Glad to Be Here

Everybody's got their favorite bands. One of mine is Sloan. They've been cranking out top-notch power pop for nigh on 21 years now and I make sure to see them nearly every time they come through Boston. Last year, they hit town twice on the Double Cross tour (I saw the first show) and this Tuesday they returned on a quick tour celebrating the deluxe edition of their classic 1994 album Twice Removed.

The album was the band's second, following their 1992 debut Smeared, and it marked a serious departure from the feedback-laden shoegaze-inspired predecessor. Twice Removed was a subdued effort that leaned more on pop songcraft, catchy melodies and clever wordplay, and it was met primarily with blank stares by the band's label, Geffen, which had no idea how to market it in the grunge-hungry era. As a result, the album sunk like a stone in the U.S. (I recall hearing "I Hate My Generation" once or twice on rock radio) and Sloan was subsequently dropped from the label. The band took an extended hiatus that some took as a breakup before reconvening in '96 and forging a moderately successful indie career stateside (while enjoying greater success in their Canadian homeland).

At Brighton Music Hall, Sloan eschewed an opening act, instead playing two sets. While the second presidential debate and the Yankees-Tigers game played on TVs in the back bar, the band forged through Twice Removed front to back, kicking off with "Penpals," which was written by bassist Chris Murphy after reading some of then-labelmate Nirvana's fan mail in the Geffen offices. All four members write and sing their own songs, so the band would occasionally switch instruments so drummer Andrew Scott--who with his completely gray, shaggy mop and goatee resembled a younger, leaner Kris Kristofferson--could sing his two contributions to the record, "People of the Sky" and the extended jam "Before I Do." As entertaining as Scott's songs and guitar playing is, it's almost as fun to watch Murphy's exaggerated Keith Moon impression on drums. Murphy was a playful goofball throughout, making goofy faces, high-fiving fans and cracking wise. Pentland and Ferguson provided excellent guitar work, with the former generating heavy riffs and ripping solos while the latter played melody lines and rhythm parts.


Much of the audience sang along to "Generation," "Coax Me," Jay Ferguson's "Snowsuit Sound" and Patrick Pentland's album closer "I Can Feel It." Murphy played solo guitar on his "Deeper Than Beauty," backed only by Scott on drums. Pentland had some fun after singing his downbeat "Loosens," asking "Is that anybody's favorite song on the album? Didn't think so."

The band then took a 20-minute break before returning to play a 70-minute career-spanning set that included several songs from The Double Cross but also older favorites like "The Good in Everyone," "Chester the Molester," "Take Good Care of the Poor Boy," "Keep on Thinking" and the traditional Sloan show-closer "Money City Maniacs." For the encore, the band broke out "Glad to Be Here," a Pentland composition that came out on a 1999 compilation album, "The Lines You Amend" and "I am the Cancer," which dates back to the first album.

A Sloan show is always entertaining, and two decades into their career, the band hasn't lost a thing. If they keep touring, I'll keep going to see them.