Concert Review: Sloan @ HMV Underground

By: Daniel Gerichter (@ZenDonut) –

Toronto-based indie rock band Sloan played a special HMV Underground in-store performance playing tracks from their new LP Commonwealth.

For Sloan, every Toronto show – no matter how big or small – is a family affair. They’ve built most of their discography (not to mention adult lives) here, so when they entered HMV’s tiny, packed basement (the Underground) at their Yonge-Dundas Square location, it was to a hero’s welcome. Fans lined up throughout the late afternoon to get up close with the quartet, hear them perform tracks from their brand new album, Commonwealth, and get some autographs.

The band, made up of Jay Ferguson, Patrick Pentland, Andrew Scott and Chris Murphy took the stage, with Scott grabbing a guitar and Murphy sitting at the drum kit. They announced that the first track we would hear would also beCommonwealth’s longest – Scott’s epic, 11-minute album ender “Forty Eight Portraits”. Besides the length, this track is wildly ambitious for summarizing one band member’s view of the collective. Each member pitches in on vocals, but for this experience, they’d brought a little something extra.

It’s notable that the band’s spouses and children had all taken up an area at the front. It’s just that you wouldn’t have known they were actually family from the way they cheered and sang along throughout the set. And to that point, Murphy’s young son Francisco (or Francis) nervously hopped on the tiny stage mid-song and threw in adorable, tiny vocals. In addition to his dad, the rest of the band (who’ve probably known the little guy as long as he’s been alive) all smiled as though they were watching him at his first recital. Once the song came to an end, Murphy remarked “that’s my boy!” and feigned crying.

The band continued along the concept of the album’s four quadrants, playing Pentland’s “Keep Swinging”, Murphy’s “Carried Away” and Ferguson’s “Cleopatra”. Listening to the record is one thing, but the real genius lies in Sloan’s live experience. Each member had a chance to showcase their own creativity and skillset, not to mention banter and charisma. And seeing as Sloan have over twenty years worth of hits to exploit, it wasappropriate for them to hit us with “I Hate My Generation”, one of the best tracks from their 20-year-old classic, Twice Removed.

After a short break, the guys sat down to enthusiastically autograph literally everything fans put in front of them. It’s always heartening to watch rock stars interact with each fan as though they’re the only ones approaching them – making jokes, asking names and posing for a million selfies. Some bands understand that, as hard as they’ve worked and as much as they love what they do, it could all be gone tomorrow. Judging by the show’s intimate feel and the way they shared their home lives with a room full of strangers, that’s clearly the attitude that’s carried Sloan for all these years.