Does the amount of facial hair seen in a crowd, actually predict how hip a band’s set will be? Let me present you with some facts. On Tuesday November 23rd at the House of Blues, over 50% of the men in the audience were bearded, preparing to have the excellent Wolf Parade melt their whiskers off. Meanwhile, at the Justin Bieber/Lady Gaga concert with openers Nickleback, not a single face was adorned with a man scarf. Is this coincidence? Is this even true? No. But that does not change the fact that Wolf Parade ruled Tuesday night, and made a lot of bearded gentlemen very happy.
Wolf Parade has always been a band flying just south of the radar for me. My buddy in Portland (a bearded bloke mind you) gave me their albums years ago, and I’ve listened to them casually ever since. They never struck me as mind-blowingly amazing or anything too different from other indie rockish bands like Modest Mouse or Arcade Fire. Then I saw them live at the House of Blues last Tuesday. Now, I’m not 100% sure I didn’t just appreciate them more, because I myself have grown my own beard. My facial follicles tend to absorb more good vibrations, whereas a clean-shaven face tends to just get marauded with whatever crappy music hits their cold cheeks. All I know is every perception I had about Wolf Parade went out the door about five minutes into their set.
But before we get to the meatiness that was Wolf Parade, let’s talk about the equally interesting opening bands. The first, Ogre You Asshole, is an all-Japanese band with decent influences from Fugazi and Talking Heads. They spoke barely a lick of English, but spoke the international language of rock, eloquently. Wintersleep, the second band, was however completely illiterate. The lead singer was channeling a weird combination of Michael Stipe’s vibrato, and Scott Stapp’s suckiness. When a band that doesn’t even speak English, with songs totally incoherent to an American audience, plays before you and wipes the floor with you, it’s time to take a long look in that rock n’ roll mirror. As Michael Kronenberg, a devote and loyal Wolf Parade fan said behind me, “I just got a drink so I could tolerate that awful band.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Wolf Parade owned. For sure. Not only did they play a nice mix of their new songs, from Expo 86, and their older albums, Apologies to the Queen Mary and At Mount Zoomer, they did it with gusto. A great amount of energy, humor, and personality that really brought the band, that previously just lived on my ipod between Ween and Wu-Tang, to vibrant life. Highlights were the insanely catchy song “What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)” and the fan favorite, “I’ll Believe in Anything.”
Unlike previous concerts where people talk the whole way through or, shout unnecessary obscenities throughout the show, the spotlight was truly on Wolf Parade. They commanded attention. If music is judged by how many heads can bob up and down together (bearded or not), this show kicked ass.
Wolf Parade has a unique talent that separates them from other bands of a similar nature. Sure, you can call them hipsterish, you can call them a jam band, but what separates them from these genres is the fact that, well they pull it off. Although every song could easily be taken to it’s hipiest extreme with an endless musical tangent, they can take all their complex sounds, build it over the duration of a song, and wrap it up, without it sounding like a chaotic mess.
A final highlight from the show, as if it needed one, was the encore as the Japanese bass player from Ogre you Asshole plays with Wolf Parade during the encore. Call me lame, but there was something beautiful about watching two talented musicians of totally different cultures, coming together to speak the same language of rock.
Wolf Parade has easily made it into my top concert of the year. The simply blew me away. When a band can change your perspective from one live show, they’re doing their job. Music should always be based on their live performances, not their overproduced studio sound, and this is where Wolf Parade excelled. They created an experience totally different from listening to them on your ear buds. Which is something everyone can appreciate, bearded or not.
If you like Wolf Parade I also strongly recommend checking out singer/keyboardist Spencer Krug’s other band Sunset Rubdown, and singer/guitarists band Handsome Furs.
