Weak in Name, Not in Heart!

It was a rather gross and drizzly day when a horde of dedicated fans crowded into the main room of the Knitting Factory to see and hear one of the finest things to come out of Canada since, well, since maybe ever. That's right, we braved the elements to witness the Weakerthans take the stage and entertain us with their weird and rather indescribable mix of country, pop, and punk that sounds like a really bad idea until you actually hear it. The group had recently played a CMJ show, but this was not one of those: this was a full set, with a slide guitar and everything. The Weakerthans want to be your friend, and that's nice sometimes in the midst of all those other bands who just want your money and maybe your girlfriend while they're at it.

You don't believe they want to be your friends? Ok, fine. But how many other bands do you know who, whenever they forget the lyrics, give someone in the audience back the price of admission in cash? I was not under the impression that this was a common practice, and I was rather disappointed that I was too far back in the crowd to get my $12 refunded. That's not to say that the show wasn't worth every penny; these guys act like professionals on stage, despite the fact that they seem to think that it's the best joke ever that people are paying to hear them. It's always amazing to go to a show where the audience knows as many (or, in one case that night, more) of the band's lyrics than their own singers, and Weakerthans fans are nothing if not dedicated and good at singing along.

Far be it from me to tell you what to think or what to listen to, but if you want some advice from this high and mighty Spectator writer, you should really listen to this band. The fact that they don't fit into some sort of niche probably means that the Weakerthans will never hit it really big, but it doesn't mean they are not making music that a huge number of people can enjoy and relate to. In my experience, almost everyone likes sad songs, especially when they sound happy at first, and these guys are masters at that kind of music. They're also clever enough to make you smile, but not clever enough all the time to make you want to puke. They're good musicians, but they don't bore you by showing off how good they are. And they appreciate their fans, so that when they play you really do think that it makes them happy that you like their songs. They may never get ridiculously popular, but the dedication of their fans shows that they are already making a deep impression on the people they do touch.