April is just around the corner now and Kensington Heights will be in shops very, very soon. The first single from the record (which was released on 7″ back in January) is Hard Feelings. It kicks ass and Bryan Webb’s vocals get a massive workout.

Download
Constantines – Hard Feelings

The record has, of course, leaked onto the internets so you can find it in all the usual places I suspect. Just be sure you support this band when it comes out and buy the thing. They have earned your cash. I really believe Constantines are on their way to releasing a totally classic Canadian record…it may not be Kensington Heights but it will happen. I can feel it.

And because I never pass up a chance to post some of their older stuff…

Download
Constantines – Soon Enough
Constantines – On To You
Constantines – Arizona

Thom guest-DJ’d for NPR yesterday. Check it out here.

Radiohead list other stuff they love for Rolling Stone. You can also read the recent Rolling Stone cover story in its entirety here.

Download
Thom Yorke – Analyse (Live From The Basement)

A couple nights ago here in Sydney a bunch of industry-types got toegether for the announcement of the AMP 2007 Shortlist. This is the third year for the award (previous winners: The Drones, Augie March) which seeks to reward the finest Australian album released the previous year (hence the AMP 2007 Award being awarded well into 2008).

The nominees for the $25,000 prize this year are:

Architecture In Helsinki – Places Like This
Urthboy – Signal
The Mess Hall – Devils Elbow
Midnight Juggernauts – Dystopia
Perry Keyes – Last Ghost Train Home
Dardanelles – Mirror Mirror
Lisa Miller – Morning In The Bowl Of Night
Bluejuice – Problems
New Buffalo – Somewhere, Anywhere
Devastations – Yes, U

Kind of an odd list I thought…I was VERY surprised The Panics’ Cruel Guards didn’t make the cut as it was so widely praised last year. Ned Collette is another I thought would maybe get some recognition. I’m embarrassed by how few of those records I’ve heard and I’m kinda worried Midnight Juggernauts are going to win it. The winner will be announced on March 13.

Who do you think deserves the cash? Who should have made the shortlist?

Download
Devastations – Mistakes

I mentioned it about a month ago but in case you need reminding, one of Australia’s finest bands are about to embark on a little tour. Dappled Cities will be touring around the country with Bluejuice and the fabulous Seabellies starting tomorrow night right here in Sydney at the Oxford Arts Factory. They will then do it all again on Thursday night before heading off to Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide. They have promised 5 new songs in the set…should be fun times.

As an added bonus, according to a Facebook message I received a few days ago you may want to get in real early as Dappled are giving away 50 copies of some sort of live CD that they made whilst in America to the first 50 people in the door. Someone hook me up?

It’s no secret that I’m a huge Dappled fan so *hopefully* I’ll be at one of the gigs this week…we’ll see if I can kick this friggin’ cold to the curb. At some point after the tour the band will be heading into the studio to make LP3.

Download
Dappled Cities Fly – Holy Chord

^^^ That song still kicks my ass.

Totally unrelated but I just noticed that Die! Die! Die! got a pretty great review from The AV Club. Download a few songs off the record here.