A Mutual Love Between Broken Social Scene and Their Hometown of Toronto

Date of show: December 9, 2010

On this night in their hometown, Broken Social Scene brought out as much of the family as possible. After the third song of the set, “7/4 (Shoreline),” with Leslie Fiest and Amy Millan on stage, Kevin Drew said, “It’s gonna be that kind of night,” which, of course, brought on cheers from the crowd. On stage, some at various times, were Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Sam Goldberg, Jason Collett, Lisa Lobsinger, Leslie Feist, James Shaw, Amy Millan, Evan Cranley, John McEntire, Julie Penner, David French, and Jo-Ann Goldsmith. During the set, Drew joked, “I’m surprised no one’s been injured here. I can’t tell who’s coming or going.”

Emily Haines was noticeably missing in action, especially when it came time for “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl,” but I know she attended the second night at Sound Academy, so that was nice to hear.

From the second Broken Social Scene set foot on stage and opened up with “World Sick,” the crowd was focused on stage. The horn section was booming, the band was full of energy, and Drew was, as always, full of banter. Drew, known as the leader of the pack, managed to thank everyone that joined him on stage.

Halfway through the set, Drew said, “We’re gonna be playing lots of songs from [Forgiveness Rock Record], but we’re also going to play whatever we can, ladies and gentlemen.” And this is exactly what they did.

There were some really great moments. Jo-ann Goldsmith, previously married to Drew, came out on stage for “Lover’s Spit” and they shared a microphone. Mid-song, they even exchanged kisses on the cheek. It was also great seeing Feist lead with her own song, “I Feel it All.” Drew started off by asking the crowd, “Let’s clap this one.”

The set all culminated in a grand finish with “Meet Me in the Basement.” They were not done yet, though, as they came back out for a 4-song encore. For hardcore fans of Broken Social Scene, there’s no way this lengthy set (close to two and half hours) could’ve possibly disappointed. On that stage, there’s always a party and it’s hard not to feel it.

Drew pointed out that Broken Social Scene has been touring for the last nine months, having to work even harder because they’re “not young anymore.” It was evident that Drew really appreciated playing a couple big hometown shows. At the of the encore, Drew said, “We live in your neighbourhood. Say hi if you like.” Drew always expresses a lot of Toronto pride, but it seemed as though Toronto showed a lot of Broken Social Scene pride that night.

I tried to keep up with the setlist. Here’s what I got:

World Sick
Texico Bitches
7/4 (shoreline)
Fire Eye’d Boy
Forced to Love
All to All
Pacific Theme
Stars and Sons
Cause = Time
Art House Director
Sweetest Kill
Guilty Cubicles
Superconnected
Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl
Lover’s Spit
I Feel it All (Feist)
Almost Crimes
Ungrateful Little Father
KC Accidental
Meet Me in the Bedroom

Looks Just Like the Sun
Water in Hell
It’s All Gonna Break
Major Label Debut