The Weakerthans

Review: As the Annandale filled up during Jordie Lane's lilting acoustic set, I was surprised by the sheer breadth of the Weakerthans demographic. The sold out show boasted punk dudes with facial tatts, clusters of emo girls, guys who looked like they popped in en route to a Powderfinger gig – and, of course, aging indie kids like myself. What's more, it appeared that everyone knew every damn word; but then again, there's probably not such a thing as a casual Weakerthans fan. That might explain why John K Samson had a a grin permanently welded to his face through the gig: that sort of devotion's got to feel pretty damn good.

The expanded six-piece band, augmented with a female singer and an all-purpose guitarist/keyboardist (who also busted out a trumpet for the martial melody line of '(Manifest)') rocked through a set that took in all four albums (though only just: Fallow was represented solely by the breakneck 'Confessions of a Futon Revolutionist') and if Samson didn't waste time with chit-chat, it just meant they could cram in more songs – including a little solo moment midway where he fingerpicked through the gentle 'One Great City!' (grinning as the entire room bellowed the hook "I hate Winnepeg!" along with him) and the spoken word 'Elegy for Gump Worsley' before the band came back on during 'Bigfoot!'.

For me, though, it was the Reconstruction Site material that hit hardest: 'Benediction', 'Our Retired Explorer' and, perhaps most of all, the glorious cat-tells-depressed-owner-to-perk-the-hell-up 'Plea From a Cat Named Virtute' – and I confess that I wept actual tears during it's sequel, 'Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure', that closed the night. Glorious. Andrew P Street

SETLIST
Night Windows
Tournament of Hearts
Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucalt in Paris, 1961)
Benediction
Reconstruction Site
Aside
(Manifest)
One Great City!
Elegy for Gump Worsley
Bigfoot!
Plea from a Cat Named Virtute
Civil Twilight
Left & Leaving
Confessions of a Futon Revolutionist
The Reasons

encore
Utilities
Watermark
Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure