As always - a little blurb of what our critics tastes are so you can see if you match up:Ben is feasting on a steady diet of The Tough Alliance and Soulwax to purge his system of the Roisin Murphy that made him sick.
On Sunday night, Kevin Drew looked visibly frustrated during the middle of “Cause = Time.” He walked away from the front of the stage, cued various members of Broken Social Scene to cut the music, and announced that the band only had sound on one side of the 9:30 club.
Guitarist Brendan Canning was quick to blame the problem on a ghost – Ghostface Killah, to be exact. Moments later, the band was back in the thick of the song, diving into Jimmy Shaw’s rip-roaring guitar solo. Although “Cause = Time,” the song of the night, occurred early on in the set list, Kevin Drew and company had plenty of ambition and energy to carry on a hell of a performance that lasted almost two hours.
9:30 Club – please take note: If the late showing of the Shout Out Louds was a prime example of how not to run a show on a Sunday night (LATE AS HELL, HACK COUGH WEEZE), Kevin Drew’s performance is exactly what a Sunday show should be. No opening acts – just straight to the point, no-frills, which gave the band time to play a little bit longer, on their last leg of their tour.
The crowd was definitely feeling the older, Broken Social Scene songs more than the Kevin Drew originals – and the band peppered their performance with “Motel,” “Superconnected,” and “Lover’s Spit.” But Drew’s original material stood out and made a solid impact – “Fucked Up Kid” was a perfect way to follow up “Cause = Time” – Drew showed off some of his singer/songwriter grassroots potential, and Shaw’s guitar part took a more dominant role, rather than the second-tier approach utilized by the studio version.
The on-stage chemistry was casual, enjoyable, and incredible. When Brendan Canning wasn’t stealing the show with one-liners every time the sound goofed up (and this happened multiple times during the performance), he was air-kicking his way to happiness. Canning embodied pure, unadulterated bliss, and it’s a shame the crowd couldn’t have loosened up as much as Canning did. It’s just another testament of DC’s general unwillingness to dance, I suppose.
While Kevin Drew took a break to rest his voice, American Analog Set’s Andrew Kenny appeared out of nowhere and promised the crowd a dance party. Instead, he gave us a relatively safe track that was probably one of the most placid of the night. If the show had a low point, this was it. I love me some American Analog Set, but I was relieved to see Kevin come back out on stage.
After a performance of “Motel,” Drew entertained the crowd and promised a cover song – but the audience would have to pick between Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. And although Dinosaur Jr. definitely won the shouting match from the crowd, the band played both anyway – “Kennel District” by Pavement (which was more energetic and entertaining than the original) and “Feel The Pain,” by Dinosaur Jr, which was a bit lacking and boring.
Broken Social Scene found a perfect balance between Drew’s new material, while keying into the nostalgia responsible for the band’s success throughout Sunday’s performance. Sadly, the worst thing about this show was the crowd, which was generally bobbing in place throughout the show, and the asshole whose overpowering sense of entitlement caused him to scream song titles from the VERY BACK LEFT CORNER of the show.
“At every show, there’s a guy just like you,” Drew said on stage to laughter. “Tonight, it’s you. Congratulations.”
all photos: joel didriksen for kingpinphoto
and check out NPR’s live stream of the show here
I think that Kevin said that in response to someone yelling out “where’s feist!” which was funny and very unoriginal
November 20, 2007 at 2:08 pm