Wednesday 08/02/06 Broken Social Scene @ The Astoria, London

Three years ago Broken Social Scene played the Barfly, tonight it seems the word has spread as The Astoria is heaving with shiny faces despite the new eponymous album’s unfortunate release date alongside the Arctic Monkeys, a fact which the band have the good humour to laugh about tonight.

If the stands are full then the stage isn’t very different. When you have this many guitarists you cant help but note the differences between them- one is manically jumping, another intensely strumming and yet another is swaying dopily. The brass section is milling around at the back while the keyboards, violin and singers take centre stage, oh, and the two drummers have their heads down, workman-like. Of course, this configuration won’t last for long as the band members swap instruments and roles like they’re in a post-modern stage play.

This visual chaos is matched by the noise they make; sometimes coherent and absorbing, but mostly the excess of aural information takes away from the nuance and variety you find in their recorded material. Live performance always blasts away the finer details but in the first part of their set the guitar wall eradicates any subtlety and therefore interest, only the most diehard shoegazers are entertained. The Pixies, The Pumpkins and Sonic Youth all resonate in this din but in a more sedate fashion, BSS can’t muster up the same bile.
‘Major Label Debut’ is mesmerising with its dreamy Wayne Coyne vocals, undulating guitars and Beach Boys melodies though the brass doesn’t have the impact that it should, again the sonic overload means they are lost in the noise. It is only when ‘Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl’ kicks in that we see what they are truly capable of- the simple repetition of Park that car, drop that phone, sleep on the floor, dream about me allows the different musical elements to shine. They really come together to build unbearably slowly to an intense climax- it recalls ‘Day in the Life’ through its elegant arrangement.

Next they throw themselves into ‘Ibi Dreams of Pavement’, unfortunately this is when they are at their most macho, like a U2 mobile phone advert. The second half encompasses a lot- including moogy 80’s keyboards with Prince’s sex-song vocals and a solo of light reggae in a ‘Must be Love’ style. ‘Lovers Spit’ is when the brass comes into its own- there’s nothing like an upbeat trombone accompaniment to raise the spirits on a cold February night. Even the inter-audience stage hugging doesn’t pall as the band are enthusiastically embraced by grinning fans.

Usually when the last song is announced half of the audience shuffles to the back with thoughts of last tubes and late night bars but no one here moves. A band that embraces the epic as much as BSS are going to give a good finale and they do. ‘Its all Gonna Break’ involves audience participation, brass blasts, seven verses too many and the inevitable instrumental breakdown. They fulfil every expectation but maybe too easily, the best bits tonight were the more intimate times, the shimmering guitars between songs reminiscent of Interpol or Early Years or the trombone and sleigh bells at the end of ‘Anthem..’ that bring a tear to the eye.