Broken Social Scene at Pabst Theater
CJ Foeckler
The first thing you notice about Broken Social Scene is how much space the band takes up. There were as many as 11 performers on stage Sunday night at Pabst Theater; it was like a group of unattended kids built a rock ’n’ roll fort with a bunch of cool shit they found in the basement while their parents were off on vacation.
Ostensibly led by Kevin Drew, Broken Social Scene is really a band without a center. While Drew and co-founder Brendan Canning took their places front and center for most of the show, they traded places and sometimes disappeared from the stage altogether. Barefooted lead female vocalist Lisa Lobsinger commanded the stage during a beautiful rendition of “Anthems For A Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” between filling in harmonies and adding percussive and instrumental assistance. Guitarist Andrew Whiteman traipsed around with the seemingly drunken swagger of a rock ’n’ roll Jack Sparrow. Everyone seemed to have a relatively equal share of the spotlight—which was especially crowded considering many songs required two drum sets, a horn section, a string section, melodica, harmonica, banjo, three guitars, keyboards, and whatever else the band could cram in.
There was never a lull in the momentum over the course of 20 songs and around two hours of music. Songs ranging from the energetic and mostly instrumental “KC Accidental,” to the beautiful “Lover’s Spit,” to “Romance to the Grave” from the latest BSS album Forgiveness Rock Record, came off as equally hypnotic and exuberant. Drew checked with the stage crew to make sure that the band played until there was absolutely no time left, and closed the night with a lovely, bare-bones rendition of “Major Label Debut” by request.
Unlike many other bands, indie or otherwise, that put on a lot of pretentious gimmickry to win over an audience’s devotion, BSS does it with great songs and palatable joy. “We’re playing our guts out for you,” Drew said at one point. Considering the band’s performance Sunday night, it’s a hard statement to argue against.
