Recap The Weakerthans and Rock Plaza Central at High Noon Saloon

It's only appropriate that a sensitive and thoughtful lyricist like John K. Samson of The Weakerthans would draw the type of crowd that not only shows up early for concerts, but also listens intently to the opening band. In other words, it was a good night to be Rock Plaza Central, the five-piece Canadian folk-rock outfit that kicked off Sunday night's showcase of charmingly cartoonish voices and brilliantly detailed lyrics at the High Noon Saloon. Touring behind its latest record, ...At The Moment Of Our Most Needing, Or If Only They Could Turn Around, They Would Know They Weren’t Alone, the quintet kicked off with the stomp of “Excellent Steel Horse.” When vocalist-banjo player (and novelist) Chris Eaton wasn’t using his shaky croon on RPC's dynamically orchestrated numbers, he shared stories. “I moved to Toronto to be with a girl, and the city destroyed our relationship. So we broke up, threw a big party, and had a bunch of friends over,” Eaton said before going into the excellent “Gutterdance.” “If you are going to break up, I definitely recommend a party. End things on a high note.” After RPC wrapped up its set with “Handsome Men,” The Weakerthans made their way to the stage and kicked off with the delicate “Night Windows.” Because The Weakerthans aren’t touring behind a new album this time around (their most recent is 2007's Reunion Tour), they played a set of fan favorites, closing the set with the trumpet-softened “Manifest.”

“Curling season’s going to start soon,” frontman John Samson declared before the Winnipeg quintet launched into “Tournament Of Hearts.” With the help of excellent drumming from Jason Tait (who played on Broken Social Scene's 2005 self-titled album), the band sent the crowd into sing-along chaos with sped-up power-pop blasts like “Aside” from 2000’s Left And Leaving, “A Plea From A Cat Named Virtue” from 2003’s Reconstruction Site, and “Confessions Of Futon Revolutionist” from 1999’s Fallow. Guitarist Stephen Carroll and bassist Greg Smith stomped the ground and swung their guitars, and Carroll even pulled out the Pete Townshed windmill for “Confessions.” When Carroll wasn’t ripping out big chords and infectious leads, he added atmosphere with a pedal-steel guitar. It should also be noted that Madison show staple Marco Pogo managed to hop up and down in his little shorts for the entire set, even when the band left Samson alone onstage for "One Great City!” (better known by its refrain, "I hate Winnipeg"). “I’m glad to see my dancing friend is back this time,” Samson said with a smile. 

Even during the encores, Samson’s playfully friendly demeanor made for some pretty ridiculous stage banter. Apparently some kid shouted “it’s my birthday,” so Samson jokingly offered to give him a lesson on constructing and performing a guitar solo and promising to make a “good solo face” while doing it. Not only did Samson deliver a solo with a pucker-face, but also ended up strumming the entire second half of “Uitilities” with his guitar laying across his head as Carroll acted like a roadie and patted Samson down with a towel. The quintet finished up with key-smattered “Sun In An Empty Room” and the band walked out to its merch-area to meet the audience.