Sloan

It's hard to believe 'Unkind' is new to the setlist. It was easily the best song of the night. Good setlist - didn't go too hard on the main stuff.
Decent crowd and good beer was nice, though the acoustics in Jammin' Java kinda let you down (ground hum off the mic's in spots was a bummer.) Next go round, you should play Rock N' Roll Hotel. It's about the same size but easier to get to and suits your music better. Saw Sam Roberts there last month and was floored. You guys would kill there.

Solid set. Really highlighted the strength of the new material. They could have played a greatest hits package, but spreading out material between the new album tracks was a perfect approach. I think the new tracks were as fresh and relevant as any previous outing. Murph answered a few fan questions before the set and I spoke briefly with Andrew afterwards. Because it was a suburban setting (30 min east of DC without traffic) I think they might have been a bit suspicious of the booking agent's choice. However, when they took the stage they looked very cheery and responded well to the solid turnout and enthusiasm. Although they attracted many fans from "the city" it also allowed a new crowd to explore the music. There were a lot of US fans of course, but the crowd was anchored by quite a few Canadian expats as well, myself included (of Burlington Ont decent), each of which brought friends that otherwise may not have made the trip out to DC. And mingling through the crowd, a lot of first time fans from US, UK and elsewhere that joined in were very impressed by the live set (of course). Chris joked that the crowd indicated they were picking up momentum here. Unfortunately, the industry Gaga model remains in full effect and with the quick hit Internet culture, may even be picking up steam. This Monday night, a lot of tracks rocked but for me, the highlight was starting off the set with the first three Double Cross songs in a row, a pseudo-medly of sorts, especially since there are time changes within the tracks, and P, J, and C all sang one apiece, showcasing their talent in a sold 10 minute assault. The bluesy bias of A's tracks came off strong live as well. Garfield out!

I saw them two days later in Cambridge, MA and had the exact same thought re: "Unkind"... highlight of the show, hands down.

Can someone post a setlist please? I think I remember most of the songs played but definitely not all in the right order.

Anyway, another fantastic show from the guys. They were very visible and approachable both before and after the show, I sense that they really like meeting the fans these days- particularly Chris. The venue really filled in with fans, as there were probably a couple hundred in the small place.

Opener Hot Kid was maybe Sloan's best opener yet. Sort of a reverse White Stripes in that it was a two piece with the woman singing and playing guitar and the man drumming. The singer could really shred and the singing varied from Geddy Lee-ish to Courtney Love, although the sound quality was somewhat muffled. The drummer was funny, he was going for a rocker circa 1981 look- he could really pound those skins.

The set was heavy with new songs, although they played one from at least each album except for Smeared and Peppermint. Only one from Twice Removed, but fortunately, it was a killer version of "Snowsuit Sound," which may have been my favorite moment. Andrew just came out and sang for one four-song set, and it was three of the newer songs, but then gave us a treat with "Sinking Ships" that I've been singing to myself ever since. I noticed that Greg, the touring keyboardist, is a very good singer- as he sang harmony on nearly every song. Also of interest is Andrew got up for the last song and the guy working the merchandise table (Jay C.) filled in on drums for "Good in Everyone," even specifying that he would start the song using the "studio version." One more note is that the Slooo-aaan cheer came back for this show, after I hadn't heard it much in the last few.

Lots of great banter this time, as I notice more and more talking with every show. I couldn't quite follow it all, but Chris kept coming back to a somewhat failed joke about Garfield hating Mondays, and the show was on a Monday so we shouldn't let Garfield bring us down (very funny in context). Jay even spoke about some Garfield related grafitti he saw in a men's room. Andrew spoke, too, and said how nice it was to be in Austria (reference to the suburb of Vienna where the venue happened to be) then Chris chimed in about the Vienna Sausage Festival.

Overall, (in case the band or anyone affiliated reads this) thank you so much to Sloan for remembering us in the DC area every tour. I realize that it's a somewhat underground following you have here, compared to a larger fan base in Canada, but I really appreciate that you always make the effort to come here. It's very evident that touring these clubs is a labour of love for you and I'm proud to tell anyone who will listen that Sloan is my favorite band.

It was great to hear the new songs at a venue with a decent sound system (sorry, Ottobar... I still love you). The harmonies on "Beverly Terrace" are killer and I have a much stronger appreciation for "Traces" than I did from the album version alone.

The high vocals sounded a little strained at times, but the overall quality made up for a couple of cracks. Nice work, Sloan, once again!

(but Garfield... ?)

A first Sloan show for me, as well as my first show at Jammin' Java so I wasn't sure what to expect but absolutely NO disappointments! Favorites were "The Other Man", "Snowsuit Sound"--what a treat--and all the stuff off Double Cross. Loved "The Good In Everyone" as the closer and had to watch the original video multiple times the next day on Youtube. I have to admit it took me a couple seconds with the Garfield reference--I thought you were going to namecheck Bob Geldoff and The Boomtown Rats when you were talking about haters of Mondays. Let me second the request for a setlist as my feeble brain can't keep things in order. Hope you all had a wonderful Canada Day.

Set list:

Follow the Leader
The Answer Was You
Unkind
The Marquee & The Moon
Snowsuit Sound
Worried Now
Shadow of Love
Everything You've Done Wrong
Who Taught You To Live Like That?
Ready For You
She's Slowing Down Again
Something's Wrong
Traces
Sinking Ships
It's Plain To See
Your Daddy Will Do
Don't You Believe A Word
I've Gotta Know
The Rest of My Life
Beverly Terrace
Losing California

Encore: (I might have the order of the first 2 mixed up)
The Lines You Amend
The Other Man
The Good In Everyone