Tegan & Sara
Palace Theatre
January 9, 2009
Every time Canadian identical twins Tegan and Sara tour Australia the crowd builds, so it was no surprise that air play of their singles ‘Back in your head’, ‘Walking with a ghost’ and cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the dark’ prompted thousands of mostly female fans to the Palace one balmy Friday night.
Tegan & Sara Quin have been performing together for more than a decade; they’re tight as hell, and have perfected the art of good manners, entertaining chit chat and often rambling stories about the genesis of their songs, and near-faultless rendering of their catchy pop library.
The band has some serious music credentials: they’ve climbed the indie ladder, working with the likes of Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, Ryan Adams, The Killers, and Death Cab for Cutie. They’re charming and cute, but have eschewed the vanity and narcissism that has inflicted many of their female peers in the music biz.
Having played at the Falls Festival in Lorne over the new year, fans who missed out on their coastal adventures were champing at the bit to hear the twins get down to business. Others were just keen to get a glimpse of the lesbian poster girls; wolf-whistling and yelling messages of love throughout the one-and-a-half-hour set.
The concert contained all the right elements: old and new songs, a bit of reflection and some toe-tapping good times. At a selfish level, I couldn’t have been more pleased with their song collection: ‘Nineteen’, ‘Where does the good go’, ‘Living room’ and nuanced renderings of songs that were at once familiar and different.
T&S’s harmonies are recognisable and good on the ear; their songwriting succinct and poppy. But what really gives weight to duo is their songwriting: their lyrics are intimate and clever; some tell stories; others vividly portray the bittersweet human experience.
It ended with a three-song finale and that was that. Until next time, my pretties.
