It’s certainly one way to preserve and maintain one’s mystique – like anyone knew exactly who or what Broken Social Scene was anyway. And with each visit to our shores that rings truer than before. The most oft-used description is something along the lines of “king-size, shape-shifting pop commune manned by rotating representatives from all four corners of Canada’s indie fraternity”, or similar. Or, alternatively, the band Feist used to be in a bit (and still is from time to time – though for the record, she’s not here tonight, in spite of having played in London herself a couple of days earlier). But now the waters of vague clarity are muddied further by the current ‘Broken Social Scene Presents’ franchise, which has temporarily replaced Broken Social Scene in its original free form and so far produced ‘solo’ records by the ‘band’s main protagonists and creative hub Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning (the release date for the latter’s is forthcoming, in July). Except they are still fashioned by essentially the same rotating hands that built Broken Social Scene, and achieve much the same ends. They continue to tour perpetually as Broken Social Scene too, in spite of repeated promises to engage in an indefinite hiatus, and they segue the ‘solo’ and ‘band’ recordings seamlessly tonight. Seeing as the foundation already laid is broad enough to accept any minor stylistic fluctuations, maybe that is no surprise.  Even though we may be unsure as to where lines should be etched in the sand – truth told, the sand is kind of churned beyond recognition – it doesn’t matter too much because the band we see before us tonight are as clear, lucid and convincing as they need to be. And for well over 2 hours they create entertainment with a straight-forward heart-felt purpose utilising every person and tool at their disposal. Obviously feeling short of a member at one point, they also add Bloc Party’s Gordon Moakes on second bass for ‘Stars & Sons’. The core of 7 swells regularly in-between and up to 11, and in the case of opener ‘KC Accidental’ (“our theme tune”) up to around 15, inviting part-time percussion and horns on stage to add trimmings and jubilant fanfare where necessary. The euphoric march to the climatic heights of ‘Ibi Dreams Of Pavement’, for instance, is a thing to behold. Do a risk evaluation. It’s a clear cut recipe for chaos and at previous London gigs we have seen that become an assessment personified; a mass of bodies, melodies and untethered musical shrapnel teetering on a brink. Generally staying out of the precipice, but teetering nonetheless. But if the ‘solo’ records have distinguished themselves in any way, it’s with a discipline, a slight control that the collective’s wider body of work didn’t and possibly couldn’t have. That transpires to be the case in the current live set up, and far from dampening the thrill, it brings a focus that we might have thought wouldn’t work. The songs just break through bolder. It’s not only an exercise in quantity. But if that all sounds terrifically safe, there’s still a curveball in the form of Do Make Say Think’s Charles Spearin's performing what he calls a “science experiment” involving him interviewing his neighbours, studying the melody and rhythm of their voice, looping select phrases and building instruments up around the natural structures presented. It ain’t disco by any means, but it is genuinely enthralling and intriguing segment that highlights how nobody throws weirder parties and that an experience comes free with your ticket price.
 
Relevant sites:
http://www.myspace.com/brokensocialscene
Report by James Berry for Crud Magazine 2008©
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