Victoria got a little bit smaller on Friday night. Or, maybe Broken Social Scene’s ever expanding and contracting lineup got a little bit bigger.
By definition, a Supergroup with a capital “S”, Broken Social Scene filled Capital Ballroom on Friday with a set that blurred the lines between friends and family and community. Ethereal and softly powerful, BSS bridged the canyons between quiet reflection and rocking honesty. Hot and beautiful and familiar, we were swirled in a cacophony of familial sound.
A presence that’s open and unpretentious, Broken Social Scene — led by frontman Kevin Drew — have nearly two decades of songs, stories, and sincerity which they brought with them to our Garden City. While the band’s name would suggest disharmony and discord, the fact is, it’s been years since I’ve been in a room that full of community.
With a set that navigated their extensive catalogue, they held us captive with the atmospheric anthems and recherché rock and roll that has defined and elevated them to the status of Canadian indie-rock royalty.
Midway through the evening, the band was joined on stage by openers The Belle Game for a performance of the sweetly haunting “Anthems for A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” that both warmed and chilled the hearers.
Nearing the end of the night, Drew left the stage and performed the entirety of “Lovers Spit” amongst his audience, his people. Buoyed by high-fives and hugs, Drew was lost in the sea. By breaking the fourth wall and coming into the crowd, he was no longer the emblem of the collective but, rather, a member of the community himself.
The crowd played like we were part of the band. And maybe we were. Maybe that’s the point: we’re all in this together. Regardless of what we may say or feel or believe, we’re all part of a collective confined to a small space experiencing the same thing at the same time.
At the end, Drew told us that he stilled hadn’t found what he was looking for. But we had. Or, at least, we were a little closer.
On Friday night, Broken Social Scene added a few hundred new members to their collective. Or maybe we’ve been a part of it the whole time.
