Until last night, I hadn't found an excuse to pay visit to Royale, Boston’s newest rock venue located in the theater district, in the old Roxy space. But when '90s college rock dream double-bill of Superchunk and Versus announced a visit to the swanky club, I had my excuse.
I had been looking forward to catching the recently reunited Versus' set, but I didn’t expect them to deliver such a commanding performance. The set was filled with old favorites like "B-9" as well as "Cicada" off their recently released On The Ones and Threes. Versus filled the room with their brand of dynamic and engaging indie pop. As the band neared the end of their set, I noticed Mac McCaughan from Superchunk and Versus’ label boss sitting on the side of the stage, bopping along with the rest of us.
Superchunk are back!--hot off the heels of releasing their first album in nine years and arguably their finest since they released the seminal Foolish LP in 1994. The North Carolinians hit the stage Tuesday night to a feverous and nearly sold out Boston crowd. Without much delay, McCaughan, Laura Balance, Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster launched into "Why Do You Have To Put A Date On Everything," engulfing the room with a twin guitar assault, throbbing bass lines and pounding drums. As I looked around the room, I found my fellow concertgoers pogoing and singing along with every word--this trend would continue throughout the evening.
New songs, "My Gap Feels Weird" and "Digging For Something" came to life with an added punch in the live setting. McCaughan jumped, spun and worked himself and the rest of us into a frenzy throughout the night. In between songs, the band bantered with each other as well as the crowd, while guitarist Jim Wilbur littered our ears with profanity-laced stories, jokes and rants.
The well-balanced and cherry picked song selection from the band's catalog and new release Majesty Shredding made for a varied and powerful set. I’d be hard pressed to name a song I wanted to hear but didn’t. During the encore, the band paid respect to the Boston music scene with a mention of Buffalo Tom and performed covers of "Sebadoh" and "SS Decontrol." But my personal highlight came when the band kicked that encore off with a stunning version of "Like A Fool."
While I was listening to Superchunk in the early '90s, if you told me I would witness the band at the peak of their powers in 2010, I would’ve had my doubts. But the truth is, Superchunk are back and better than ever. See this tour when it hits your town. You will not be disappointed.
