This trio who has been quiet for some time entertained with primarily new music. It was the same chilled-out, synthy stuff that they hawked on their first disc. With fellow BSS members Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin taking it in from the street in the early afternoon they swirled the music out as the rain began to fall later into the set. This is when the old single Go Ego emerged before they finished with a Stills song that lead vocalist explained they felt okay with considering two of their members came from the now defunct project.
Operators
Operators
With the music still being hard to come by the Operators set was attended by those who had likely heard the first single and were taking it on faith that Dan Boeckner would be producing something as worthwhile as his past endeavours. As it turns out, this is a safe bet. Alongside three other musicians, including Sam Brown on drums (including some electronic drums too) and Devojka playing the keys and synths, and the bass player (whose name I missed), Dan inserts his unique howl while occasionally playing guitar and effects from his board - sometimes all three on one track. The music being made is less aggressive than his Handsome Furs output but maintains a likeable familiarity while focusing on the dance, what with all the fun synths provided by the sequined Devojka. "We're more of a night-time band," she quipped, "I don't even want to see those photos you're taking - I probably look like I'm from Ru Paul's drag race." She spoke almost as much as Dan, but the energy from the whole band seemed to be positive as they said they were glad to be back in Canada and at the end of a tour. The most readily available song, True, was a standout before they closed with a tune about going home.
How To Dress Well
How To Dress Well
Based on the appearance of How To Dress Well it might lead one to believe that the set wasn't going to be much. Tom did not evoke the title of the band in his sweats, often ringing his t-shirt up with his hands to reveal his waistband and stomach between singing into one of his two mics, or often both at the same time. His primary took his definitive falsetto while the secondary ran his voice through effects which he used well. It was his earnestness, plus the lush beauty of the music that made the difference. With a drummer, and a pair of British Columbians ("we're a band from North America") - the male playing violin and guitar, the female keys and synths, they really did make the music swirl when the time was right such as on Set It Right and Words I Don't Remember. The banter was also out-there, not saying a whole lot but doing it with affectation. With the attention given by the audience they played Suicide Dream over piano and violin which was slow and haunting but very, very strong. On other tracks, such as Precious Love. it was a fairly obvious exhibition of Tom channelling his inner MJ through his vocals. On the whole it was almost surprising just how engaging and entertaining the set was. I would be more than happy to watch it again, probably in a darkened bar setting which might be more appropriate.
Kevin Drew
Kevin himself said that this was basically Broken Social Scene, including Justin Peroff and Charles Spearin among others but missing a few members too, as the six musicians playing with him came in and out, swapping instruments and positions, even drums (there were 3 drummers) depending on the song. Out of the gates were a few from the recent fully solo release, Darlings, starting with Mexican Aftershow Party, but also mixing in Spirit If's Backed Out on the.. before returning to You In Your Were, Body Butter and Good Sex. Kevin obviously doesn't shy away from taboo material and gave a shout out to his parents in the same set as playing Fucked Up Kid. Seemingly slightly agitated with the sound crew (when isn't Drew fighting something on stage?) he provided an acoustic intro before launching Safety Blitz with the band. Then we got some BSS treats - Lovers Spit with just the piano, trying to get us to sing along to a new version of a song, then a KC Accidental instrumental (not the BSS song but a demo that he remarked had been sent to Hamilton's Sonic Unyon back in the .. 90's) that Spearin needed to be retaught on the fly. They jammed out on Frightening Lives to close down the band's set and leave Kevin to do a fully acoustic rendition of Superconnected which was a great way to finish out.
Spoon
Hailing from Austin, Spoon have been at it for a long while now. With the streets full, but not nearly as jammed as the hometown Arkells the previous night, they played from across their back catalog. Britt Daniel's voice is the signature of the band but the five-piece's strong use of shakers, tambourines and the like were standout in the live setting - even drumming with a maraca! There were a few keyboards set up throughout the stage as their sound morphed from song to song - sometimes Britt would drop his mic after a lyric to run across the stage and take up post at the piano. The bass player also comically crossed the stage one time just to abruptly stop a cymbal. The identifiable groove of I Turn My Camera On was extended in a long intro before they dropped the tune as part of their slightly-less-than-an-hour set. This wasn't a problem though as they returned with a generous four-song encore, opening with the strong Knock Knock Knock from their equally strong recent return release, They Want My Soul. Too bad they didn't pull out more Gimme Fiction (Sister Jack, Monsieur Valentine would have been appreciated) but they did close with some strong bass lines and The Underdog in finale.
