WOLF PARADE @ VICAR ST. 29/11/08
The time had finally come, Wolf Parade had released their much anticipated 2nd album under Sub-Pop records, aptly named after their Montreal-based recording studio, “At Mt. Zoomer”, and touring had begun worldwide. It’s hard to believe that with only two album releases under their belts, this band have come to taste such success. I guess they are one of the few talented contemporary indie bands out there who do actually dedicate more of their time to making amazing music than to experimenting with new hair-dos and Buddy Holly glasses.
Tonight they were set for one of
I ran in the door, a little later than I had hoped, to my house in
I can almost visualise it now in slow motion, and the deranged look that must have graced my face at the moment of impact. Down went the right leg, down went the right foot, down went the right set of toes, down, down, down. Straight down at full force against the edge of my much-loved “boudoir” style metal bed frame.
Even the numbing sensation followed by the acute pain in my foot didn’t stop me from continuing to get ready at rapid speed. It was only as I made my way downhill towards the dart station that I noticed the pain in my toes was still there, and was subsequently for the rest of the night. Nevertheless I struggled on and miraculously made the walk from
I met my friend X at
As we arrived on the scene and wiggled our way up to the Box Office through the foggy smokers’ huddle formation on the door, I picked up my ticket and we headed inside. The irony lays in the fact that after all the rush; we had somehow made it in an hour earlier than the stated “doors opening” time printed on the tickets. [This reminds me I should really replace the batteries in my wristwatch- Any day now.]Perfect time for some small talk and a bevvie at the bar.
So after an hour of counting just how many skinny-jeaned check-shirted boys and girls there were in the room, the intercom announced that doors into the auditorium were now opening. We finished the dregs and we got that previously anticipated front-row spot without too much of a fight. And thus the waiting game continues. Not that I was complaining! I knew that it was going to be well worth the wait.
As per usual I wasn’t sure of who was to be the supporting act for the night, and so exited stage right towards the merchandise stall to ask some handsome (check-shirted) gentleman behind said stall. “Um it’s Giveamanakick” he responded, with a smug smirk on his face. “And tonight it’s going to be an ACOUSTIC set!” he added.
I got the impression from his tone that this group / individual don’t usually venture into acoustic territory. I knew the name well from listings and such, and distinctively remember hearing of them playing at this year’s Electric Picnic. I replied with an enthusiastic “Oh excellent!” and an “I’ve been meaning to catch them for a while now” and happily returned to base. Ten minutes later that handsome gentleman walked on stage with his comrade and introduced themselves of course as GiveAManAKick. They launched into an impressively abrasive thrash rock / indie acoustic / absolute madness set, which could only ever have come about by having put two limerick boys on stage with a few drums, a guitar, and a gas mask. When the two had finished wreaking havoc they exited leaving the crowd in a state of silent amazement, mixed with confusion and a dash of violation. It was the perfect sorbet starter to warm up the crowd for the main act [please excuse the paradox].
A group of fans centre-front were loudly chanting and clapping their hands; a spectacle to make the interval pass all the more swiftly. And no sooner had the roadies walked off but the band walked on. They were greeted with a very passionate surge of screams from a roaring sea of those who were to be their audience for the night. I wondered to myself if the Irish had just given a more stirring reception than any of the other destinations ticked off their tour list so far.
Having admitted that they were short one member of the band, Hadji or no Hadji they launched into their opening song You are a Runner. Looking back I notice that they opened and closed the set with songs from their first album, sandwiching some of their new songs from the second album. I was very pleased to see that they weren’t there just to showcase the new songs as priority. Their first album “Appologies to the Queen Mary” still remains my favourite of the two, and I consider it to be one of the best records released over the past decade. A bearded man, the band’s “spiritual advisor” as they addressed him, came on stage at some point to hand them some beers and gave keyboardist Spencer a bag of coloured bouncy balls. This seemed to come of some surprise to him, but there was of course no hesitation in throwing each of the balls one by one into the cheering crowds.
After the first three songs things appeared to die down a little, it was as if the band were getting tired already and vital signs flat-lined for a moment. I probably wouldn’t have noticed as much only that I was losing a frequency of good photo opportunities and lowered my lens. The crowd seemed to lose that “connection” with the music. One might easily forget that they were at a LIVE gig and not just listening to the album at home on their stereo. It’s no secret that the bands 3-song encore was the height of the performance. This is where they really reeled us back in again. Perhaps they went off stage and before re-entering had an epiphany of some sort. Perhaps some prior last-minute quarrel was mended and hugs were had. In any case they came back revitalised and ready to rock the cherry on the top. Finishing with eardrum shattering renditions of songs such as I’ll Believe in Anything and Fancy Claps, a 12 minute long version of Kissing the Beehive and a moving This Heart’s On Fire dedicated by guitarist Dan Boekner to his late mother. Dan added “I know that’s not very rock ‘n roll” and that his mother was actually from
I made it into A&E for an x-ray the following morning; got bandaged up and sent on my way. Nothing to write home about though and certainly nothing to miss a gig like that for, as far as I’m concerned.
A great night was had by all I think, and I was very satisfied to now be able to confirm that one of my favourite bands in the world sounded just as good if not better performing live as they do in the recording studio. My Wolf Parade experience lives on to tell its tale.
Words by Laura McGlynn
Image courtesy of Exclaim!
Wolf Parade on Myspace
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