On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Sloan
November 3, 1998
Palais Royale, Toronto, ON

As I walked into the first of four Sloan concerts at the Palais Royale, I kept expecting Fred and Ginger to waltz past me at any moment. I'm sure the serene setting has housed many a ballroom dance. Tonight however, all the ghosts of ballrooms past were awakened with one simple word from sold out crowd; S-L-O-O-O-A-N.

Ah yes, the familiar band chant coined by Mr. Rock Spectacle himself Chris Murphy. Taking to the almost eye-level stage just after nine o'clock, the band opened the night with a great balls-out version of "She Says What She Means" in front of a giant number four made of light bulbs, which blinded me with every bass drum kick (I caught on pretty quick, though). A mass of toques, old knit sweaters and fists in the air danced and weaved all over the place (no surfing, hooray!).

Any questions over the sound in the Palais Royale were quickly answered as the Sloan Boys strutted their harmonious voices to near perfection on "Coax Me." They were able to bring the audience right into every song with a tightly honed live set, that really showed how well these guys can actually play. The star of the evening was drummer Andrew Scott, yes I said Andrew, not Chris. He showed his versatility on songs like "Seems So Heavy" and "Sinking Ships" (battling mic problems in the former), stepping from behind the skins to play piano. (*Note to everyone: please realize how well this guy writes songs and plays his instruments!)

While Andrew was plying his skills on the keys Chris Murphy did a remarkable job on the kit, showboating with a stick twirl here and there. Jay and Patrick also showed that they were up to the challenge of their bandmates with strong voices and solid playing. Patrick closed the show with one of the best performances of the night on "Money City Maniacs." I admit, I was skeptical of this show after seeing (in my opinion) three sub-par gigs at EDGEfest; I didn't know what to expect. The intimate setting of the Palais Royale (there's a Pulp Fiction joke just dying to get out there somewhere) served these guys well. It was immense fun, I was treated to some superb playing, a fantastic set list and a crowd who loved it as much as me. Check them out before this tour ends; buy scalped tickets if you must.

Celebrity sighting of the evening, Erik Erlandson and Melissa Auf der Maur from Hole were taking in the show. Even famous people like the boys of Sloan, it seems. "They're the coolest band in the world", Auf der Maur said. Erlandson added, "I've heard of them for a while, since Nevermind came out (1991). I've never seen them live, though. They're great, I love 'em." (Most of you will recall Sloan and Hole were labelmates for a short time on Geffen).

I asked Melissa who would win in a bass-off, her or Chris Murphy. "Well, Chris's bass playing, I'd take that as a snack between lunch and dinner. But the rest of him, that's my after-dinner indulgence." Let it be stated as fact on this day November 3, 1998: I think Melissa Auf der Maur is the sweetest woman in the entire world.

Evening One Set List

1. She Says What She Means
2. The Good In Everyone
3. Coax Me
4. The Lines You Amend
5. Seems So Heavy
6. Sinking Ships
7. Everything You've Done Wrong
8. Keep on Thinking
9. Snowsuit Sound
10. Marcus Said
11. Suppose They Close the Door
12. Iggy and Angus (which really kicked ass)
13. Bells On
14. Anyone Who's Anyone
15. People Of The Sky
16. Take The Bench
17. On the Horizon
18. G Turns To D
19. Penpals
20. Money City Maniacs

    Encores

21. Deeper Than Beauty
22. I Am The Cancer
23. I Can Feel It
24. Underwhelmed (with a guest bassist from the audience!)