Live Review: Wolf Parade at the House of Blues in Boston

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com - Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug share a lot in their band, be it songwriting, the spotlight or alternating as the frontman of a Canadian indie rock supergroup, so when they came out for their encore with a bottle of Jameson placed equidistant between their perches on the House of Blues stage, it was no surprise. “I’m just going to put this right here in the middle, so Spencer and I can both have it,” Boeckner said to the sweaty crowd awaiting Wolf Parade’s encore on Monday night.

Fortunately, they share their musical talents with the same zest and ease as their Irish whiskey.

Wolf Parade returned to Boston after a 2 year absence to play the shiny, sterile House of Blues. A far cry from the dingy, intimate Paradise Rock Club that they nearly tore to the ground. On tap, a new lineup (Hadji Bakara has departed for grad school) and a new album, their 3rd, the excellent Expo 86.

The band came out with an album sampler in reverse chronological order. They opened with What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way) a Krug led tune off of Expo 86 with an anthemic chorus and brilliant lyrics. Boeckner got his turn next, with Language City off of At Mount Zoomer and the show really got in the swing of things with crowd favorite Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts off of debut Apologies to the Queen Mary.

The band was not afraid to mix in new songs to a crowd willing to hear them for the first time. Boeckner got his Springsteen on with Palm Road, followed by the syrupy synth weirdness of In the Direction of the Moon. Spencer Krug told Pitchfork that he felt Expo 86 sounded like the notes depicted in Archie comics and judging by the fury at which the crowd was moving to the new songs, Boston was looking a bit like Riverdale.

The highlight of the night was another 3 album sampler with Ghost Pressure, one of the top 2 tracks on Expo 86, Fine Young Cannibals a simple, brilliant track from Zoomer and I’ll Believe in Anything, arguably my favorite song of all time and the band’s best work. What makes the trio of songs even more amazing than the pure enjoyment of how good they sound, is how different they all are. Wolf Parade has many different voices and they all work together.

After two of those voices decided to split a bottle of Jameson, they gave the crowd one last treat. A 3 song encore that seemed to contain more energy than the previous full length set. The final 2, This Heart’s on Fire and California Dreamer, both contained such intense crescendos that it seemed criminal to leave the crowd as high as they were.

Setlist (from http://wolfparade.nonstuff.com/)

What Did My Lover Say (It Always Had To Go This Way)
Language City
Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
Palm Road
In the Direction of the Moon
Shine a Light
Ghost Pressure
I'll Believe in Anything
Fine Young Cannibals
Two Men in New Tuxedos
Yulia
Kissing the Beehive

Encore

You Are A Runner and I Am My Father's Son
This Heart's on Fire
California Dreamer