Handsome Furs Steam Up Lee's

Dan Boeckner set the tone Tuesday night when he opened the Handsome Furs' third show in Toronto this year by announcing that he and bandmate Alexi Perry had married a couple of weeks ago.

The news was greeted by thunderous applause, the odd whistle and some headscratching when someone nearby implored Perry to marry him. From there on, the crowd was entranced by every sweat-soaked step, shimmy and guitar thrust the Montreal-based duo executed in what proved to be a magnificent set.

The Handsome Furs extensive touring has served them well. Even more than during their show at the Comfort Zone during NXNE, they're so in sync it's disturbing. Perry occasionally punctuated Boeckner's guitar work with what felt like spontaneous but precision-placed modulation of their now infamous drum machine, while Boeckner complements Perry's improvisation with his distinct voice and guitar.

Opening with a raucous version of "What We Had," the methodical pair managed to make the evening undeniably intimate. While Boeckner thrashes around the stage, guitar swinging haphazardly, he always returns to his mic, set-up just inches from Perry who spends performances hunched over a table laden with the very electronics and technology that their songs decry. Those who bitch and moan about a lack of feeling because of the aforementioned drum machine should really experience this pair live, because that argument was untenable in the perspiration-drenched confines of Lee's Palace.

Sticking to the nine songs that make up this year's outstanding Plague Park debut, Boeckner punctuated every break in the music with deadpan, self-effacing humour, while Perry avoided saying anything into her mic for the duration of the show.

By mid-set you could see that the heat was starting to get to them. Boeckner's black short-sleeved button-up was visibly sodden, while every time Perry attempted to wipe some of the sweat from her chest under a multitude of necklaces (which sounds uneventful but in reality is quite provocative), the crowd erupted.

The response speaks to Boeckner and Perry's equally magnetic stage presences. On the few occasions where they locked eyes, the stage oozed equal parts sex and admiration. It's especially evident during tracks like the haunting "Dumb Animals" (which incidentally has the best video I've seen this year), where Boeckner delivered the riveting chorus with so much visible strain in his face that you couldn't look away even if you wanted to.

Set closer "Sing! Captain" grew to a moment of cathartic release that had been building since the Furs took the stage 45 minutes earlier. The too-short refrain morphed into some shattering guitar work from Boeckner well beyond what's offered on disc.

After very briefly leaving the stage, the Furs re-emerged for what could only be described as a digitized cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky." The Furs smiled and waved as they left the stage. The crowd smiled, waved and cheered right back. How can anyone resist a scene like that? More importantly, why would you want to?