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Music

The Constantines Reach New Heights

Posted by Jen Ford / April 3, 2009

16 Comments

ConstantinesThe Constantines come pretty close to being the kings of the Canadian indie scene. In the eyes of their fans, at least - who are devoted and many, according to the turnout at the Phoenix on Tuesday night. The band were the openers for three sold out shows in Toronto with the Weakerthans, playing a set both dynamic and raw.

These guys have been doing their thing for a while now. The quintet includes frontman Bryan Webb, guitarist Steve Lambke, bassist Dallas Wehrle, drummer Doug MacGregor and keyboardist Will Kidman. The band formed in Guelph in 1999 and released their self-titled debut album a year later. Shine a Light and Tournament of Hearts followed in 2002 and 2005, respectively, and the band's newest release, Kensington Heights, is currently on the receiving end of a whole lot of critical acclaim. And for good reason.

ConstantinesThe Constantines were loud and tight on Tuesday night, perhaps fueled by the tangible buzz of the crowd. I squeezed myself to the extreme right of the stage, where I was surrounded by absolute FANATICS. (Polite fanatics though, and I think I've mentioned before how I prefer to hear a band play live with total die-hards around me.) Most of the new material was covered, and the band played with their usual mix of guitar-heavy backing and Webb's ferocious vocals.

To say these guys are energetic on stage would be an understatement. They scream, shred and jump with enough wild tenacity to put a hardcore punk band to shame.

ConstantinesI feel crappy about missing the Weakerthans - my friends keep telling me how incredible and intimate they are live. Then again, my friends don't have to get up at 5:30 in the morning, so they can stuff it.

If you live on the west coast, you can catch both the Constantines and the Weakerthans as they continue their tour across Canada.

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Rochelle Latinsky / April 3, 2009 at 12:50 pm
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my sincerest apologies for my polite heckling.
I was likely one of the few culprits. :)

it's a shame they never played Little Instruments though
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Colin / April 3, 2009 at 01:15 pm
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Yup, they're the best. I like the Weakerthans, but you didn't miss much.
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William Self / April 3, 2009 at 01:44 pm
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The Constantines played an outstanding set! Too bad the back half of the Phoenix couldn't stop gabbing while they waited for the Weakerthans to take stage. It was like the Cons had to compete with the noise from a nesting bird colony. They deserved a far more appreciative crowd.
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Matt Joudrey / April 3, 2009 at 02:04 pm
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I agree with William. It is always disappointing when you are faced with a typical Toronto hipster-indie show crowd. They love to talk about the music but aren't really listening to it. That was the case of the set on the 1st of April. When the Cons played through their more mood-rock sombre songs there was an obvious lack of interest from the crowd by the very audible disinterested conversations taking place all over. Still the Cons played on and for those who were paying attention it was by far one of tightest most proficient sets in a long time from any band. Things did change considerably when the Weakerthans took the stage who played a solid set as well. I remember when I saw the Undertones at the Horseshoe Tavern and it was the only time in my history of seeing shows there that Jeff Cohen came on stage to introduce the band. He did so because some fans were hollering obscenities at the group, as they were about to take the stage. Cohen then says "I had the pleasure of having the Ramones on this stage, MC5, Stiff Little Fingers and now finally the Undertones. Try not to be a typical F@cking Toronto crowd tonight. Ladies and Gentlemen may I present the Undertones."
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GBryd / April 3, 2009 at 04:59 pm
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IMHO, The Constantines didn't really wow me. I was sitting up in the rafters with the camera crew, and the music was a bit too much to bear. A very sloppy set in comparison to Waking Eyes, who were fantastic, slick, and had great audience mojo. The opener stole the show.
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Colin / April 3, 2009 at 07:27 pm
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Who wants a rock n' roll band to be slick? Waking Eyes were a brrrrutal choice to open these shows, especially compared to past Cons openers I've seen (Jon-Rae and the River, Castlemusic, Attack in Black, the Hold Steady, etc.)
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Emily replying to a comment from Matt Joudrey / April 4, 2009 at 01:18 pm
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I don't get it, is Toronto especially known for being a tough crowd?
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Matthew Braga replying to a comment from Matt Joudrey / April 4, 2009 at 11:29 pm
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Re: sombre, more downbeat songs. I noticed the exact same thing, which was pretty disappointing. I was only able to stick around for the Constantines, and I was actually pretty surprised at how disinterested those around me seemed. I got the impression most people where there for the Weakerthans, which was more than confirmed considering I wasn't being forcibly pressed against the stage during the Con's performance.

I enjoyed the set though. The selection wasn't bad, and they were sure as hell having fun, I gathered.
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Matt Joudrey replying to a comment from Emily / April 5, 2009 at 03:06 pm
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Hey Emily. I have been to many shows where the Toronto crowd seems very difficult. In fact a few months ago at the Pheonix istelf a young opening band (who shall remain nameless)took the stage and were booed at and heckled by a few somewhat drunken fellas at the back and quite loudly. Although the opening band in my opinion did in fact suck, they were young (highschool) and tried really hard and its my opinion that as Canadians we're better than that. They were just kids having fun so no need to be jack@sses.
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James / April 6, 2009 at 10:43 am
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The Cons were an average filling. Squished between two slices of awesome from the Waking Eyes and Weakerthans.
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danny / April 8, 2009 at 11:23 am
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I agree. The Constantines were nothing special for me compared to the other bands.
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Airguns, Air rifle, scopes, Field Target / December 21, 2011 at 01:46 am
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Terribly well executed article!!!
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Online games / January 2, 2012 at 06:34 am
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Very interesting read!!
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moncler daunenjacke schweiz / January 3, 2012 at 09:32 am
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Admirable read..
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Washer and Dryer Reviews / January 20, 2012 at 08:14 am
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At least some bloggers can still write. Thanks for this piece of writing..
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Peer Van Mladen / February 6, 2012 at 05:32 am
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Strikingly well written article...
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