Social Scene Rocks the Capital!

Broken Social Scene played the Capital Music Hall last night here in the capital and brought the house down. Before I go into details, here's a revised list of my top five concert experiences (as always, in no particular order)

1. The Tragically Hip (November 2004)
2. Bob Dylan (July 2005)
3. Death From Above 1979/controller.controller (April 2005)
4. Hot Hot Heat/Metric (October 2003)
5. Broken Social Scene (October 2005)

(Honourable mention nods go to Stars, Constantines, Odds, Corb Lund)

First of all, the Capital is a converted movie theatre complete with mezzanine seating, which is where Bonnie and I situated ourselves. We were able to get a relatively unimpeded view for most of the show, though people are rather inconsiderate when it comes to finding good places to see. We had decided earlier, however, that our mosh pit days were behind us and we would not fight for our right to have the best view in the house. Still, we had a good enough view and, of course, the sound was impeccable. After spending a ridiculous $12.75 for 2 beers, we watched the opener, little-known female solo act from Australia New Buffalo, was not entirely disappointing, but her best song was her last both because it was her best song and because BSS would be coming on soon. The crowd was ready and waiting; the event was sold out, with, I would guess, maybe 2000 people packed into the venue. At 10pm sharp, Broken Social Scene's Andrew Whiteman (aka Apostle of Hustle) struck the first chord of "Cause=Time" and the show was underway. At first, there were six guitarists and the drummer; for the next song, "Ibi Dreams of Pavement" (from the second album), one of the guitarists (the guy from Raising the Fawn) moved over to a second drum kit and both drummers began to pound away. Another guitarist came out, as well as a trumpeter, making the total onstage 8. After that, no less than 8 members would share the stage. For the third number, an unknown female vocalist came out as well as a saxophone and, I believe, a cornet. Lead singer Kevin Drew was fantastic, as was the drummer and other players. The whole group was fantastic together, always in sync and enjoying themselves. On "Ibi", the guitar solo was played by three different members at the same time. It was incredible! For the next number, Drew asked the crowd to repeat after him: "Please! Please! Please!" We were wondering what that was all about until he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Feist!" and the crowd went wild. Feist came on for "7/4 (Shoreline)" and then was on and off throughout the show. She added another element to the performance, a dynamic that kicked it up a notch. From there, the show just went into orbit. It was an impressive hour and a half spectacle, with the band giving an energetic and rock-solid performance for the ages. Way back in Saskatoon a couple of years ago when I was first introduced to the band (they played Louis' with The Stills), Drew said he was grateful that people showed up. Well, they will never have to worry about that again: this is one Canadian band that is changing the rock and roll scene.
The highlight songs that I can remember were "Stars and Sons", "Late Nineties Bedroom Rock for Missionaries/Shampoo Suicide", "Superconnected", "It's All Gonna Break" and a few new ones, I think. It was an incredible show and I can't wait to see them again. If they come to a town near you, be sure to see them! It was well worth the admission price.