The New Pornographers Pop It Up A Notch

Some might have a fever for the cowbell, but if there was an instrument of choice on the Mint Records' 15th Anniversary Tour, it was the tambourine. It jangled constantly during sets from The Bicycles, Immaculate Machine, Novillero and headliners The New Pornographers. Whether smashed on a hip (The Bicycles) or employed doubly per song (Novillero, though, to be fair, they do have a designated tambourine-man), the tambourine beat didn't let up, and neither did the unbridled indie pop.

The road show pulled up at Toronto's Kool Haus Wednesday night. Hometown up-and-comers The Bicycles opened things up while the kids were still trickling onto the floor. The evening was young at 8:10, but word from the stage crew was The Bicycles got onstage too late. Within 10 minutes, the band were kicked off, following a zany four-song flurry. For those more accustomed to catching The Bicycles tear up cozy Toronto dives, watching the band in a warehouse-sized space was a little surreal, but the enormous stage just gave them more space to impishly zip about. The 10-minute set seemed almost unfair, but if ever an early opening act could work up an audience's appetite for fun-loving rock, The Bicycles were it.

Good thing Novillero were next. For those itching to dance after seeing The Bicycles, these mod- and soul-loving Winnipegers were the answer. And to think it almost wasn't to be, since the band's gear was swiped upon arriving in Toronto. As frontman Rod Slaughter joked, "We were going to just lie on the stage weeping until they swept us away."

Thankfully, their tourmates know how to share. Sean Stevens borrowed Carl Newman's black, Jack Daniels-emblazoned guitar. "I'll be drinking some later," he joked, after thanking the New Pornos' frontman (Immaculate Machine's Kathryn Calder also loaned her keyboard).

But a final thanks was saved for the tambourine. "Let's use that tambourine!" shouted Slaughter. And fuelled by three well-deserved cans of Canadian, Jack Jonasson set off the tambourine beat. The set — which leaned heavily on Aim For The Holes In Their Lives — was all twist-and-shout energy, driving keyboards and steam-roller harmonies. It all culminated at the end in hand-claps with the closer, their should-have-been-a-hit-single, "The Hypothesist."

When it was time for Immaculate Machine, you didn't want the pace to slow. But after the first few bars of their set, it was clear the evening was taking a detour. The languishing, murky bass lines coming out of Calder's keyboard during the first song simmered the mood. By "Dear Confessor," the Victorian trio were competing with the first two acts, bringing pop song after pop song. However, when your instrumentation is just guitar, keys and drums, you're bound to get blown away by two walls-of-sound like Novillero and The New Pornographers. Oddly enough, the songs with the most impact were the most delicate. Second-to-last song "No Way Out" was the standout, with its plaintive three-part vocals. And they might not even have played it had one hardcore fan — who'd come up from the States to follow the tour — not requested it before the show.

The Pornographers shuffled on stage under a blue shadow. There wasn't much of an introduction outside of a few half-hearted cracks about the merch for sale. But from the opening strains of "Sing Me Spanish Techno," all that mattered was the blast of pop hooks, the wallop of guitars and bass, and the strength of Kurt Dahle's drumming (and oddball humour)."Twin Cinema" led into Electric Version's "The Laws Have Changed," with Calder taking over for the absent Neko Case. "Where's Neko?" one stooge cat-called halfway through the show. "That's awkward," replied Calder, before Newman answered the voice from the crowd. "She's here," he said. "She just decided to be a roadie."Dan Bejar was also, as he typically is, absent, so Newman filled in on "Jackie, Dressed In Cobras." In both cases, neither are shabby substitutes, but you can't help but miss the originals.

The hour-long set plowed evenly through material from their three LPs. More than a few fans grumbled on the way out about the absence of signature hit "Letter From An Occupant" (even the evening's MC, CBC Radio3's Grant Lawrence was begging for it). But what they got instead was an evening of unabashed pop fun, and that was more than a fair trade.

Here's The New Pornographers' set list:
"Sing Me Spanish Techno”
“The Laws Have Changed”
“Jackie, Dressed In Cobras”
“The Bleeding Heart Show”
“Mass Romantic”
“Testament To Youth In Verse”
“Stacked Crooked”
“All For Swinging You Around”
“The Jessica Numbers”
“Bones Of An Idol”
“Twin Cinema”
“From Blown Speakers”
“Centre For Holy Wars”
“It's Only Divine Right”
“Use It"

Encore:
"The End of Medicine”
“The Fake Headlines”
“The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism"