June 21st, 2008 11:25pm

The Loud Proud Volume Freaks

Sloan @ Bowery Ballroom 6/20/2008
Believe In Me / All I Am Is All You’re Not / Don’t You Believe A Word / Everything You’ve Done Wrong / I’m Not A Kid Anymore / The Dogs / Sensory Deprivation / Burn For It / Ready For You / Witch’s Wand / I Am The Cancer / Ill-Placed Trust / Emergency 911 / Down In The Basement / Something Wrong / I’ve Gotta Try / Living The Dream / Take Good Care Of The Poor Boy / Friendship / The Other Man / Money City Maniacs // Flying High Again / Who Taught You To Live Like That? / Deeper Than Beauty / She Says What She Means / The Good In Everyone

It’s kind of strange to say that the weirdest and most original thing about a show was its merchandise booth, but in the case, it’s true. Basically, the premise of the show is that a radio station called MRCH is on site, doing a live broadcast of the Sloan concert in a booth to the left of the stage. In the time leading up to their set, he’d play songs and station IDs by members of the band, and after they hit the stage, he’d talk during their instrument-swapping breaks. It’s an amusing concept with great utility, and it complemented the band’s mildly ironic nostalgia for classic rock very well without getting in the way of the music. As for the show itself, it’s rather simple: Sloan writes great songs, they rock out and have fun on stage, and the audience has a good time. It’s not profound, but it’s exactly as it should be.

Sloan “Burn For It” – Patrick Pentland pulls off a neat trick here, and unless you’re paying close attention, you don’t really notice it: “Burn For It” moves laterally from hook to hook, and the song never doubles back on itself to repeat a section. It’s just this bold march from one high to the next, moving on to a new peak every time it seems to hit a crest. It’s quite a thrill, especially as each turn in the song emphasizes the eureka moment of each minor epiphany in the lyrics. (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: I was on NPR’s The Bryant Park Project to talk about Girl Talk’s new album.