Sloan

It's going to be hard to polish my vocabulary while typing this from my iPhone, but here goes... This show was SO worth braving the storm... Despite two members admitting to being under the weather, you hardly would have noticed (apart from the telltale coughing into the shoulders). The band kicked serious wattage into the tunes, performing them with a confidence and precision I've rarely heard them do with "Twice Removed"-era songs. "People of the Sky" saw Chris transform into Keith Moon for the finale, with many a breath-stopping roll (and only _one_ slipped drum beat, even with a dropped drumstick... Like a friend seeing them for the first time told me, "He can really drum!"). "Snowsuit Sound" had all of its tuneage and sensibilities completely intact, and the current tour performance of "I Can Feel It" beautifully restores the acoustic guitar to the mix. I even found a new appreciation for the "Bells On" and the album version of "Before I Do" (which were played pretty much perfectly). Come the second set, there were few surprises, but many pleasures (including Jay and Patrick twinning leads on "Unkind", Andrew whipping out "Emergency 911", and Chris leading the crowd in several brief singalongs). In this era, it would be wholly improbable to expect the boys to play "Tell Me Something I Don't Know", "I Thought That I Was Ready for You", "Glad to Be Here" or "One Professional Care" (though I keep my fingers crossed to hear "False Alarm" and the "Hit & Run" EP), as to not alienate those who know Sloan best through radio and key albums... but one can dream, eh? ;)

Sloan's sound man did an EXCELLENT job at this barely-over-200 capacity room turned into standing room only. Despite the storm raging outside (or perhaps because of it), people arrived early to partake in a meal downstairs, with even some of the band and road crew in attendance! And many a long-since-last-seen face appeared in the crowd to catch this special night in Moncton, braving the driven snow. All in all, a GREAT evening that was definitely worth it. (And I just might post pics later...)