Written by Sean Sebastian
Photos by Shaun Rawlins
“sometimes feels as if several songs are going at once,” – Dave Simpson, The Guardian, January 2006.
Photos by Shaun Rawlins
“sometimes feels as if several songs are going at once,” – Dave Simpson, The Guardian, January 2006.“There are so many artists, voices and instruments begging to be heard,” Andrew Bradick, Prefix, October 2005.
Any supposed indie rock band that can pull off a saxophone, harmonica, trumpet and flute simultaneously is worthy of praise.
Broken Social Scene are well known for their musically dense and layered sound and for the fact that they have had, at one point or another, 19 members in the band. Most prominent in this community of artists is Leslie Feist, Metric’s Emily Haines and lead-man Kevin Drew. Present at Monday’s gig however, were Kevin Drew, fellow founding member Brendan Canning, drummer Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman and a small selection of other multi-instrumentalists. Going in to see a band with such a fan base as strong and widespread as theirs, you’d expect the crowd to be teeming with excitement. But standing comfortably amongst them, the fans are generally quiet and calm, even as the band emerged timidly on-stage, Drew, clad in a black beanie he never abandoned during the night and a t-shirt that screamed "BOLLOCKS TO POVERTY". The rest followed similarly: with about as much excitement as a teen showing up to a family barbecue.
Broken Social Scene are well known for their musically dense and layered sound and for the fact that they have had, at one point or another, 19 members in the band. Most prominent in this community of artists is Leslie Feist, Metric’s Emily Haines and lead-man Kevin Drew. Present at Monday’s gig however, were Kevin Drew, fellow founding member Brendan Canning, drummer Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman and a small selection of other multi-instrumentalists. Going in to see a band with such a fan base as strong and widespread as theirs, you’d expect the crowd to be teeming with excitement. But standing comfortably amongst them, the fans are generally quiet and calm, even as the band emerged timidly on-stage, Drew, clad in a black beanie he never abandoned during the night and a t-shirt that screamed "BOLLOCKS TO POVERTY". The rest followed similarly: with about as much excitement as a teen showing up to a family barbecue.
Having never seen the band live before, I came into the venue a little reticent. Their albums are busy to say the least, and with their quite meagre set up on stage, I wondered if they can't actually translate their sound with any quality. But all doubts left me as Spearin plucks those bizarre opening chords to World Sick. Particularly rewarding was Fire Eye'd Boy, as Andrew Whiteman sings confidently, "Fire eye'd boy, give em all the slip" and the crowd finally shows some energy; swaying and bouncing awkwardly. Critics are always sure to point out the band’s busy sound, and the same can be said for their live shows. In between songs band members wander about the stage, swapping guitars for basses, keyboards for mics and basses for trumpets, while the beautiful Lisa Lobsinger floats sweetly around them and the crowd waits silently and patiently. The band is well aware of this, however, and are sure to fill up this possibly tedious time with a rolling bass line and some witty, albeit occasionally painfully awkward banter, mainly between Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning.
Watching them on-stage feels like sitting in on one of their rehearsals. The set was lacking in any conventional structure, particularly evident as Kevin Drew announces towards the end of the gig, “This is now the encore portion of your night…” You could always catch an almost worried sideways glance at other members, seemingly wondering what came next. And Kevin Drew, while playing Lover’s Spit, stops abruptly and asks the crowd, “Wait, what’s the next line?”
The crowd was offered a few glimpses at showmanship, but these were ill-conceived. As the set finished up with a climactic 5 strike ending to Meet Me in the Basement, Drew shouts, "Thank You!" over the splash of a cymbal. The crowd cheers and throws their hands up. Then the band all kick in again and play another finishing bar. The crowd reacts again, clapping wildly. Then they play through another couple of bars. The crowd continues to applaud faithfully, but the screams had noticeably died down. Then the band starts up for the 4th time, this time finalised by Drew's farewell, "We love you all. Thank you." Needless to say, there was a mixed reaction in the crowd, some turning to their friends in complete awe, others (myself included) turned and rolled my eyes in frustration. I witnessed a similar reaction after the credits rolled on the last Lord of the Rings film.
The crowd was offered a few glimpses at showmanship, but these were ill-conceived. As the set finished up with a climactic 5 strike ending to Meet Me in the Basement, Drew shouts, "Thank You!" over the splash of a cymbal. The crowd cheers and throws their hands up. Then the band all kick in again and play another finishing bar. The crowd reacts again, clapping wildly. Then they play through another couple of bars. The crowd continues to applaud faithfully, but the screams had noticeably died down. Then the band starts up for the 4th time, this time finalised by Drew's farewell, "We love you all. Thank you." Needless to say, there was a mixed reaction in the crowd, some turning to their friends in complete awe, others (myself included) turned and rolled my eyes in frustration. I witnessed a similar reaction after the credits rolled on the last Lord of the Rings film.
Now some may say ending a song 4 times can be pretentious. Or indeed that hiring a saxophonist to solo over what is essentially an indie rock act is likewise conceited. And being a faithful fan, I felt I was fighting off the niggling sense that they were actually self-involved as they were made out to be. That being said, they translate their sound perfectly to the live stage and these idiosyncrasies simply draw you further into that fly-on-the-wall state of mind. It's not always polished or well delivered, but they create a unique and enjoyable atmosphere.
And by the time they finally end, you’re actually left with an overwhelming urge to rush home and listen to You Forgot it in People one more time.
And by the time they finally end, you’re actually left with an overwhelming urge to rush home and listen to You Forgot it in People one more time.
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