Wolf Parade @ the House of Blues, 7/8/08

I'm not sure what more I can say about Wolf Parade and it's members that I haven't said already before. I have thoroughly enjoyed, if not loved, every album that has come from Wolf Parade and its members' side projects. So even though they've graduated to the House of Blues (which really isn't that much bigger than the Metro, though it comes with more douchebags in the audience), I was still excited to see them on Tuesday and hear the new album live. The show pretty much lived up to my expectations as being another solid showcase of their music, though it does seem like Spencer and Dan are saving their most passionate displays of performance for their side projects at this point (or maybe that passion is just easier to discern in smaller venues). Regardless, Spencer was his usual intense self, hovered over the keyboards; Dante DeCaro seemed a little more subdued than usual (I guess it's not as easy to run drunkenly out the side door to pee in the street mid-performance as it is at Schubas); and Dan Boeckner seemed somewhat physically transformed from his usual mullet-y, tight t-shirt, heroin-addict skinny punk rock self to a more 6th-year senior college student look- he got a hair cut, grew a lazy goatee, and hid his waifiness in a plaid button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Maybe marriage does that to a person.

Wolf Parade played the bulk of the new stuff up front and saved most of Apologies to the Queen Mary for the end, "when they'd run out of new music," according to Spencer. Some kids on the main floor tried crowdsurfing (see: more douchebags in the audience), which was annoying and misplaced. I also thoroughly enjoyed watching the couple in front of us as the guy spent the majority of the show trying to "explain" the band to the girl ("Spencer's voice is the best. No, I promise you'll get used to it.") Nothing's funnier than seeing a person really into music bringing a significant other not as into music to a show and listening to their conversation. On a side note, it's amusing to me that Spencer's voice has been so embraced by the masses, because it's so weird. During show-closer "Kissing the Beehive", some guy next to me did his best to imitate Spencer's yelps during the "Fire in the hole, oh oh!" part. I got the feeling he had a band where he was trying to sing like that too.

Also, as someone who has recently taken up playing keyboards, watching Spencer play made me realize how good he is, and how I've got quite a ways to go before I'm at his level. It's inspiration to work harder!