Broken Social Scene Live at Central Park SummerStage

Broken Social Scene - Sentimental X's


My introduction to Broken Social Scene came shortly after my musical twin introduced me to Feist's Let It Die. They never became as adored as Ms. Feist, but their show is bigger and in many ways better than hers. On Saturday they adroitly maneuvered between their three albums of material, an especially important accomplishment since at the beginning Kevin Drew announced that they would play every minute of their two allotted hours.

Balancing the effusive "Shoreline (7/4)" and "Meet Me In the Basement" against the gushing "Lover's Spit" is no easy feat. Over two hours of material in which they played nearly all of Forgiveness Rock Record, it was crucial that the peaks and lulls of the set were distributed well. Not many bands have the stamina to play for two hours and not many crowds have the endurance to stand for them. This was one of those rare bands; not really one of those rare crowds.

SummerStage seemed like the right place for a band like BSS to play. They sound as big as they look, and with as many as 12 people on stage at a time, they look darn big. The multiple horns, guitars and drums sounded as crisp as the late-summer air. The sound would have been the envy of St. Vincent when they played the stage months earlier.

If only they didn't leave out my favorite song from their latest.

Go to Brooklyn Vegan for photos.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
Central Park SummerStage 9/18/10
1. KC Accidental
2. Texico Bitches
3. Shoreline (7/4)
4. Forced to Love
5. Fire Eye'd Boy
6. All to All
7. Stars and Sons
8. World Sick
9. Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl
10. Hotel
11. Art House Director
12. Sweetest Kill
13. Guilty Cubicles
14. Lover's Spit
15. Cause=Time
16. Superconnected
17. Romance to the Grave
18. Ungrateful Little Father
19. Meet Me in the Basement
'Encore'
20. Looks Just Like the Sun
21. Water in Hell
22. Pacific Theme
23. Chase Scene
24. Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day)