In the life of every great band, there is a sweet spot; that moment in time when they are, if not at the peak of their powers, at that rich point in their career where there can be no doubt that this is something to get excited about, before all the demeaning and retrogressive forces of popular culture throw a wet blanket on the whole thing. It’s a delicate line to walk. See a band too early, and the experience is tempered by a thin catalog and the very real possibility that stardom is not in fact imminent. See them too late, and the punkass kids in their Hot Topic t-shirts and their tickets they won off a radio morning show will put a damper on your rock ‘n’ roll experience. It is, in a sense, the holy grail of popular music fandom: that perfect moment in which to witness a band, before they’ve become the great arena draw that anybody with $70 to burn can see, but far enough into their career that you know, as you’re seeing it, that this is in fact the real deal. Why this little meditation? Because, with three excellent albums and a sphere of influence that would make Khrushchev cream his pants, that perfect time to see Wolf Parade might just be now.
When Wolf Parade last graced the Crystal Ballroom with their presence two years ago, they were supporting their sophomore effort, At Mount Zoomer, and with their newly inherited status as patron saints of Canadian indie music, utilizing their opening slot to promote a few fellow Canucks, Listening Party. This time around, perhaps reflecting the band’s ever-expanding appeal, they were supported by Tokyo’s Moools; a band that seems to capture, if not quite merge, all the various strands of the last 15 years of American popular music. Eclecticism is no fault, and for a Wolf Parade opener it’s probably an ideal trait, but Moools managed to be so all over the chart – I detected, for instance, strong hints of the Clash at one point, Vendetta Red at another, and crazy power chords throughout – that it was almost tempting to doubt that this was all the work of one band. One wonders if this simply reflects the way North American and European music is consumed in Japan, without all the arbitrary delineations of genre that we apply to our own output. Or perhaps Moools is just a particularly diverse outfit. In either case, it was impossible not to be entertained by most of their set, though only a listener with musical interests as varied as the band's would have been on board throughout.
Wolf Parade kicked things off, as they did last time around, with the powerful (if nonsensical) “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son.” For me, it was an apt opener, being, as I distinctly recall, the first song I ever heard from the band. “You Are a Runner” epitomizes Spencer Krug’s songwriting and may be the band’s most famous track, but to reduce Wolf Parade to a single song would be foolhardy. The band demonstrated this on the very next song, handing the vocal reins to Dan Boeckner for “Palm Road,” a track off their latest album, Expo 86. Where “You Are a Runner” is a herky-jerky, rhythmic affair, “Palm Road” is a catchy, clean rocker the likes of which Boeckner seems to have a preternatural ability to churn out. Between the two, Wolf Parade turned the bouncy Crystal Ballroom floor into a rollicking mess of sweaty bodies, spilled drinks, and no small amount of musical euphoria.
In a sense, what is recognizable as the “Wolf Parade sound” is non-existent, an artificial construct, a perception of consistency arrived at simply because the songs are all grouped together on the same albums. In fact, the respective styles of Krug and Boeckner are markedly different, and if it succeeds, it’s because the two are complementary rather than comparable. This effect was very much in evidence on Tuesday night, as the band deliberately juxtaposed the two against one another. Virtually the entire night, Krug and Boeckner traded off, one song at a time. Krug displayed his virtuosity, bringing an almost stately presence to “Cloud Shadow of the Mountain,” belting the lyrics like a postmodern Jello Biafra, and then showing off Boeckner-like pop sensibilities on “Cave-O-Sapien.” Boeckner, meanwhile, demonstrated a degree of punk rock cool that perhaps nobody else in music today could pull off so unselfconsciously. An energetic rendition of “Language City” highlighted the At Mount Zoomer tracks, while “Shine a Light” from Apologies to the Queen Mary anchored the much deserved encore.
With a packed, sweaty house and an revved up audience ready to dance, Wolf Parade delivered a masterful show that left no doubt they are one of the most energetic and powerful bands on the scene today. With enough of a back catalog to be selective, the band never let the energy level drop to anything below a frenzy. They had plenty more tracks they could have pulled out, but after the 90+ minutes of hard work they put in, it almost would have been gratuitous. This was, as much as any I’ve seen in recent years, a show where nobody left unsatisfied. One wonders, though, whether the opportunity this show represented was fleeting. When Wolf Parade next comes to Portland, will a venue like the Crystal Ballroom still be able to contain them? Perhaps it will. But it was hard to believe on Tuesday night that a band of this caliber could still be seen in such cozy confines. There is a sweet spot in every great band’s career. This may have been it. If it wasn’t, though, then I can’t even fathom what kind of treat it will be to see them next time.
