The Trews @ The Roxy -- 04/26/11

I have seen The Trews over a half dozen times now, and whether acoustic or electric, they're always been in good sized venues. Which is great, but when one of my favourite live bands announced a string of fan-only dates in smaller venues, I knew I had to go.

Before the show, though, a brief tangent. I know I am in the minority being Vancouveronian who couldn't care less about the Canucks in the playoffs, but I was still a little dismayed when I found out that The Roxy would be playing game seven while The Trews were playing. I went to see a rock show, not a hockey game. It wasn't as distracting as it could have been -- I am guessing the fact that since it was a private show for dedicated fans helped a lot -- but it was still a little annoying. The band, however, were really great sports about it; they definitely knew their audience and were thinking of their fans... and even had a little fun with it. Colin mentioned it a couple times, joking "don't fuck it up!", improvising some lyrics about the game, and even pausing for the penalty shot... while they played their rendition of the Hockey Night in Canada theme.

As for the real show, The Trews were definitely on top of their game. From the insanely high energy of songs like the [appropriate] hockey anthem "Not Ready To Go" to the more mellow songs like "Dreaming Man", they proved why they are one of Canada's best live bands.
The set was heavy on the new album, obviously, including my two favourites from it, "One by One" and "I'll Find Someone Who Will", which were slotted with a couple of my old favourites, "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me" and "Can't Stop Laughing".
And despite the game, The Trews had the crowd wrapped around their finger, with everyone singing along to the aforementioned "Not Ready To Go" and "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me".

Another interesting thing about seeing the band live is the covers they always slip in. During "So She's Leaving" there was a little Rolling Stones, and "Tired of Waiting" had a bit of Buffalo Springfield. The song also had some fantastic guitar work from John-Angus, who is just a phenomenal guitar player. My face melted on several occasions thanks to him.
They ended their set after over an hour with "Hold Me In Your Arms" before coming out (just after the Canucks won) for a one song encore, somehow managing to top the energy of their entire set with "Burning Wheels"

setlist
The World I Know, People Of The Deer, Not Ready to Go, So She's Leaving (w/ She's So Cold - Rolling Stones), Paranoid Freak, Stay With Me, Hope & Ruin, Misery Loves Company, Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me, One By One, Can't Stop Laughing, I'll Find Someone Who Will, Dreaming Man, Tired of Waiting (For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield), Hold Me In Your Arms.
[encore] Burning Wheels.