Broken Social Scene is a group that masters the art of musical collaboration, a talent which has shaped the constant development and diversity of sound which exists in their music. With the ubiquitous dynamic between its varied and multiple members, and the resulting sentience in their sound, Broken Social Scene have become one of the indie music scene’s favourites. With support from Bearhug, Broken Social Scene played a number of sold out shows to an eager and motley crowd.
With the misfortune of missing my bus, I was only able to catch the last couple of songs from the Sydneysiders Bearhug. With a serene and almost shoegazy ambience, the band possessed a soft spirit and similar character to Death Cab for Cutie. Perhaps more intriguing than the music itself was the luscious fro creeping its way down the shoulders of the bass guitarist, a minor salute to Slash of Guns n Roses. The vibe of Bearhug’s music was definitely interesting, and you can experience their live performance for yourself at Sydney’s Melt Bar later in August.
Broken Social Scene strolled onto the stage one by one, strutting with ease and possessing the pride they deserve. Completely aware of the god-like status they held in the eyes of the audience, it seemed as though the band felt they had little to prove. Female vocals were cut out of the performance due to Lisa Lobsinger suffering the flu – but she still made it on to the stage with a rather uncool display of bedhair, as the rest of the band defended her “rock and roll” status.
Opening their set with Forgiveness Rock Record’s “World Sick”, the notion suddenly emerged that their music would perhaps not all translate well live. With all the layering of instruments and vocals existent on the album, there was a rather noticeable gap in the music’s wholeness when played live. While it’s preferrable for live music to portray a different sound to that on albums, I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed with the thinning harmonies. That’s not to say the music sounded bad at all, with constant movement in the stage area and quirky anecdotes being shared with us all, the band went on with smashing performances of “Texico Bitches” and “Fire Eye’d Boy”.
There was never a dull moment on stage with Broken Social Scene: the inconsistency of the line up, the occasional brass band which hopped on and off the stage, and all the strange outfits and facial hair loosened the divide between performer and spectator, and we were really able to engage with the set. The incriminating scent of marijuana which continuously wavered around the room further enhanced the experience for a couple of lucky ones, and this is definitely the kind of band you’d want to get high to.
