Friday, September 29, 2023
maybe you're right/we're gonna have a good time tonight


I went to Seattle last weekend to see the Walkmen.

They occupy a similar space as Spoon for me, in that, for a long time, if you'd asked me who my favourite bands were, they wouldn't have been on the tip of my tongue, but also I own every one of their records, love them all (although I guess I grew to love a few that I didn't love at first), and saw them basically whenever they headlined a Vancouver show. Over a decade after their last show here though, I know what I like. And I like the Walkmen.

That said, all these 00s reunion gigs have been kinda hit or miss and when I bought the tickets, it was with the thought that maybe I'd go or maybe I'd just sell the tix. But I'm sure glad I went.

They would've been there for hours if they played everything I'd wanted to hear, but they played a big chunk of what I wanted to hear and even snuck in a Jonathan Fire*Eater cover (two if you count "Little House of Savages"). The latter came in the encore was dedicated to Fire*Eater bassist, Tom Frank, with Hamilton Leithauser joking that he might have turned in for the night already, but he "could watch it on YouTube with his kids tomorrow." It was a little jab that it seemed like the entire crowd could relate to, as it didn't seem like the band's been discovered by a new audience at all. Everyone there looked like they knew them from the first time around.

That was part of the reason that I wasn't sure how things were going to go. It was a Sunday night on the nostalgia circuit and the crowd and the band--save for Leithauser, who hasn't seemed to have aged--didn't seem like a group that really exerted a lot of energy on Sunday nights, myself included.

But it sure didn't feel like I was in my 40s on a Sunday.

"What's in it for Me" got things started with a slow simmer, but once they tore into "Wake Up" for song two, we were off to the races.

I'd forgotten how much I love how Paul Maroon's guitar sounds live, like it's ping ponging all over the place, sounding totally wild, but somehow like he's in control at the same time. And maybe it's kinda stupid to say "I love 'The Rat'." But I'd forgotten how much I really love "The Rat" when it's turned up loud--louder than I ever manage in headphones these days and much, much louder than I'll ever play over speakers in our sedate apartment.

It seemed like they'd forgotten a couple of things since they called it quits too, most notably, how much fun it is to play in a band with your some of your favourite people in the world. Maybe near the first ending it wasn't anymore. But on Sunday, they looked like they remembered again and were having the times of their lives. And Leithauser made sure he let everyone know just how happy he was to be there again. Up there on stage, but most importantly, up there with his best friends.

now playing: Wilco - "Ten Dead"

 


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upcoming shows
2/8 Twin Sister, Eleanor Friedberger, and Ava Luna @ the Media Club
2/9 David Choi @ the Rio
2/10 Secret Chiefs 3 and Dengue Fever @ the Rickshaw
2/13 White Buffalo @ the Media Club
2/14 The Ballyntines and Pleasure Cruise (TT) @ the Biltmore
2/18 Grimes w/Born Gold @ Fortune (early)
2/18 Cruel Young Heart, Young Liars, the Oh Wells, and Matiation @ the Dodson Rooms (AA)
2/18 Cursive w/UME @the Media Club
2/19 The Asteroids Galaxy Tour w/Vacationer @ Venue
2/20 Veronica Falls w/Bleached @ the Media Club
2/26 DJ Krush @ Fortune
2/29 Trevor Hall @ the Media Club
3/6 Slow Club w/Signals @ the Media Club
3/7 Cloud Nothings w/Mr. Dream @ the Media Clubr
3/8 Islands @ the Rio
3/10 Memoryhouse @ the Waldorf
3/17 William Fitzsimmons @ the Biltmore (early)
3/18 Magnetic Fields @ the Vogue (AA)
3/21 Plants & Animals>/b> @ the Rickshaw
3/22 Drive-by Truckers @ the Commodore
3/23 White Rabbits @ the Biltmore
3/23 Loney Dear @ the Media Club
3/24 Sharon Van Etten and the War on Drugs @ the Biltmore (early)
3/25 Nada Surf and An Horse @ the Rickshaw
3/27 The Ting Tings @ the Commodore
4/5 House de Racket @ the Electric Owl
4/6 Chairlift w/Nite Jewel @ the Electric Owl
4/7 Heartless Bastards @ the Media Club
4/8 Metronomy @ Venue
4/8 Gotye @ the Vogue (AA)
4/9 Cults @ Venue
4/10 First Aid Kit @ Venue
4/10 Andrew Bird w/Laura Marling @ the Vogue (AA)
4/13 The Odds and the Grapes of Wrath @ the Rickshaw
4/14 The Joel Plaskett Emergency @ the Vogue (AA)
4/24 School of Seven Bells w/Exitmusic @ the Electric Owl
4/26 Justice @ the PNE Forum (AA)
4/27 M83 @ the Vogue (AA)
4/27 Yukon Blonde @ the Commodore
4/28 Neon Indian @ Venue (early)
5/6 Delta Spirit w/Waters @ the Electric Owl
5/9 Yann Tiersen @ the Rickshaw
5/11 Great Lake Swimmers w/Cold Specks @ the Commodore
5/12 The Boxer Rebellion> @ the Biltmore
5/27 Coeur de Pirate @ Venue

legend:
AA = all ages
DG = @damaged goods
DFTK = @dirty for the kids
FJW = @fake jazz wed
EN = @easy now
GD = @glory days
HL = @higher learning JH = @junior high
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RRPP = @rocknroll pizza party
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TT = @toonie tuesday
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previous posts
and if they try to slow you down, tell 'em all to ...
i'll give everything i've got/please take what i c...
all i want to do is just sit here and write it all...
the hardest part is getting old
just be in love when you love that song on and on
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all we want from you are the kicks you've given us
i read it in a fanzine/it wasn't even in/some big ...
say it like you mean it with your fists for once
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mp3s are for preview purposes, if you like what you hear, buy it at your favourite indie record store. please don't direct link to photos. click for more.

writing by Quinn
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