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How Many BSSsters Can You Find In This Picture? (Answer On Page 32)
Broken Social Scene reaffirmed my faith in Fuji Rock crowds. They packed in pretty tightly for this Red Marquee set, and danced and shouted along to even the most obscure rhythms and melodies, whether 8 years old or 4 months young. They just love music. To the band’s credit, the new album Forgiveness Rock Record is easy to like.
Kevin Drew was gracious and appreciative throughout. Some quotes: “We’re Broken Social Scene and we believe in every single fucking one of you!” “Be careful. Be good to people. Drink enough water. And most important, forgive yourselves.” And apropos of his thankfulness at getting to do what he does, “As you get older you appreciate a lot of things, including saxophone.” I hear dat.
Brendan Canning
I’m a little obsessive about bands like this, so I’m going to geek out here and give you a rundown of the setlist. By my count they had five cuts from the new record, Texico Bitches, World Sick, Forced To Love, All To All (the one where Lisa Lobsinger–or was that Emily Haines?–sounds like Debbie Harry), and the grand instrumental Meet Me In The Basement, which Kevin Drew declared to be their anthem as they closed the show (because “glorious endings is what life is all about”). It is actually very anthemic, deceptively simple, but really it should the soundtrack to a movie about running or maybe just a movie where some young boy overcomes some long odds to achieve happiness and there’s a scene where he’s running through a mountain path with pine trees all along and he raises his hands in triumph. That sort of song.
They had three cuts from the unappreciated (but I don’t think under-) Broken Social Scene, 7/4 Shoreline, Fire-Eye’d Boy, and Superconnected, which are three of the better ones. From the classic Feel Good Lost we got Stars And Sons, one of the greatest riffs ever, Cause=Time (you know, the “fuck the cost” song), Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl, which had the North American lass in front of me dancing like a seventeen-year old girl, so I guess they got something right in the sentiment, and then an encore (the second one of their Fuji Rock career! Damn bitches!) of KC Accidental.
The sound in the Red Marquee is way too muddy for a band like this, and that would be my one gripe. It’s kind of a big one to me, actually, but then again Ben the monitor guy for Jaime Cullum came up afterward and gave the sound both folks a huge thumbs up. Surprised I was, but Ben was impressed with the stereo separation and effects they had achieved, especially with a band that large. He agreed it was muddy though.
But we’re geeks. Everyone else was just smiling and bopping about, so forget we said anything.
-Kern
photos by maeda. more here
Read Sean’s interview with the band in Taipei a few days before Fuji.
Think this encore was far more expected. They were the headliners for the Red Marquee on Friday. Don’t all headliners do encores? Would have been surprised if they didn’t do an encore.
The one in 2006 was surprising because they played in the middle of the day.