I'm going to have to start off by saying that I've gone to some killer ass shows this year... just a few include Daft Punk at the LA sports arena where kids walked out asking if they had just been abducted by aliens, Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem / Blonde Redhead where 20,000 kids showed up to Randall's Island, Paramore (two times? maybe three. i've lost count), Tegan and Sara three times in a row this summer...
But It's safe to say that tonight's show definitely made the top 3 list for 2007, and keeping those shows listed above in mind, I'd say that's pretty damn amazing.
Something about tonight's show just blew me out of my mind. A combination of perfectly executed stage banter, the long awaited Umbrella remix, a FIVE song encore, "When I Get Up" played with the most passion I have ever heard them play it/Tegan sing it, a ridiculously well written set-list that seemed to, almost like The Con, pan out like a story...
But, the one thing that really just made tonight the most amazing Tegan and Sara set I've witnessed was this tremendous increase in the level of intensity from when I last saw them. Sara's always amazing, but tonight she really just killed it. Like, killed it. I could think of excuses and say, well oh maybe the sound and the acoustics in Webster Hall gave it that extra kick, but it was seriously all Sara. A couple of times I was taken so-aback by how much intensity and passion she was singing with that my jaw dropped--the most notable time in Like O Like H. I remember watching her mess that one up in Long Beach, and I've heard stories of her flubbing it up a little on this tour too, so it's safe to say it hasn't been her "strongest" live song. But tonight? She sang it beyond perfectly, and hot damn, I'm absolutely positive all of Manhattan probably heard her belt out those last few "in your gut"'s. I mean I guess it was different watching T&S play stuff off of The Con in July because it was the first time they were playing the material live, but whether or not they're just getting/haven already gotten more comfortable with the material now or if the two of them had some moments of enlightenment that's made them these (even greater) SUPER musicians, I'm still just blown the hell away.
Extra +'s include: Northern State putting on a great opening set, someone literally chucking a bouquet of roses at an unexpecting-Tegan as she walked off the stage (even better--Tegan totally ninja-ed it out and caught it with what looked like one hand), the "silent" encore applause that Sara requested us all to partake in (no clapping or shouting after the "last" song, Call It Off, only to allow it to explode into one giant mess of screaming raucous love when they came back to re-take the stage), and um...did I mention that five song encore with Living Room capping off the night?
In a nutshell, Tegan and Sara never cease to please and if you have not seen them live yet, you really should think about giving up your first born or signing your soul away to get your hands on a ticket to one of the many sold out shows they have left to play on the tour.
PS, I'm totally in love with Ted, and I don't know if he knows that the whole crowd can still see him rocking out even when he's not directly in the light, but he's basically just the greatest guy, ever.
