LIVE: Peter Bjorn And John Go Darker In Toronto
Wednesday January 23, 2008 @ 11:00 AM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Peter Bjorn And John Photo by Jay Shuster

January 22, 2008
Toronto, ON
Phoenix Concert Theatre
By Cameron Gordon

It was right around a year ago that Peter Bjorn And John's "Young Folks" was unleashed upon the North American public. With its tepid vocals and distinctive whistling chorus, the song definitely polarized listeners and yet somehow became a bona fide top 40 smash. Truth be told, Canada and the U.S. were late to the PB+J game. The Swedish popsters have been peddling the tune for close to two years, with their latest touchdown coming on a frigid Tuesday in Toronto.

Having already played the city less than a year ago, it was a bit of a surprise to see the Phoenix pretty much packed for this mid-week appearance, showing that the expiration date on the band's shtick has yet to expire. And the assembled masses seemed appreciative, if not entirely enthused by the effort. PB+J kicked things off with "Let's Call It Off" and from the very start, the band played with more of an edge than they do on disc. The bass rumbled a bit more, the riffs were pointier and the drumming was a bit more clinical. This isn't to suggest that the band's pure pop sheen didn't shine through for the most part, but there were a series of dour moments in the set list, such as the somewhat spooky "Ancient Curse" and the downright oafish "Amsterdam." Between these downtrodden numbers and the darkened haze of the stage lights, at times you'd almost think you were watching a Joy Division or Bauhaus cover band. Luckily, the massive stage banner that read (surprise) "Peter Bjorn And John" stood to remind its observers otherwise.

Truth be told, it was tough to tell whether the moodiness was by design or whether the band were merely a victim of the piss-poor acoustics that the Phoenix provided. Normally, the venue is pretty serviceable in terms of making a band sound their best. On Tuesday, every other number seemed to devolve into a big ball of dissonance. Maybe it was their sound guy's fault? Who knows? Either way, it wasn't pretty.

The big moment came almost an hour in when PB+J summoned a couple of members from show opener Young Galaxy and moseyed into a swinging version of the aforementioned "Young Folks." The tune translates pretty well live and Peter Moren's vocals were spot-on, effectively mirroring his studio take. A pregnant pause was thrown in for good measure and then a quick wrap, leaving room for "Teen Love" and the noisy "Objective Of My Affection" to close out the set.

Overall, Peter Bjorn And John are a nice band. Peter wore a hat for some of the performance. Bjorn stood on a box, off and on. John also wore a hat. They seem like nice guys. I'm not sure if this translates into a must-see live act, but if you liked what you hear from these guys on record, PB+J are unlikely to disappoint in concert.