Broken Social Scene is a group that
masters the art of musical collaboration, a talent which has shaped
the constant development and diversity of sound which exists in their
music. With the ubiquitous dynamic between its varied and multiple
members, and the resulting sentience in their sound, Broken Social
Scene have become one of the indie music scene's favourites. With
support from Bearhug, Broken Social Scene played a number of sold out shows to an
eager and motley crowd.

With the misfortune of missing my bus,
I was only able to catch the last couple of songs from the
Sydneysiders Bearhug. With a serene and almost shoegazy ambience, the
band possessed a soft spirit and similar character to Death Cab for
Cutie. Perhaps more intriguing than the music itself was the luscious
fro creeping its way down the shoulders of the bass guitarist, a
minor salute to Slash of Guns n Roses. The vibe of Bearhug's music
was definitely interesting, and you can experience their live
performance for yourself at Sydney's Melt Bar later in August.

Broken Social Scene strolled onto the
stage one by one, strutting with ease and possessing the pride they
deserve. Completely aware of the god-like status they held in the
eyes of the audience, it seemed as though the band felt they had
little to prove. Female vocals were cut out of the performance due to
Lisa Lobsinger suffering the flu - but she still made it on to the
stage with a rather uncool display of bedhair, as the rest of the
band defended her “rock and roll” status.

Opening their set with Forgiveness Rock
Record's “World Sick”, the notion suddenly emerged that their
music would perhaps not all translate well live. With all the
layering of instruments and vocals existent on the album, there was a
rather noticeable gap in the music's wholeness when played live.
While it's preferrable for live music to portray a different sound to
that on albums, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with the
thinning harmonies. That's not to say the music sounded bad at all,
with constant movement in the stage area and quirky anecdotes being
shared with us all, the band went on with smashing performances of
“Texico Bitches” and “Fire Eye'd Boy”.

There was never a dull moment on stage
with Broken Social Scene: the inconsistency of the line up, the
occasional brass band which hopped on and off the stage, and all the
strange outfits and facial hair loosened the divide between performer
and spectator, and we were really able to engage with the set. The
incriminating scent of marijuana which continuously wavered around
the room further enhanced the experience for a couple of lucky ones,
and this is definitely the kind of band you'd want to get high to.