Five reasons to see the Weakerthans in concert

I’ve been waiting to write about this for a while. I took a trip to Detroit (okay, an hour drive, tops) for a concert at the Magic Stick a few weeks ago, accompanied by buddies Mike “Lucky Shot” Bloom and Joe “Hustler” Quist [1]. Here's the best justifications I jotted down (like you need justification other than the Fifteen Charisma Seal of Approval) to see the Weakerthans for yourself:

1. The Audience. Frequently drunk, sometimes boorish, always a joy to be around. When you get a band with a small but loyal following, the folks at the concerts know all the words and aren’t shy to join in on a chorus for “One Great City” (emphasizing the ”I hate Winnipeg” with boistorous glee) They show up early to suffer through three hours of opening acts (fucking seriously, Magic Stick? Three hours?) and wouldn’t let the band leave until a Cat Named Virtute Explained her Departure. And like most of the audience, the band is…

2. Canadian. Very Canadian. Who’d have thunk that our northern neighbors weren’t limited to maple syrup collectors and Mounties? Apparently choosing between depressing cities and a frighteningly cold wasteland can lend some aid to writing music borne out of existential despair. Alright, forgive the overt essentialism, but there’s a certain ineffable Canadian-ness to a setlist that includes songs about curling tournaments, elegies to retired goalies, and odes to the Vancouver bus system. And nobody fits the bill better than…

3. John K. BAMF Samson – this man does it all. He writes the lyrics (each song a short story in itself- more on that below), plays games with the intoxicated crowd, and in one memorable sequence, riffs an extended solo on “Utilities” to bring down the house. He took the stage alone to give the band a break, threw in some acoustic work, and never missed a beat as everybody got back on stage for an absolutely electric “Aside” – yep, that song from the credits in Wedding Crashers. His performance alone was worth the…

4. Ticket price. The band mostly plays at inexpensive venues with general admission – I got mine for a fifteen dollar cover charge and a friend in DC found his for nineteen. As my high school French teacher, the esteemed Patrick Dolan, frequently remarked, “C’est un good deal.” And if that weren’t enough to convince you…

5. Oh, yeah, the music is fucking amazing. Between masterful lyrics (Shakespearean-style sonnets, a nostalgic romp through Antarctica over dinner with Michel Foucault, extended metaphors for embattled love mixed with an Absurd stoicism…) and guitar work that oscillates between the joyful and the haunting, you don’t want to pass these guys up.

Unforgettable experience. Overall? Four Retired Explorers out of four.

--kd

[1] There’s a story behind these. I’ll keep it in the vault for a rainy day, by which time it’ll be hopelessly exaggerated and much more interesting. I'll just say this - if two guys from Michigan challenge you to pool, one sporting a persistent five-o-clock shadow (or on rare occasions, the General Burnsides look) and a Jew-fro, and the other is a lankier Tom Brady lookalike, think carefully before putting money on the line. Just sayin'.