By Mikey B - The Lonesome Strangers - 03/31/2005

On the second night of the Weakerthans' and the Constantines' two-date stop, Montrealers were given the choice of seeing either that loaded double bill or Queens Of The Stone Age. While I have had the pleasure of witnessing superb performances from both headlining acts, the Weakerthans did not make me regret this difficult choice, free ticket notwithstanding.

It was a rainy, shitty day in Montreal and it got worse as I was suddenly left alone to face the night, due to the concert selling out shortly before show time. My three would-be companions were now getting a good look at the back of my leather jacket as I made my way through the doors. Perhaps as a sign or omen, I then ran into the person who got me into the Weakerthans three years ago. Thanks to Aiden, they have become without exception my favourite Canadian band and as it is the case every time our paths cross, I expressed to him my undying gratitude. Before the night could completely wash away the sour taste of the day, I got one last figurative slap in the face: mandatory coat check. My second skin, my security blanket – the aforementioned leather jacket – was now torn away from me, and I stood there naked and raped out of three friggin’ bucks. The evening, my friends, got off to a crummy start.

As it turned out, it didn’t really matter because the sweet sound of the Constantines got me feelin’ fabulous. I’ve always heard of them, but never had the opportunity to check out their music. They had a great sound, sometimes hypnotic, with repetitive drumming patterns, some classic guitar riffs and a singer who reminded me of Paul Westerberg (the Replacements), with the vocal delivery of Blake Schwarzenbach (Jawbreaker, Jets To Brazil). I’ve been told that a bulk of the Constantines’ tunes were influenced by Bruce Springsteen, which I didn’t pinpoint at first, but the realization did come to me after awhile.

After a short break, the Weakerthans took the stage and were greeted with a roaring response. My friend Phil was at the show the night before and regarding the set list, I was told: “They played all the hits”. What does that mean exactly? To me and every other Weakerthans fan, every song sounds like a hit. The entire crowd sings along to most of the songs, and the set list is usually divided between Left And Leaving and Reconstruction Site. There is always a little bit of Fallow stuck in there, and this night was no different as they played the fast-paced “Confessions Of A Futon Revolutionist”. The other Fallow track came during the encore, as John K. Samson came out with his acoustic guitar. I think everyone expected him to play the brilliant song “One Great City”, but instead we were treated to the soft-spoken “Sounds Familiar”, which is another fave off their debut album. So what are the Weakerthans hits? Well, they played a crowd favourite, the title track to “Left And Leaving”. The biggest sing-alongs of the night came during a personal favourite, “Aside”, and of course the only song with French vocals, “Our Retired Explorer”. I couldn’t have been happier with the set list, although I would’ve liked to hear “Pamphleteer”. A new track was unveiled and it had a Left And Leaving vibe to it. I think it was called “Windows”… something to do with windows, I’m not entirely sure. Still, it was a jaw-dropper.

The line of the night came while Samson was telling us about his vocal problems, and everyone was just trying to console him, ‘cause really, no one noticed. Then some hilarious wise-ass yelled out “LESS TALK, MORE ROCK”, which was not only unbelievably poignant at the time, but also the name of Propagandhi’s second album (Samson’s old band). Um, I guess you had to be there.

The only thing that annoyed me about the performance -- and I’m gonna sound like an old granny for this -- is that Samson is always chewing gum. It doesn’t really affect his songs, but still, how the heck does he do that? I know this complaint doesn’t make much sense, but he’s CHEWING GUM WHILE HE’S TALKING TO US! Doesn’t anybody else notice this? Come to think of it, I remember him doing that the last time too. What’s the deal with that? Okay, that wasn’t very funny (Ed’s note: no shit), but an observation nonetheless. Anyways…

It had been a whole five months since the last time I saw these guys and I can never get enough. Nearly every mix CD I make for friends will undoubtedly contain Weakerthans track on it. If you’ve never listened to them before, please do yourself a favour and check them out. Nevermind the Hives, the Weakerthans are Your New Favourite Band.


[Tune in to The Lonesome Strangers every Tuesday noon to 2pm]