For roughly thirty years, Sloan has been one of the hardest and most beloved rock bands in Canada. There seems to be no slowing down for the band with thirteen records under their belts, countless side projects and extensive tours.
Having seen Sloan on play to thousands of people on stages big and small it felt like a rate treat to see a band of this calibre and longevity play an intimate theatre like the Charlie White Theatre in Sidney, British Columbia. Somehow spaces like this seem to feel safer for bands to get more genuine and can take an honest deep dive into their catalogue.
Despite the intimate setting of the band seemed Twice Removed from the audience hunkering down at the back of the stage letting Chris Murphy do the bulk of the heavy lifting when it came to interacting with the crowd with his occasional quips.
Sloan leaned heavy into their latest record, Steady for a majority of the show only slipping into their singles once in a while. The band shone brightly when performing She Put Up with What She Put Down and I Dream of Sleep. The later something we can all relate to.
Just before Chris Murphy strapped on the bass for Follow the Leader he cheekily leaned into the microphone with a smirk and said “I haven’t played this song in a long time and I have a million things to do. Don’t mess me up.”
It can be hard to gauge how much the audience is enjoying a concert in a room like the Charlie White Theatre in the Mary Winspear Centre. Especially when it comes to a rock show. For the most part everyone stays seated and that almost feels like it subdues the energy. The occasional song request, hoot or holler can be heard from the back corner but the audience tends to stay still until a song ends and the applauds come.
There could have been some mirroring happening between the audience and band but that seemed to be resolved in the second half of the show as they played more familiar material. The crowd and the band pepped right up when they played 500 Up off their first album, Smeared (how is this record 30 years old?).
Jay Ferguson felt very stoic and reflective throughout the evening while Chris strutted in the open space at the front of the stage. Even Patrick Pentland who is usually the shy one in the band took to the front of the stage for a solo and selfie with a fan.
“Well, we’ve played all our new songs, so all we have left is hits” Chris joked at the end of their set and everyone leapt from their seats to singalong to The Other Man, The Rest of My Life, Money City Maniacs, Lines You Amend, Underwhelmed and Good in Everyone.
Sloan has been consistently been creating lifelong fans for their music for the last thirty years with their dedication to not only to their music but by being relatable people. It’s no wonder we keep coming back again and again to see these group of Canadian rockers year after year.
