Tegan & Sara (7/22/05)



Though I've mentioned Tegan & Sara many times in this blog, this is my first time I get to write about seeing them in concert! Oh how I love my Tegan & Sara. The first time I saw them at the Grog Shop (12/04/04), it was almost by accident. I had heard about them before, I even had a bootleg that i acquired somewhere but never really listened to. I guess all I remember is that they were recommended by Amazon, which didn't weigh much on my respect list. A couple days before they came, I listened to some tracks from their new "So Jealous" album and thought it was worth going.

Since that point, seeing them in concert has positioned them in my top 20 (maybe top 10) favorite artists. I had since tried getting everyone I could to listen to them, and did so with great success. Finally, nearly 8 months later they were coming to the Newport in Columbus. DeVane was going with me, so we drove down and stayed with his friend Lori. We got there early, expecting to grab a bite and hang around the area for a bit, before we realized just how long the line was getting to get into the show! We hadn't gotten tickets yet, and I was quite fearful that the show would be sold out. So we secured our place in line and waited it out.

The crowd was definitely interesting. It really made me question how much longer I would be doing "young" shows like this. The crowd being so hip and alternative (is hip even accurate anymore?), and here I am, a nearly 30 yr old gay male. But usually those thoughts brush by me quickly, and then are forgotten. I hope I will always be going to shows that I enjoy, regardless of who else they may attract.

Once we were inside, I realized that I had forgotten my little book and pen to write about the show! Luckily I had my camera. And damn if the Newport wasn't so clean that I couldn't find a scrap piece of paper or pen ANYWHERE.

So now that I'm looking to write about the show far after the date, I don't have record of who opened. I guess neither band made a huge impression on me (though I have pics from both opening bands). After some research, I do know that one of the bands is Communique. But since none of the opening band pictures came out to well, I'll leave them off this post (sorry guys).

Tegan & Sara was good, playing to a much larger audience, in a much larger venue than the Grog Shop show I saw them previously. I was happy for them drawing such a large crowd, but it did lose something that the previous show had. I felt like at the Grog, they were a bit more relaxed. Tegan & Sara, being the twin sisters they are, are known for their inter-song banter which can be downright evil and entertaining! This show at the Newport was missing a lot of that. Still, the music was amazing and I will see them any chance I can get.

Click here to see my Flickr Photoset of this show.
Also, check out my new Flickr Photos link on the right for access to all my music photos!

Here's a clip of "Walking with the Ghost" from the show:

Posted: Wed - October 5, 2005 at 10:23 AM           |

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