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I made sure to arrive early to the gig on Friday night, as last time they toured, when they played the Forum, I turned up less than an hour after the doors had opened to find Tegan and Sara already midway through their second song. I needn’t have worried though, I soon spied a run sheet for the night and Tegan and Sara were not scheduled to start until 11.30pm.
The Jezabels were onstage, opening the night, and I enjoyed them so much it actually delayed me going to get my first beer. I had never heard of the band before but they drew me in, a combination of technical drumming countering brilliant female vocals and a piano and guitar backing. I can’t name you any of their songs, but I can tell you I will definitely see them again.
Up next were An Horse, a Brisbane based duo who have been doing a few laps of the world recently due to Sara Quin’s obsession with them (“Thank you to my favourite band, An Horse” S.Quin), getting the band to support Tegan and Sara wherever possible. However, they still seemed quite unknown in Melbourne with only small pockets of fans happily singing along. Their sound is based around rolling drums and pleasantly crafted chord changes, and although they are not the kind of band who will take your breathe away live, I see them being a slow grower with many people.
Finally it came to 11.30 and Tegan and Sara took the stage to screams of delight from the mostly female audience. They started as they did last tour, with the slow burning “Call It Off” from The Con. At this point I was worried we might get a repeat show, with the band focusing on their latest album, but this was quickly blown away by the band playing 3 older songs in a row, including their hit Walking With A Ghost, which sent the sold out crowd into a craze. They mixed the set up, playing both quiet acoustic numbers and poppy fan favourites, some of which had not been played live in years.
One feature that is possibly exclusive to T&S shows is the banter that goes on between songs. As the last chord rang out the house lights would come up and one of the sisters would start telling a story, sometimes about a song, sometimes about any other topic that jumped into their heads. No matter what the topic, the girls have a wicked sense of humour, meaning these breaks between songs never seem like they go on too long, as the crowd is constantly engaged. Sara repeatedly went back to the topic of threesomes… no idea why.
The most memorable moment of the show came when Tegan began quietly strumming the chords to “Call It Off”, and the crowd started singing before she even did. She encouraged the crowd to sing the song alone, and it sounded huge as 2,000+ fans sang every word out aloud. The crowd had been vocal and in tune all night long, but you could tell the girls really appreciated having the song sung back to them so emphatically.
They finished the set with the title track from The Con, which is possibly their ‘rockiest’ number. The song bought with it an impressive light show, including the sort of lasers you would expect at a Foo Fighters concert.
My only gripe with the show was that the band seemed to play a lot of their songs a lot quicker than they are on record. Whether this was a reaction to the ultra late start time, or a want to give the fans more songs, I found it detracted from some songs. However a great selection of songs for the encore quickly turned my opinion.
They returned to the stage as a 3 piece, with Sara leading the band through a stripped back version of “Relief Next to Me”. The subtle melodies filled the Palace as again the crowd sang along with power. The whole encore was led by Sara, and the band finished strongly with two huge crowd pleasers. First up was a cover they had previously recorded for Triple J’s Like a Version. Their shortened take on Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark was unexpected to most and again sent the crowd into raptures. Sara spoke about her idolisation of ‘The Boss’ and she definitely proved she had done her homework, as her female vocals shed light on the introspective lyrics. Fittingly they closed with the recent hit “Back In Your Head”, a song which blurs catchy pop melody with deeply personal lyrics, and makes you wonder whether you should be dancing or crying. Everyone chose to dance and soon after the lights went down on a great night at the Palace.
Tegan and Sara seem to be frequent visitors to our shores, and I hope they keep it up, as they constantly deliver an uplifting live experience.
SETLIST
Dark Come Soon
You Wouldn’t Like Me
I Bet It Stung
Walking With A Ghost
Hop A Plane / Superstar
Living Room
So Jealous
I Know I Know I Know
Like O Like H
Give Chase
Knife Going In
Nineteen
Where Does The Good Go?
Speak Slow
Burn Your Life Down
Call It Off
The Con
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Relief Next To Me
Dancing In The Dark
Back In Your Head
