There really is nothing like a talented woman with a guitar. It is beautiful: the voice, the strings strummed. Really, there is nothing better than a woman and a guitar. Just look at Ani, K’s Choice, and Rilo Kiley. Well, there is one thing better than a woman with a guitar: two women and two guitars.
Tegan and Sara fit this idea perfectly.
I know I am not alone when I say, “Damn, they were good.” There was something extremely powerful about those two girls, an acoustic, and an electric guitar. But there was something that was still really poppy and inviting. And I would dare to say that if they were opening up for anyone else besides Ben that they would have stolen the show.
Really, I loved every song that they did. The acoustic guitar held the time and mood while the electric added the lead parts or even played a bass riff.
This idea just goes to show how good these girls are. They seemed to be at times very low-fi coffeehouse performers, and then they would turn around and rock it hard enough to get an entire arena rocking.
I thought that their lyrics were both chock full of pop hooks, and yet extremely intelligent. I mean, “I want a house on the beach and you in my dreams” (from “Time Running”) is both a great line and also a line that sticks in your head for days on end.
Every part of “Living Room” is catchy as hell-from the banjo to the harmony vocals to the lead vocal melody to the lyrics: “I’d spend all night loosing sleep, I’d spend the night and I loose my mind.”
And if you want a line that sums up the catchiness of Tegan and Sara, just look to “Monday, Monday, Monday.” I seriously have had “I say damn your mood swings, damn you mood swings” playing in my head since the concert.
Every song here is a poppy assault ready for radio if only radio knew what was good. These guys could be huge and maybe they will be. But most likely no, since they are Canadian. Can you even name the last Canadian band to be popular in the U.S. since Barenaked Ladies?
Did someone say stage banter? Well, BNL has good banter and so do Tegan and Sara. Must be something in that Canadian water.
I found the banter hilarious. Some other people found it contrived, rehearsed, and forced. But I have a brother close in age and that is our form of fighting. Instead of doing the word fights on stage, we do it at the dinner table. So I felt that the banter was fun and almost as good as Ben’s. By the way, my brother and I do not talk about incest.
So, now that I have rambled on and on about the live show I will finally get to the CD, If It Was You. Like any band you see live first and then buy the CD second, the CD was naturally a disappointment. I loved the two-guitar, two-voice live show. The CD has multiple guitar and vocal tracks and yes, there are drums, bass, keyboards, and as I said before, banjo.
But after listening to the CD about 10 or so times since the show I have fallen in love with it. Every song is great, even if it is not like the live version. “City Girl” live was more country-tinged, while this version is folky and poppy. But “City Girl” is a great song no matter if it is live or on CD.
So in closing I plead for you to get this CD. I love it, and have I ever loved a bad album? No. I am perfect when it comes to music. I am the end all of music-well, good music, anyways. (Wait, did I just say that?)