Since I was unsure of the number of our party, I left tickets for the last minute and so had to wait in line for them. While standing in the queue, I met a guy asking if anyone needed tickets. Since there seemed to be little point in talking to a scalper when there were apparently tickets still available at the box office, nobody answered him but me. Once I got his attention, he handed me a ticket, and left before I could get my wallet out to pay him. So, not only was I going to see a kickass band, but I was seeing them for free. Let me feel your envy now.
The show began with a mediocre opening act, who I best described in a text-message that went unsent to Joe as "oh my god, the hippies have discovered electricity". Loops and clapping and repetition were key parts of their sound, so count me out as a fan. The only band that can do loops is Portlanders Menomena, who made a half-appearance of sorts when "Air Aid" came up on the PA in between sets. And really, that was pretty much the highlight of the pre-main act part of the night.
Wolf Parade then hit the stage to thunderous applause from a filled-to-the-brim crowd, which made me wonder how in the hell the show was not sold out. The band was suitably impressed, as guitarist/vocalist Dan kept saying "Wow" as a reaction to the enthusiasm. Then the super-heavy drumbeat of "You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son" filled the air, and the night truly began. The band effortlessly mixed songs from their latest album (At Mount Zoomer) and their aforementioned debut, and switched between the "Dan songs" and the "Spencer songs" seamlessly. Spencer songs were especially enjoyable, since he bears a striking resemblance to a friend of the blog, who I will now call "Patches O'Hoolihan", so I had the pleasure of seeing my friend sing all these great songs. It makes sense, since a guy that writes so many songs about ghosts would also be the co-creator of the comic Zombie Force Presidents.
The set was tight and energetic, with the band eschewing only the slow ballads of "Same Ghost Every Night" and "Dinner Bells" in favor of keeping up the pace. "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" was a highlight early in the show, as the crowd sang along with some of the best lyrics you'll hear these days. Dan kept the crowd entertained, paying us compliments and alerting us to the presence of his girlfriend's parents in the audience. Shortly after presenting us with that news, he had a quick makeout session with his Spiritual Advisor Dude, to the delight of everybody. We were also informed that "their good friend Isaac" was in the audience, and I quickly tried to find what was surely Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock in the crowd (he produced their first album), but dammit I was unsuccessful.
I only had a few problems with the show, and they prevented me from fully enjoying the night. One understandable problem was Spencer's vocals--on the album, they're at least triple-tracked, so choosing only one melody and style in performing took out some of the joy from the songs. However, the most disappointing performance was done in by the drummer. Oh, he played his parts just fine, but when you're playing such fun and easy parts, I want to see some theatrics, some emotion. You play the big hits of "You Are A Runner" and "I'll Believe Anything", you better bash the shit out of your drums with huge hits. His careful playing ended up being kind of a distraction.
The night ended in a triumph, as the band finished with their two closers, the rocking ballad "This Heart's On Fire" and the epic "Kissing the Beehive", the latter of which they managed to fully perform a 10 minute song in about 7. We then were treated to a fantastic encore, with the one-two punch of "Shine A Light" and "I'll Believe in Anything". That one was punctuated with what was certainly the only time in Wolf Parade history that that song was met with numerous stage divers from the crowd. The night ended surprisingly with the goofy "Fancy Claps", and while I would have preferred "We Built Another World", they played that one so fast it made me think I was at a Minor Threat show. Which is not a bad way to end a show at all.
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