Tegan & Sara are one of those bands that I was lucky enough to see back in 2004 at the Grog Shop (before I even started blogging). I’ve seen them a handful of times since, but it’s really hard to top that early show. My first documented time seeing them was in 2005, and I can’t believe that poor little video clip is still working! Since then, the venues and albums have fluctuated. This show at the House of Blues was not on the top of my list, but having a press pass is a luxury for the House of Blues.
Opening was Japanese Breakfast, a woman from Oregon who was the former lead singer for Little Big League. I’e been enjoying her album, and it was great to hear that Cleveland is her favorite city in the US (to tour, I believe). She talked about the basement shows, playing at a bowling alley (Mahalls!) and a skate park (Now That’s Class!), etc. While I had been enjoying the album, the live performance was perfectly fine.
Tegan & Sara just came off a 5 day straight tour, and you could tell (especially from the photo trench). I wish I could say something remarkable about this show. Other then the fun inflatables on stage, I can’t really say there was much difference between this show and the others I’ve seen, particularly as they seemed to focus on their older songs for this show (tour?). But then again, maybe I can blame it on the venue. You can read Cleveland.com’s take on the show below as well.
(the rest of the photos are here)
"Tegan and Sara performed a range of their pop-driven indie songs, including 'Goodbye, Goodbye' and 'Closer.'
At times, this electronic edge was a little over-the-top; the duo threw in some unneeded synths and rocket ship sounds to the originally acoustic 'Living Room.' Really, the only acoustic song that the band performed was 'Call It Off,' and the crowd loudly sang along.
But besides their songs, Tegan and Sara always made time to speak up about things that mattered to them. They mentioned donating money to LGBT charities, off of an upcoming 'The Con' cover album they'll be releasing. And they repeatedly encouraged the crowd to check out their opening band, Japanese Breakfast, once they got home."
(Via Tegan and Sara mix stage banter and pop songs at Cleveland show (photos) | cleveland.com.)