The Heart Of The Traveling Band

Sloan @ Southpaw 5/11/2007
Flying High Again / Who Taught You To Live Like That? / Someone I Can Be True With / Ill Placed Trust / G Turns To D / The Lines You Amend / Fading Into Obscurity / Golden Eyes / Love Is All Around / Living With The Masses / HFXNSHC / Blackout / Money City Maniacs / Don’t You Believe A Word / Set In Motion / I Understand / You Know What it’s About / Chester The Molester / I Can’t Sleep / People Of The Sky / Something’s Wrong / I Gotta Try / Everything You’ve Done Wrong / Before The End Of The Race / Ana Lucia / The Good In Everyone / Another Way I Could Do It // Deeper Than Beauty / 500 Up / She Says What She Means

Sloan “Someone I Can Be True With” / “Right Or Wrong” / “Something’s Wrong” – When I saw Sloan play here in January, I left wondering what it was about their set that felt so familiar and comforting, and I think I figured it out on Friday night: A Sloan gig is essentially the same as a Guided By Voices gig, but without the cult of personality, fewer songs, a more competent band, and a bit less over-the-top drunkenness on and off the stage. Okay, that’s actually a lot of differences, but the key similarity is that they are/were both groups comprised of down-to-earth indie rock lifers who want nothing more than to play a marathon of super catchy tunes for an audience eager to sing along, bop around to the upbeat numbers, and buy into the band’s underdog mythology. (Click here to buy it from Yep Roc.)

Sloan “Money City Maniacs” – Whereas GBV always had the “these songs should be hits, man!” thing going for them, Sloan borrows a page from American Britpop appreciation by having loads of actual hits….in Canada. Whenever the band launches into one of their old singles, the audience flips out as if they are collectively attempting to will “Money City Maniacs” and “The Lines You Amend” into retroactive American smashes. But nope, sorry, we never had a rock radio hit in 1998 with a chorus as maddeningly catchy as “and the joke is / when he awoke his / body was covered / in coke fizz.” Maybe that was for the better, though — I’m not kidding when I say “maddening,” “Money City Maniacs” will get stuck in your head for hours days weeks months LIFE. (Click here to buy Navy Blues used (it’s currently out of print in the US), or here to buy the singles collection A-Sides Win, both via Amazon. I recommend Navy Blues.)

Elsewhere: Chris Conroy has created the very best LOLCorgs on the internet.