I decided years ago that I would be OK with not seeing Wolf Parade live. It wasn’t my choice, mind you; I’d just come to grips with the fact that it seemed like I’d never get to see them. After all, they seldom tour, never do big festivals and seemed unlikely to return to Kentucky (they opened for Modest Mouse before Apologies… came out; I didn’t hear about it until it was over). But by God, it finally happened.

In a weird way, Wolf Parade’s show reminded me of a lot of bands I’ll for sure never be able to see. Dan Boeckner had the energy and short, powerful motions of Joe Strummer, while Spencer Krug’s time at the keyboard made me think of compositional geniuses like Brian Eno or John Cale. But if I say that they reminded me of those musicians, it’s only because I have little else to compare them to. Krug and Boeckner are both very powerful songwriting figures.

Wolf Parade’s At Mount Zoomer has been the very definition of a grower for me this year. I was let down with it at first, finding it an unfortunate follow up to their previous EPs and album, but
have loved it more after each listen. Somewhere around August I started to think of it as a good record and now I’m convinced that it’s spectacular. But if one listen to the album moves my appreciation of it forward a yard, seeing it performed live drop kicked it into a deep love.

First of all “Call it a Ritual” is just genius. It’s not the best thing Wolf Parade or Krug have ever done, but just the delivery of the line “Call it a ritual / Call it whatever you will” earns it the right to be held in high esteem. And “Bang Your Drum” took on a new life at the Southgate house. I got so entranced by Spencer’s winding vocal melody that I was completely sideswiped when Dan’s guitar cut in like a punch from my right.

And that’s only half the story. Dan’s songs were a wonder as well. I quickly realized after getting At Mount Zoomer that the last Handsome Furs record was a pretty good indicator of where he was headed musically. Many of his songs (“Language City”) are like a country song recorded by a punk and then covered by a fan of both genres. There’s story and there’s energy.

But dear God did I love hearing old Wolf Parade songs. I bit my tongue through the entire set to keep from shouting out “Disco Sheets!” (someone in the back did it for me anyway), knowing that I’d be happy no matter what they played. I mean, really, it’s not like they have any songs I wouldn’t want to hear. But they still squeezed in all the old favorites: “I’ll Believe in Anything,” “Grounds for Divorce,” “Fancy Claps” and the set-opening “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son.” After spending about four years listening to demos, live recordings, albums and EPs, it was amazing to finally hear these songs played out in front of my eyes.

Oh yeah, best quote of the night:

Girl in the crowd: “Take your clothes off!”
Spencer: “Yeah. We’re gonna take our clothes off. It’s totally gonna happen.”