THE WEAKERTHANS – LIVE AT THE BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE
- Author:
- Sam Moginie
- Posted:
- Tuesday, 6 April 2010
At some point in the genealogy of alternative music, post-hardcore became post-post-hardcore, and would-be punks start making accessible, introspective pop music. The Weakerthans are the kind of band you want to trot out to support this kind of thesis. They play fun, guitar-driven songs with that serious North American vocal twang. Think of a song-driven indie bands like Okkerville River, keeping it simple with pop structures and compelling with cathartic, semi-teenage lyrical content (lines like “I know you might roll your eyes at this / I’m so glad that you exist” are authentic here, and not at all cute). If you don’t know the band, Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre isn’t a bad place to start. It’s a live album, a recording of a show in their hometown of Winnepeg, Manitoba, from their 2009 tour. The band are on form, and supported by a number of guests and stand-in musicians. There are lots of guitars. The sounds is pretty good. Best of all is the audience, who are massively in to it, so that when John K. Samson sings “I hate … Winnepeg”, you get a sense of the mild, introverted angst that fuels the scene. A nice document from a great band, and well worth your time.
***1/2
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Story posted on Tuesday, 6 April 2010, filed under CD Reviews. Follow responses via the RSS feed.
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