pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

Last night’s Portland show was near the end of a long, 3 month tour for Tegan and Sara‘s sixth album, Sainthood.  The record (out last fall) is rockier than their prior, but fits in with their near history.  A great mix of pop songwriting with an alternative, modern rock edge.  The twin sisters trade off on vocal duty, and this is their first record where they actually wrote the songs together in the same room.  The closeness shows in the cohesiveness of this record compared to 2007’s The Con or 2004’s So Jealous (both great records as well).

Upon arrival to the Keller Auditorium, I got a good chuckle out of “tailgators” in a nearby park running through the oddly entrancing “Alligator” dance (see the music video).  If you hadn’t heard, there’s also a remix LP out now of the Alligator Remixes.

Holly Miranda was the first opener and went on right after 7:30.  I wasn’t expecting a full band for her, but more of a singer-songwriter.  Her band put together a great 30 minute set – more like a singer-songwriter vibe with a rockin’ boost.  I didn’t know any of her music, but I’ll definitely check her out soon.

Steel Train hit the stage after a short set break.  They’re all seemingly young guys from New Jersey, but they played a very throw-back, ‘cross-the-big-pond 30 minute set.  Really reminiscent of 80s Brit-poprock, they had a great stage presence.  The lead singer was very humbled alongside his rock energy… again, they seemed like really nice gents.  Great tunes, great energy.  Their set was capped by some crew coming out and drumming alongside them – one in a gorilla costume.

Tegan and Sara hit the stage right at 9pm.  They came out blazin’ with quartet of songs from their latest record… The Ocean, On Directing, The Cure, and Alligator.  I’m actually a little surprised they didn’t try to incorporate some of the aforementioned “Alligator dancers” in their stage show.

Tegan and Sara both switched between guitars and keys.  Most of the vocal duties for the night were Tegan’s, but Sara had a few of her songs in the mix as well.  The set was primarily made up of selections from Sainthood and The Con, but they threw in a handful of older tunes for good measure.  Both Tegan and Sara had some funny stories (and a little bit of sisterhood bickering).  It was cute… :)

Setlist: about 95 minutes

• The Ocean
• On Directing
• The Cure
• Alligator
• You Wouldn’t Like Me
• I Bet It Stung
• The Con
• Nineteen
• Northshore
• Night Watch
• Red Belt
• Monday Monday Monday
• Where Does The Good Go
• Speak Slow
• Walking With A Ghost
• So Jealous
  
• Hop A Plane
• Sentimental Tune
• Hell
• Encore: Back In Your Head (acoustic)
• Dark Come Soon
• Divided
• Call It Off
• Living Room

Due to it being the last night of the tour, emotions ran high (for all bands).  The bands also seemed really well practiced.  The show ended early (comparably to most rock shows), but due to its earlier start time, we all got a great amount of bang for our buck.  I imagine Tegan and Sara will take a bit of time off before the summer festival circuit, but I hope they swing through Oregon again soon!!

many more photos below

The Appropriate Linkage:

• Tegan & Sara’s Site
• Tegan & Sara on MySpace
• Steel Train’s Site
• Steel Train on MySpace
• Holly Miranda’s Site
• Holly Miranda on MySpace
• PCPA/Keller Auditorium

Check out their past 2010 tour dates below.

~Dan – np: Jónsi – Go

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TEGAN & SARA PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2010 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution

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The North American Sainthood 2010 Tour Dates

• January 5 – 6 Vancouver, BC Orpheum
• January 7 Kelowna, BC Community Theatre
• January 8 – 9 Calgary, AB Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
• January 11 – 12 Edmonton, AB Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
• January 13 Saskatoon, SK Saskatchewan Place Concert Bowl
• January 14 – 15 Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre
• January 18 Montreal, QC Place des Arts
• January 19 – 20 Toronto, ON Kool Haus
• January 22 – 23 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre
• January 25 Quebec City, QC Imperial Du Quebec
• January 26 Fredericton, NB Fredericton Playhouse
• January 27 Halifax, NS Rebecca Cohn Auditorium
• February 12 Northampton, MA Calvin Theater
• February 13 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
• February 16 Upper Darby, PA Tower Theatre
• February 17 Washington, DC Warner Theatre
• February 18 Richmond, VA The National
• February 20 Tampa, FL Tampa Theatre
• February 21 Boca Raton, FL Sunset Cove Amphitheatre
• February 23 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
• February 24 New Orleans, LA Tipitina’s Uptown
• February 25 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
• February 26 Austin, TX Bass Concert Hall
• February 27 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
• March 2 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues
• March 3 San Diego, CA Copley Symphony Hall
• March 5 – 6 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
• March 24 Minneapolis, MN The Orpheum Theatre
• March 25 Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theatre
• March 26 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
• March 27 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Theatre
• March 28 Lakewood, OH Lakewood Civic Auditorium
• March 30 Columbus, OH PromoWest Pavilion
• April 2 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
• April 3 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
• April 4 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
• April 6 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
• April 8 Portland, OR Keller Auditorium