Wolf Parade - The Ruby Lounge, Manchester
Friday 28th November 2008 December 7, 2008, 07:33 PM Views: 958
Comments: 12
 It seems that music gigs are very much like real estate; it’s all about location, location, location. Having received a tip-off that new Manchester venue The Ruby Lounge had some stage visibility issues, we got there as doors opened to take our places down the front. Some other friends weren’t so pro-active and watched the gig from the back of the packed venue. From where we were crushed, the sound was fine and the band were in full view; from where our friends stood the sound was apparently awful, and the band may as well been behind a brick wall. Thankfully this is my review though and not theirs, and so there are nothing but positives to report on Canada’s finest export since maple syrup. Support band Dag för Dag warmed the crowd up nicely, rocking their Swedish indie much harder than on record. They were very warmly received for a band that I suspect the vast majority of the crowd had never heard of before, although the applause is positively subdued compared to what was to come later for the headline act. And so it was that Wolf Parade arrived on stage to a rapturous applause; this, their second visit to the city, had been long awaited. Their previous appearance back in ’05 at The Roadhouse was in support of Dead Meadow and Black Mountain in front of around 30 people (I was fortunate to have been one of them), but they weren’t afforded a full set, so it proved to be more of a teasing taster than the full blown banquet we received this evening. As I mentioned earlier, Wolf Parade received tremendous applause throughout, and unusually for any band, songs from their latest album ‘At Mount Zoomer’ were as warmly received as ones from their cult hit debut ‘Apologies to the Queen Mary’ and their early EP’s. And it’s not hard to see why: ‘California Dreamer’, ‘Language City’ and the sprawling ‘Kissing The Beehive’ shine as brightly as favourites ‘This Heart’s On Fire’, ‘You Are a Runner And I am my Father’s Son’ and ‘Grounds For Divorce’. You could see that the band were visibly taken aback by the surprise level of support, guitarist Dan Boeckner seemed especially moved. The biggest applause of all though was quite rightly reserved for what would be the highlight of anyone’s career, ‘I’ll Believe in Anything’. On record this song moves you as much emotionally as it does physically, but live it moves onto another level, with the whole venue throwing itself around and screaming the words back at singer Spencer Krug as though it was the greatest song they will ever hear; and it most likely is. Music really doesn’t get much better than this; charged with enough energy and emotion to power the entire city. “I'd take you where nobody knows you, and nobody gives a damn,” howls Krug. Well they certainly knew Wolf Parade at The Ruby Lounge this evening, and they most certainly did give a damn, but it’s criminal how unknown this band still are. They seem to be a favourite band of the few lucky enough to hear them, including Arcade Fire, but for everyone else it’s a life more ordinary.
Last edited by Heron : January 14, 2009 at 05:50 PM.
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| | | | Overall Rating | | 9 | | Vocals / Lyrics | | 9 | | Musicianship | | 9 | | Production | | 8 | | Creativity | | 9 | | Lastability | | 10 | | Reviewers Tilt | | 10 |
91% | |
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![Wolf Parade - Shine a Light [Music Video]](http://hangout.altsounds.com/file.png)
Wolf Parade - Shine a Light [Music Video]
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