…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead started their evening off by performing four songs at an in-store just down the street at Sonic Boom. It was a mellow affair, a teaser as to what was to happen on stage a few hours later down the street at Lee’s Palace. Their current tour is one of those “perform-that-favourite-album-from-ten-years-ago,-you-remember, back-when-you-listened-to-an-entire-CD-from-beginning-to-end?”. These are all the rage with bands that still may be releasing new material but their fans only want to experience the nostalgia of that one album. At the same time it’s good marketing for the band: make money and give the consumers what they want. This album was Source Tags and Codes which was pounded out in 40 minutes from beginning to end with the same enthusiasm as when they were tearing up stages ten years ago. Besides them and Mogwai, I can’t think of another band that from my University days that has toured so consistently over the last ten years. Whenever either of them are in town I do my darndest to see them.
The crowd was dominated by dudes with beards and toques. Obviously. One person in the crowd that was easily recognizable because of his sleeveless shirt was Brian from Japandroids. He was invited on stage to play with them close to the end of their set but sadly, he couldn’t be found.
After the album was complete they then went in to their back catalogue which included Will You Smile Again. Things got a little crazy when out of the blue Jason Reece joined the audience and formed a mini circle pit close to the front. As well, they played an extended version of A Perfect Teenhood which they powered through. Coming out for their one-song encore, Jason shook a bottle of Steamwhistle on the crowd and then went on to play another extended version of a song from the Madonna album. Totally Natural included a crowd-surfing bassist followed by him helping out with an extra set of hands on drums. Their roadie then replaced him on bass.
It’s tough going to shows on a Monday night sometimes but you feel better when leaving the venue with more energy than when you go in.
“Random lost souls have asked me ‘What’s the future of Rock’ n’ Roll?’ I say ‘I don’t know, does it matter?'”
–…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Worlds Apart