Walkmen Play Sold-Out T.O. Show

Horseshoe Tavern

Toronto, ON

on Sep 10 2008

Jen White (CHARTattack)

09/11/2008 10:56am

While The Horseshoe was sold-out on Wednesday night, there were only a handful of people standing in front of the stage when openers Golem started their set. The New York sextet didn't really belong on the bill, as they're a klezmer band who sing in both English and Yiddish. They had great energy and tried desperately to get the crowd into it. Vocalist/accordion player Annette Ezekiel Kogan even offered some dance moves (the awkward classics "screwing in the light bulbs" and "drawing back the curtains") for those unsure of how to move to their music.

Kogan had some pretty great banter throughout their set, often introducing the Yiddish songs with a quick English translation. They sang about the female anatomy, thanking your parents for everything they've done for you and yearning for the love of your life even though she's the one that put you in prison.

Looking around the audience, which grew quickly, there was an apparent divide between those who were having fun and dancing a little and those who were confused about why the band were opening for indie rockers The Walkmen. When Walkmen vocalist/guitarist Hamilton Leithauser later asked if they liked Golem, one angry fan yelled loudly that they sucked and were absolutely terrible. I don’t know if that was entirely warranted. They just really didn't suit the bill.

It was pretty obvious who people were there to see, and the crowd went crazy when The Walkmen finally walked out on stage. Their set relied heavily on songs from the recently released You & Me, including "Donde Esta La Playa," "In The New Year," "Red Moon" and "Canadian Girl," which Leithauser predictably dedicated to all the ladies in the audience. They also made use of Golem's trombonist, Curtis Hasselbring, and a trumpet player for a handful of songs. The quintet also broke into a few older tracks, notably "The Rat" and "What's In It For Me" from 2004's Bows + Arrows.

The Walkmen are a strange bunch to watch. They don't move around a lot, since each musician is so focused on their own instrument. But it works overall because the music comes barreling at you out of the speakers and knocks you on your ass.

Leithauser also has an incredible, distinct voice that I could listen to all night. As a performer, it was like he had split personalities. During songs, he stared off intently, even when he wasn't singing. But the moment the song was over, he'd snap out of it, smile and thank the audience (which included Joel Plaskett) profusely. Aside from all the thank-yous — seriously, there were a lot of them — he kept banter to a minimum, although he mentioned the last time they played the 'Shoe six years ago was the first time he started having trouble with his right ear.

The Walkmen ended the set with A Hundred Miles Off's "Louisiana" and had the crowd cheering for more. They returned for an encore a few minutes later with "songs we haven't played in a while," including treats like Bows' "No Christmas While I'm Talking" and the excellent "We've Been Had" from their Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone debut. I was sad to see them leave the stage for good. It was a fantastic show.