Broken Social Scene always seemed more like an idea than a traditional band. The Canadian collective was established as a gathering of like-minded artists in Toronto with a laissez-faire philosophy. The various “members” of the group were free to come as they were, when they wanted, and leave the same way. And it worked. For the first half of the first decade of the 21st century, the unofficial leader of this “scene,” Kevin Drew, brought together no fewer than twenty musicians to release three Indie Rock albums considered canon. Two of those albums, You Forgot It in People and Broken Social Scene, were in direct competition with early releases from The National, Wolf Parade, The Hold Steady, and TV on the Radio for constant after-hours rotation in my tiny San Francisco apartment. Broken Social Scene was the soundtrack to living in the city in my mid-twenties.
Being a live music addict, I wasn’t sure how this collective would recreate the magic on stage. By the time I had a chance to find out, in 2006, Emily Haines and James Shaw were busy with Metric, and Leslie Feist had surpassed Liz Phair as the Queen of indie. So, new members had to be found. Opening for Bloc Party, that tour saw the “core group” solidified. It also introduced Amy Milan and Lisa Lobsinger on vocals. I saw them again at the first Outside Lands, and Jason Collett was back. My wife and I were drinking beers with Kevin and Brendan Canning at the Stubb’s showcase at SXSW 2010 when Emily Haines came running up, excited as all hell to join them on stage for “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl.”
I could go on, but my point isn’t to provide an attendance record regarding Broken Social Scene shows. I just felt I needed to give a history of the band because of recent negative comments I’ve seen about the current “You Forgot It in People 20th Anniversary Tour.” Statements like “no Feist or Haines, or anyone else from the BSS extended universe…” misses the point. The fact that five of the primary artists on that album are performing it twenty years later is nothing less than extraordinary, especially considering how the collective started and the trajectory of the members’ careers since then.
After Jasmyn’s opening set was plagued with sound issues, Kevin Drew took the stage at 9:15 pm. He introduced the band and then hid in the background, providing room for Brendan Canning, Andrew Whiteman, Sam Jr., Charles Spearin, and Evan Cranley to take us back to simpler times with “KC Accidental.” Ariel Engle made her grand entrance for “Almost Crimes” not long after, proving herself fully capable of filling Feist’s shoes on that early-aughts classic. The celebrated album’s tracks were performed in order through “Pacific Theme,” and the current touring line-up was on fire. The last time the band came through Denver (Listen Here!) was at the end of an arduous tour leading up to a hiatus, and they seemed tired. Eleven years and one pandemic later, they were invigorated! Although maybe still not sold on the Mile High City.
“When our tour manager told us we were coming to Denver, I said I don’t think that works for us. Brendan was the one who said yes, it does! So, you all have Brendan to thank tonight.”
Kevin was joking, of course. He had nothing but love for the audience, but it was Brendan and Charles who showed a real fondness for Colorado. Brendan is determined to “play Red Rocks before I die!” and Charles gave a heartfelt story about his father’s final wish to have his ashes spread in the Colorado Rocky Mountains; a wish he fulfilled before the show on Wednesday night.
“He will always be in Colorado, and I will be back, and we’ll play Red Rocks because Colorado is a very special place to me now.”
As the rest of the album was presented, song by song, there was a theme to the evening. Yes, we were celebrating an album (and all the feelings and memories and nostalgia that album brought up in us), but the band didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room; namely, all the shit we’ve been through since the album was released. Every single person in the room was twenty years older. We had all changed. The grey in Kevin’s beard and the lines on Brendan’s face matched those of the crowd. Nothing lasts forever, but music is the closest thing we have to a time machine. Songs like “Lover’s Spit” and “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” cannot be truly important to people in their 40s, but they are to the 25-year-old kids who live inside us.
“I just wanted to say you’re doing great. I know a lot is happening, and the world is big, but you can handle it. Sometimes there are flashes of self-hatred, and it tightens into a fist, and you just wanna die but take a second to breathe, forget yourself for a while, listen to your footsteps on the street, let the air fill your lungs, and breathe out again and don’t be so hard on yourself. I want you to take all your fears and worries and embarrassing moments, and I want you to scream at the top of your lungs at the count of three!”
It was a cathartic show.
There were some new faces on the stage. Loel Campbell filled in for Justin Peroff on drums, and Ariel covered all the female vocal duties, as well as the cowbell. Broken Social Scene has always been an ever-changing entity, though. The whole has always been more than the sum of its parts. No matter what, they are always Broken Social Scene. The freak-out jam sessions, the horns, the energy, and the anthems never fail to provide a fantastic escape. (Listen Here!)
The set included a handful of selections from each of their albums, but the early material resonated most with the crowd. “Anthems” was the last song on the setlist, “but they say we have time for one more,” so “Meet Me in the Basement” closed out the night at 11:00 pm.
“We won’t forget you, don’t forget us. We are Broken Social Scene. Do better out there. Goodnight.”
Broken Social Scene – October 5th, 2022 – Summit Music Hall
Setlist: KC Accidental, Stars and Sons, Almost Crimes, Looks Just Like the Sun, Pacific Theme, Cause = Time, 7/4 (Shoreline), Fire Eye’d Boy, Stay Happy, Fuzz, I’m Still Your Fag, Sweetest Kill, Hug of Thunder, Lover’s Spit, Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day), Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl, Meet Me In The Basement.
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