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The Weakerthans, Lucero and Murder by Death Partially purposely arriving after the start date, we missed the opener Murder by Death even though I’ve heard great things about them. As is more of a common theme these days, I find it hard to go through an entire show especially if I’ve never heard the band before; even though, these days, I’ve heard of every band. While getting well-lubed up at the bar, Lucero took the stage and began to rock out to their own version of a punk alt-country Bruce Springsteen-led band. For me, Lucero’s lead singer’s Springsteen-esque voice reminded me of the Constantine’s front man. After about five or six songs of even-keeled Lucero, we took ourselves to the cooler air of outside for a respite. With further reflection on the fact that this would be the first time I would be seeing the Weakerthans, I did a small calculation to realize that I’ve been waiting ten years to see John Samson in one form or another. Of course, in the early-mid 90s, Propagandhi was a drawing force and I always fervently desired to see them live. Except where I wound up at college, though probably not that unlike Winnipeg, was in the middle of nowhere and Propagandhi and later the Weakerthans never came near. Also, back in the day, there was a rumor that the reason Propagandhi always skipped playing NYC was that it was so exuberantly expensive and fucked up. That the reason was true or not, it led to a number of missed opportunities. While it took me a little longer to conceptionally even out Samson’s vastly different songwriting approach from the core of Propagandhi, I now believe myself to be a card carrying member. In the intervening years, it was always one thing or another where I happened to not be in town when the Weakerthans played or something. And now it was here, where, along with a cascading number of English Ph.D. students, that I took full envelopment of the Weakerthans on stage. The moderately sized crowd appeared to be mostly composed of long-waiting fans as they sang along to a string of the best songs off of the Weakerthans’ three records – Fallow, Left and Leaving and Reconstruction Site. Headed by Samson, the now touring five-piece (with the inclusion of a keyboardist) concentrated mostly on their up-tempo songs. When they deviated on a few slower numbers, they came back with a fast mover to get the crowd going again. Soundwise, the Weakerthans were quite tight and sounded about as good as you can in club in a small, though musically strong, college town. Usually when I listen to a band’s records constantly, I can easily differentiate songs from and between records. This seems to have more a problem with the Weakerthans’ materials; though it may have also been a function this night of a lot of alcohol. I can tell you with confidence that they made their way through a substantial amount of their most recent record Reconstruction Site. This included standout numbers “Plea From A Cat Named Virtue,” “The Reasons,” “Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961),” “Reconstruction Site,” “A New Name For Everything,” Samson solo on “One Great City!” and “(Manifest).” With a little bit less confidence in truth and with a non-exhaustive list, the Weakerthans played “Aside,” “Watermark,” “Left and Leaving” and “Exiles Among You” off of Left and Leaving and “Diagnosis,” “Confessions of a futon-revolutionist,” “Letter of Resignation” and “Greatest Hits Collection” off of Fallow. To throw a bone to the future, the band unleashed a new, quite mellow track for the fans. Quite honestly, this was one of the best shows I’ve seen in awhile and I know that it made a number of converts to the prowess that is the Weakerthans. Naturally, my view and experience was enhanced by a decade in the waiting to see Samson play, an unshakable enjoyment of the Weakerthans’ music and number of beers. I’m counting the days for a new record and hopefully it won’t take another decade to see them play.
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