Sloan

I was so unbelievably happy with this amazing show. I was lucky enough to be at the very front sandwiched between Pat and Chris. The set was beautiful; new songs with the old stuff sporadically thrown throughout. Not to mention I got to meet Chris and Pat after the show. My life is *almost* complete [still have Jay and Andrew to go.]
I love Sloan more than words can describe.
They never disappoint.
Me with the boys;
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Keep on rockin', Sloan.

“It was the best of time, it was the worst of times.”

Jeez, I was sort of hoping I wouldn't have to be the first one to post, but, well, here I am.

What can I say? Given the other comments and reviews that I’ve been reading on the site, it wouldn’t be hard to come to the conclusion that this show represents the low-point of their entire tour this season.

See, I don’t know much about venues and stuff. I don’t go to a lot of concerts. But correct me if I’m wrong...shouldn’t the shit the band needs WORK?! The sound was so that everything seemed muffled and fuzzy and disproportionate, and the vocals were almost completely indiscernible at some points, both for Sloan and for the (very entertaining) opening band Yoko Casionos. Plus, the place was like a tiny, squashed boiler-room (Chris asked at one point if anyone felt like they were going to faint from the heat, and the drummer from the Yokos said he felt woozey...).

And then, there was the fact that Jay’s side of the stage appeared to be simply cursed. The shit started with poor Kyron (sp?) from the Yokos again, who was on that side at first - mics cutting out, guitars refusing to work, strings breaking relentlessly, tuning problems - and it didn’t get any better for Mr. Ferguson. Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but did he go through 3 guitars, or more? From where I was standing, (directly infront of Mr. Pentland) I could barely hear him at all all night thanks to the sound system, which was very upsetting to me, and apparently for him as well as things progressed. >.> It just...didn’t stop. Jay, if you read this... for sure there is no way that someone should have to put up with/deal with as much crap and craptastic luck as you did last night. I sincerely hope that shit like that never happens again. :(

And Chris had a cold. *sigh*

On the good side, though...it was Sloan! Their new stuff is amazing, and I was really sorry that I hadn’t hunted down the new album beforehand. (I’m catching up now even as I write this!) I had “Can’t you Figure it Out” stuck in may head all the way home, and Patrick’s insane guitar solo for “I Understand” is probably why I can’t hear anything out of my leaf ear today! Hahaha. I’m so not complaining; never in a million years would I have thought I could get close to a stage. (I’m short! Since when were short people allowed to see anything at shows?!) I practically had to back off when Chris and Patrick came to the edge of the stage to tear the place apart with some amazing “riffs”. It was truly spectacular. Which is why I don’t apologize for not restraining my stupid jigging-around all night. Heehee. I was SO happy when I found I could sing along to all of the older stuff they played, (This was only the second time I’ve seen them live, and the first time was how I first found out about them.) and I was even able to pick up on some familiar-sounding new stuff because of this site. The HFXNSHC was totally a highlight! (My brother started pretending like he was swinging a camera around like a lunatic...*smirk*) Even when there were some slip-ups or some flattness, it really didn’t matter and was easily laughed off. Chris’s cold allowed for the absence of some cleanly-hit high notes, and Patrick came up with some interesting new chords for “Coax Me”, but it was all good. Fun stuff. :)

So, yeah. Overall...things could have been tighter, less-boiling hot, not sick, and Jay could have, erm, gotten a chance to strut his awesome stuff...(same with Andrew. He used the same mike as Jay, and I couldn’t hear him when he sang at all...:( ) but...well, I still had the time of my life. Shit happens, eh? But nothing can take away from the awesomeness of these guys. Now, ‘scuse me while I go listen to “Who Taught You to Live Like That” again...

Hugs all around, guys. Keep up the amazing work. We love ya...so come back soon!!

PS: Chris, sorry for butting in during your photo-session. I was so deaf and in a hurry to say ‘hi’ and take off that I didn’t realize you were in the middle of talking to someone else. “My bad”, as the cool folks say. Didn’t mean to be rude. :S Thanks for the smile and hand-shake, though. :) And yes, U of T is the one unique and best university in Southern Ontario. ;) Hope you get well soon!!

...Damn this is long!

Great show in a small, cozy venue. The band were having fun, most of all Chris, except that Jay looked like his mind was elsewhere most of the night, and he even became upset at a couple of spots when his guitar string broke (twice) and there was a bit of trouble with the mike volume.
Opening band were the Yoko Casionos, from Vancouver. Brother/sister (Chad and Misty) core and fairly tight. They joined Sloan onstage for a bit of the encore; Hollow Head I think it was, at the end of which Patrick dissed Misty for not knowing all of the lyrics; 'sombeody needs a teleprompter.'
Sloan played many of their new songs, with which I was unfamiliar, not having purchased the new record. A couple of them were multi-tempo, multi-rythmic things, and a few, fairly short in length. I heard rumours in the crowd that the new disc is not that good, but I think I'll let it sink in. I usually end up more greatly appreciating Sloan records after many listens.
The television at the bar was showing 'This is Spinal Tap' and I kept glancing over and laughing at the appropriate spots.
Final song in encore was 'If It Feels Good Do It.' It certainly felt good Wednesday night.

Once again, another marvelous show put on by the wonderful guys in Sloan. With a set that showcased their awesome new CD but still had the old stuff sporadically thrown in there, I was blown away. I was also lucky enough to meet Chris and Pat at the end of the show.
Sloan is a band that is so for the fans and that's what I love about them the very most. They will never stop kicking ass and this show was definately more proof of that.

What a great show! My full intent with this small show was to go and have a blast and not just worry about gettin a good view. I've seen sloan many times so I just wanted to have some good fun.

Overly drunk went well with meeting some new local sloan fans. I had a GREAT time.

And the yoko casionos were wikked. Head over heals for them, great choice cool people.

And of course sloan! Amazing show I loved every second of it. The new album is amazing...show was amazin. Very proud of the boys yet again.