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Review: the Weakerthans, Christine Fellows, AA Bondy
Christine Fellows, AA Bondy, and the Weakerthans played individually stunning, solid sets Wednesday to a sold-out audience at the Parish. Fellows — an energetic and honest performer — turns convoluted daily conversation into graceful stories. Former Verbena frontman AA Bondy — full of harmony and sarcasm, with taped fingertips and soft eyelids — performed pretty, folky and sometimes heartbreaking tunes. He generated a distant familiarity with his Dylan-esque tone; there’s something timeless about him.
Headliners the Weakerthans opened with an ornate version of “Bigfoot!” off their 2007 release “Reunion Tour” before plucking healthily from each of their records. Though “Sun In An Empty Room” always makes the heart ache, it was leagues more haunting live. Maybe it was the universality of resignation in John K. Samson’s lyrics paired with the band’s incandescent performance that made it more potent.
The first notes of songs from 2000’s “Left & Leaving” excited audience members, who danced to “Aside” and “Elegy for Elsabet.” The kids who weren’t dancing must have at least been thinking about it. One of the many high points in the Weakerthans’ electric set came when guitarist Stephen Carroll mounted a monitor for a playful solo. Bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Tait were right on the beat and steady all night. Fellows joined the band on guitar, piano and backing vocals throughout the set, and during “Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure,” the band seemed to come together like a happy family.
For those who latched on to the Weakerthans early on, hearing the pearls that have been important for different reasons must have felt like a tonic Wednesday night, as the band’s perfectly played set rekindled a soft nostalgia.
Click here for A-List photos from the show.
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