Returning home for a visit is often a whirlwind pulling you in multiple directions. When Calgary born Tegan and Sara Quin returned home for a stop on their Love You To Death Tour they kept up a busy schedule including Q&A’s and performances at the National Music Centre and Kool FM prior to taking the stage to a sold out MacEwan Hall on October 7th. If there was any tiredness from the busy tour and extra activities, there was no sign of it as they truly shined.
They duo knows how to engage a crowd right off the bat, with a huge singalong to Back Into Your Head. I Couldn’t Be Your Friend was a quick follow as Tegan and Sara, backed by a skilled three piece, began a musical journey that blended multiple tracks from their current album Love You To Death with their back catalogue. Songs like I Was A Fool and Alligator were reworked to fit into the pairs current sound and it all worked.
Despite the upbeat backing track, Tegan and Sara have long written about heartbreak. The Con is in itself a very sad album that has gotten many fans through tough times. Yet despite the subject matter of songs like Goodbye, Goodbye and Fool For Love you can’t help but feel the hope also infused into them. Off the new album the track 100x is absolutely stunning and was a highlight of a show that was filled with them.
As always Tegan and Sara joked with each other, told stories and entertained for nearly 2 hours. An excellent light show, incredible energy, and 25 songs combined into one of the best concerts that has come through Calgary that I have seen this year.
At the previous night’s ATB Storytellers event at the National Music Centre, one of the things mentioned was reviewer’s tendency to comment on the audience, especially a LGBT slant to it. While there are of course multiple gay fans for the pair, it was obvious that Tegan and Sara are admired for much more than their own sexuality. There was no way to lump the audience into one group – it was a diverse range of ages, genders, sexualities and personalities that all were there out of a mutual adoration. What did stand out – to the point that Tegan commented early on – was the incredibly high number of children in the audience. At the bands Kool FM performance, they took a question from a 6-year-old who was going to her first concert. At its’ core, that is what music is about. It is inspiring to see these 2 women – gay, activists, talented, Canadian, and any other descriptive term that is often applied to them – affecting people. Someday, one of those kids may be on stage themselves, or on a different successful path, and tie back an early influence to this music. You never forget your first concert – something Tegan touched upon, mentioning a 1990 New Kids on the Block concert that was an early influence. Music, the writers and performers behind it can mean so much to so many. To witness Tegan and Sara have that impact says everything about why there is so much pride in knowing they were born and raised in Calgary.
