Saturday night is Canada night in DC. October 30
Third weekend in the last…five featuring a Saturday night performance by a prominent Canadian indie rock band at the 9:30 club. I should be so lucky that it’d never end. Metric last month? Terrific, of course. Stars last week? Probably even better… but I don’t think I’d trade both those shows straight up for the one the New Pornographers put on this weekend.
As usual, CV has a much more elaborate, useful, accurate, excellent review of the show than I do. I think they played most of the things I wanted to hear, I can’t really complain about that until I learn the names of songs, which is pretty much impossible for me to do. I’ll second his calls for Entering White Cecilia and Letter from an Occupant, raise him a Centre for Holy Wars, and hope that is the end of it. NPR was there, I was under the impression this would be another concert available at All Songs Considered, but apparently I’m mistaken, as the last show they have up is Jens Lekman from last week (which I’m pretty bummed I missed.)
Two questions to contemplate:
1- Emily Haines posed this one, actually, somewhere mid-concert: “why is DC always so sick?” I don’t know, Emily. Honestly, I think, or thought, I disagree with your premise. I mean, DC crowds for other shows are pretty awful, typically. See CV’s post for the description of the douchebags behind us who talked through the whole Emma Pollock set. I mean, I wasn’t there for her, I hadn’t heard her before, but wtf? You’re at a concert - there’s a person onstage playing music. This is why we’re here. This is her whole life, man. Surely that conversation can wait? Ugh. Later, when the Pornos took the stage, one fratty bastard declared ‘dibs on the hot keyboard chick.’ Dammit. I don’t sound like that, with my (heartfelt!) lusting after every female musician, do I? Jeez. But so Emily, not the only one. Stars had very complimentary things to say about the crowd, and AC said early on last night that he felt like this was the best crowd on the tour. They just say that everywhere, right? Surely the Canadian gold is not wasted on ears elsewhere, right? If not…. why?
2- So, why Canada? My agent in Toronto tells me that there’s lots of terrible Canadian music, and sure, I believe him, but we were having this debate after the show on Saturday, and any way you break it down I think there’s some disproportionately brilliant music coming out of Canada these days. I mean… Arcade Fire (best show ever), The New Pornographers, Stars, Metric, Broken Social Scene, Wolf Parade, etc… these are not lightweights. What’s the best America can offer in response (talking about bands currently at the height of their powers)? The Decemberists? Spoon? The Polyphonic Spree? I mean, obviously the list goes on and it’s all subjective but… so far as this reviewer is concerned, there’s something in the water up there. The music is disproportionately excellent, and I’m not sure if it’s that it’s cold so they stay inside practicing a lot, or if it’s that they’re naturally a bit off-kilter due to being basically but not-quite American… but regardless, I am happy for Canada, and for us here that get to enjoy only the good stuff that makes it out.
POSTSCRIPT! - the (strangely appropriate) things you find while up too late. It’s so smooth!