The Thing About Imagination

Sloan @ Theatre National, Montreal 10/5/2006
Flying High Again / Who Taught You To Live Like That? / Ill Placed Trust / The Lines You Amend / All Used Up / Golden Eyes / Love Is All Around / Living With The Masses / HFXNSHC / Blackout / The Good In Everyone / C’mon C’mon / I Understand / Don’t You Believe A Word / Money City Maniacs / I Can’t Sleep / I Know You / Something’s Wrong / I’ve Gotta Try / People of the Sky / Everything You’ve Done Wrong / Before The End of the Race / Losing California // I Was Wrong / If It Feels Good Do It

Sloan “I’ve Gotta Try” – Since virtually all of the live music shows that I’ve seen in my life have been in and around New York City, it’s rare that I ever have experiences as I did last night, ie, being in an audience who are going totally batshit for huge hits that I only barely know. The songs in the Sloan catalog that I enjoy the most are almost entirely from their excellent new record Never Hear The End Of It, and that album is pretty much the entire reason why I skipped over the more eclectic acts also playing the Pop Montreal festival last night in their favor. After all, even if they eventually tour in the US, the energy just wouldn’t be the same as being up in the front with a bunch of hardcore fans who are intent on singing along to every word, shouting declarations of love to the greying band members, and doing this weird “Sloooooooooooooooo-aaaan” chant whenever there is a lull in the set.

I have seen Sloan once before as an opening act for somebody I can’t remember four or five years ago, and I wasn’t terribly impressed either way, but I do recall there being a large number of Japanese girls flipping out for them and leaving en masse as soon as they ended. The band are unassuming and unpretentious, and are focused on creating a clever kind of power pop that can be easy to ignore, but also very easy to love. It’s not shocking that they’ve got the fans that they do, but I do find it strange that they aren’t more psyched about the new songs given that they mostly are a lot catchier and naunced than the older material. A good number of the new tunes that I enjoy the most were not played, mainly the Squeeze dead ringers “Everybody Wants You” and “Someone I Can Be True With.” On the upside, my absolute favorite “I’ve Gotta Try” was thrown in late in the set, though it didn’t seem to catch on with the crowd as well as it should have with its grand hooks and its anthemic chorus. (Click here to buy it from Maple Music.)