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Concert reviews Music

Broken Social Scene tour the record shops

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE at Soundscapes and Sonic Boom. Sun, May 9. Rating: NNNN


Kevin Drew must hate your mom. Why else schedule four free in-store gigs on Mother’s Day?

Drew’s own mom followed her son’s Broken Social Scene around all day, and Drew made the rest of us look bad by singing a song to her at Sonic Boom. Guilt aside, we’re definitely glad we hit most of the shows, which turned out to be more substantial and memorable than most promotional gimmicks.

The band took a mostly acoustic approach to their Soundscapes show and focused on material from their new Forgiveness Rock Record. The songs translated surprisingly well without the album’s layers of effects and instrumentation, testament to the songwriting. ‘

At Sonic Boom, they amped things up, brought out a horn section and guest vocalists (like Julie Doiron) and split the set between older hits and new tunes.

The vibe was casual and intimate, and BSS seemed to be having a great time. We came expecting a couple of half-assed tunes per store but got satisfying, full performances. Why can’t all in-store gigs be this good?[rssbreak]

Watch a video of the Sonic Boom show here.

And then watch a video of the Soundscapes show here.

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