Wolf Parade @ Commodore Ballroom
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Last night in Vancouver, Wolf Parade played what might have been their final show ever. The band is now heading off into Indefinite Hiatus land with no firm plans to tour or record. The band have stopped short of saying they’re officially breaking up but last night at the Commodore the feeling in the room was this is it. The band played furiously. And the crowd responded with complete adoration.
Since Wolf Parade were in town just last year, last night’s show wasn’t all the different set-wise. The band drew pretty evenly from all three of their records but it was arranged in such a way that every song seemed to better the one before it (or nearly every song). Opener Soldier’s Grin (one of my favourites off Zoomer) wasn’t super tight but after that the band just gelled and seemingly fed off the enthusiasm of the crowd for the rest of the night. Dan Boeckner in particular seemed touched by the love the crowd was throwing his way. His searing versions of Little Golden Age and Language City were two of the high points of last night’s brilliant show.
Which is not to ignore Spencer Krug. I’ll Believe In Anything was, of course, rapturously received while Oh You, Old Thing transformed into something much greater than its recorded counterpart. It was Spencer who announced from the stage that this would be Wolf Parade’s last show “for a shit shit shit long time” leaving open the possibility of the band returning in a few years. But he also pointed out how happy the band were that “this show” was happening in Vancouver, which, as Dan pointed out, is pretty much a hometown gig for the displaced to Montreal Wolf Parade. The sheer number of family and friends that watched the show from the side of the Commodore’s stage also seemed to indicate that last night might have been the last we’ll see from Wolf Parade.
And if that’s the case, so be it. The band went out like champions. The encore began with Dan dedicating This Heart’s On Fire to his father who was in attendance (in fact, his dad, touchingly, came out prior to the final song to hug his sweaty son and say a few words) before belting out one of my favourite Wolf Parade songs for perhaps the final time. Spencer followed it up with California Dreamer which Dan then topped with an absolutely ridiculously passionate take on Language City. The encore then ended with Spencer dedicating You Are A Runner to his father (also in attendance) which bled straight into a fierce version of Fancy Claps. The band then waved goodbye and left the stage…
…but the crowd refused to let them go so the band returned for “a shitty cover song” and invited the crowd up on stage to help them sing Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door at 1am. It was a heartfelt and surprising final move from Wolf Parade who walked off stage to hugs and kisses from fans eager to be a part of the moment, of the occasion. If it was goodbye, it was a brilliant way to leave Wolf Parade behind.
Here are those final moments…
(Thanks to @AwesomeSoundVS for that!)
Or from a rather different perspective…
Setlist
Soldier’s Grin
What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)
Palm Road
Dear Sons And Daughters Of Hungry Ghosts
Ghost Pressure
Oh You, Old Thing
Fine Young Cannibals
Cloud Shadow On The Mountain
Shine A Light
I’ll Believe In Anything
Little Golden Age
Kissing The Beehive
———
This Heart’s On Fire
California Dreamer
Language City
You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son
Fancy Claps
———
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
A few photos from last night are up on my Flickr page.
Download
Wolf Parade – You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son
Wolf Parade – Shine A Light
Wolf Parade – Call It A Ritual
Wolf Parade – Language City
Wolf Parade – Ghost Pressure
Wolf Parade – What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)
