The Weakerthans
10/25/07
Cabaret Metro in Chicago
Man, oh man what happened to this band? The last time I saw them, they were playing with raw intensity inside The Empty Bottle about four years ago. What I remember most back then was all of the politically liberal literature they had for sale, not surprising considering John K. Samson was previously a member of the political punk band Propagandhi. In any case, considering the band was promoting human and animal rights, I agreed with their message and was all too happy to support them by hearing them play and buying their records.
Moving ahead to 2007, The Weakerthans are now headlining a sold out (or nearly sold out) Metro show. Two albums have passed since then (both 2003’s Reconstruction Site and their most recent release 2007’s Reunion Tour. And yet, even though four long years were inbetween these two releases, the fan base for this band apparently grew wholeheartedly within this time period. That’s not to say that their Empty Bottle show wasn’t crowded or that fans weren’t devoted. However, the sheer magnitude and volume has increased ten fold in that time.
What do Canada’s Weakerthans owe this great pleasure to? They haven’t signed with Capitol, if that’s what you’re wondering. Their newest album and upcoming re-releases of theri first two albums are on the indie punk and hardcore label “Epitaph Records”http://www.epitaph.com/ So what else? Did they star on some TV program I don’t happen to watch? Though I’m not certain this isn’t the case, I think it’s just that all of a sudden kids started listening and what they heard is something that could become their personal anthem. The fact that it was an all ages show helped as well. Many of the devoted fans up front were teenagers viewing Samson as a more handsome Canadian version of Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch. A friend of mine also had the right idea when he compared this show with seeing Death Cab for Cutie at the Metro and the way the younger crowd reacted. Of course, at that time I was only 22 myself so I remember feeling that young passion.
This isn’t to say that the Weakerthans aren’t worthy of that fervor. In fact, they played a great set that included songs from their newest and previous albums. Though their songs have become slightly more sing songy and polished, you don’t get the sense that they have sacrificed too much of their ideals. The fact that the crowd was all too eager to sing along to every song, knowing the lyrics fully by heart without any sort of prompting, enhanced the feeling of greatness emanating from them. While it is true that it may have been more enjoyable to hear more banter from Samson, who clearly has many things he could say about the world, the set had a nice flow to it that I could really appreciate.