Tegan And Sara's Sibling Squabbles Are Nothing To Worry About

VANCOUVER — Somewhere between British Columbia and California, Tegan And Sara will probably fight. Fists won't fly, but, as anyone who has seen the pop dynamos perform can imagine, it will be a verbal flurry of smart jabs and sarcastic quips.

It will also be short-lived. They are, after all, sisters — twins to be exact. And after three years spending the bulk of their time with a country between them (Tegan in Vancouver and Sara in Montreal), they're getting on a bus for a five-month North American tour to support their new album, The Con.

"When we get out on the road we get along just fine," explains Tegan during a pre-soundcheck interview at the East Vancouver Cultural Centre. "You take liberties with each other that you would never take with people you don't know.

"That's very much a family/sibling privilege, and so sometimes it comes out on the road. And because we have nine other people around us, they're just like, 'Oh no, are they fighting with each other?' And it's like, 'No, we're just being sisters. We're just being irritating and we'll get over it in two minutes. Don't worry about it.'"

The Quin sisters kicked off the tour in Victoria, B.C. with two sold-out shows on Sunday and Monday. At least a quarter of the audience knew all the words to the new album, even though it won't be released until next Tuesday.

"Once the record leaked we thought, 'Well, one good thing about it is that at least people will be familiar a little bit with the music, which makes it a little more fun to play," says Tegan.

Both the impatient downloaders and "Sold Out!" announcements peppered throughout the tour section of their MySpace page are testament to the band's rabid following. Tegan, however, opts for a more humble explanation for the frenzy.

"The first series of shows that we put on sale were these small venues and they sold out really fast. Someone in Edmonton doesn't know that this (the East Van Cultural Centre) is only a 350 cap room, so they're going, 'Oh my God! They're selling out venues! There's going to be no room for me! I have to buy my tickets today!' So I think it's partly just that."

One of their most anticipated shows is the Rogers Picnic, which takes place in Toronto on July 29 and also features veterans The Roots and Bad Brains. Despite earning the right to a seen-it-all, done-it-all attitude after 10 years and much success in the business, they still consider themselves music fans, according to Tegan.

"That's something I pride us on even after 10 years of touring and travelling and playing music. We haven't given up on the industry and music in general."

Here are Tegan And Sara's Canadian tour dates:

July 29 Toronto, ON @ Fort York (Rogers Picnic)
Sept. 21 Victoria, BC @ McPherson Playhouse
Sept. 22 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Sept. 23 Kelowna, BC @ Kelowna Community Theatre
Sept. 25 Edmonton, AB @ Francis Winspear Centre
Sept. 26 Edmonton, AB @ Myer Horowitz Theatre
Sept. 28 Red Deer, AB @ Memorial Centre
Sept. 29 Calgary, AB @ Jubilee Auditorium
Sept. 30 Saskatoon, SK @ Lakeview Auditorium
Oct. 1 Regina, SK @ Dorris Knight Hall
Oct. 3 Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
Oct. 6 London, ON, @ Centennial Hall
Oct. 10 Ottawa, ON @ Bronson Centre
Oct. 11 Kingston, ON @ Sydenham United Church
Oct. 12-13 Montreal, QC @ Le National
Oct. 15 Quebec City, QC @ Theatre Petit Champlain
Oct. 16-17 Halifax, NS @ St Matthew's Church