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Tour Dates
02/19 Beacon Theatre - New York, NY
02/20 Beacon Theatre - New York, NY 02/22 Upstate Concert Hall - Clifton Park, NY 02/23 Peter Clark Hall - Guelph, Canada 02/24 Orpheum Theatre - Madison, WI 02/26 MTS Centre - Winnipeg, Canada 02/28 MacEwan Hall - Calgary, Canada 03/01 MacEwan Hall - Calgary, Canada 03/03 Shaw Conference Centre - Edmonton, Canada 03/04 Conexus Arts Centre Theatre - Regina, Canada 03/06 First Avenue - Minneapolis, Minnesota 03/07 Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, Wisconsin 03/09 LC Pavilion - Columbus, Ohio 03/10 The Pageant - St. Louis, Missouri 03/11 Cain's Ballroom - Tulsa, Oklahoma 03/15 Warehouse Live Ballroom - Houston, TX 04/12 Coachella - Indio, CA 04/14 Rialto Theatre - Tucson, Arizona 04/19 Coachella - Indio, CA 04/25 Sydney Opera House - Sydney NSW, Australia 04/27 Groovin' The Moo - Glen Oak NSW, Australia 04/28 Groovin' The Moo - Canberra, Australia 04/30 Tivoli Theatre - Brisbane QLD, Australia 05/02 Palais Theatre - Melbourne, Australia 05/04 Groovin' The Moo - Bendigo VIC, Australia 05/05 Groovin' The Moo - Townsville, Australia 05/07 Thebarton Theatre - Adelaide SA, Australia 05/09 Metro City - Perth, Australia 05/11 Groovin' The Moo - Banbury, Australia 07/06 Donwview Park - Toronto, ON 07/09 Jacobs Pavilion @ Nautica - Cleveland, OH 07/13 CMAC - Rochester, NY 07/16 Meadow Brook - Detroit, MI 07/18 Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA 07/19 The Mann Center - Philadelphia, PA 07/20 Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD 07/22 Hudson River Park, Pier 26 - New York, NY 08/22 Red Rocks Amphitheatre - Denver, CO 08/23 Salt Air Outside - Salt Lake City, UT 08/27 Lake Tahoe Harvey's - Lake Tahoe, NV 08/28 Idaho Botanical Garden - Boise, ID 08/29 Edgefield - Portland, OR 09/06 The Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley - Berkeley, CA 09/10 Comerica Theatre - Phoenix, AZ 09/12 Gexa Energy Pavilion - Dallas, TX 09/16 Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre - Tuscaloosa, AL 09/18 Mizner Park Amphitheatre - Boca Raton, FL 09/19 UCF Arena - Orlando, FL 09/22 The Woods at Fontanel - Whites Creek, TN 09/24 Family Circle Cup Stadium - Charleston, SC 09/25 Red Hat Amphitheater - Raleigh, NC 09/26 nTelos Wireless Pavilion - Charlottesville, VA Discography
This is actually a true story about Tegan & Sara. About ten years ago, I met this woman and ended up at her house. I saw that she had T&S's debut album, Under Feet Like …
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Tegan and Sara was one of those bands that I had heard of for many years but never listened to until I saw them open up for Death Cab for Cutie at the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago. Frankly, I thought those days were behind me. The days when I would go to a show and hear a band I have never heard before and become a fan right there and then, but it happened with Tegan and Sara on that summer night.
So I was excited when I found out that they were going to be playing in LA and bought tickets for the show without even thinking about who would go with me. A friend of mine was going to go, but at the last minute got ill so I went to the show by myself. I had been to Club Nokia once a few years ago when my friend Roberta won tickets to a show. They were some young band whom I had never heard of before and now I don’t even remember their name. In fact I had totally forgotten about the metal detectors until I went into the venue on Friday night (February 1st). Club Nokia has to be one of the only music venues I have ever been in that makes you go through a metal detector. At the Palladium they have a hand wand that they use if needed, but a metal detector I don’t understand, especially for an indie band.
The first good news of the night was the fact that the Staples Center was not in use and I was able to find parking for $5. The second good news of the night was the fact that I was easily able to sell my extra ticket to a nineteen year old girl who will probably remember that show for years. The third good news would have to be that since the general admission floor was already full, I got to go upstairs and sit right behind the VIP section. Clea Duvall (an actress) who I used to see at all the “girl band” shows sat down in the row in front of me and later I noticed Greg Kurstin (the guy who produced their new CD and who is in the band “the Bird and the Bee”) sitting in the same row. Celebrity sightings aside, it was a fantastic show. All the ladies were in the house. I haven’t seen that many women at a show since early Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre shows. Having a female audience always changes the dynamic of the show. The energy level is different (maybe due to all the estrogen in the room) and I feel safer at these shows. Not that I don’t feel safe at other indie rock shows I go to, but the lack of males in the room makes it feel more communal at these shows. I feel as if I could be on stage or that the music is speaking directly towards me compared to when I watch mixed or all male bands perform.
If there was a female band that exuded sexiness …
My friend John once told me that the reason he likes female bands is because they are not on stage in order to get laid. He thinks their music is more authentic than male rock bands. He might be right. Of course I just think he likes female bands because he might get laid. :o If there was a female band that exuded sexiness, it would be Tegan and Sara. Maybe because their songs are mostly about relationships and their new cd titled “Heartthrob” is no exception. In my mind, they are the most “male” female fronted band around with lyrics like “how come you don’t want me now?” and “all I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me.” Most of the songs on the new cd sound very similar and have a lot of keyboard programming on them. A Greg Kurstin stamp that he places on all the material he produces. I love their last cd “Sainthood” which Chris Walla produced (which is probably why they were playing with Death Cab when I first saw them). “Sainthood” has variation to it, while “Heartthrob” is monotonous. Catchy, but monotonous none the less. Live it works because the songs were mixed up and Tegan and Sara played songs spanning their last four albums on Friday night. But as an album “Heartthrob” is not as strong as their older stuff. The audience seemed to agree with me and cheered harder for their older songs. As a band they decided to take a risk by going with a more pop producer and well the proof is in the pudding. The question is going to be, where do they go from here?
So I was excited when I found out that they were going to be playing in LA and bought tickets for the show without even thinking about who would go with me. A friend of mine was going to go, but at the last minute got ill so I went to the show by myself. I had been to Club Nokia once a few years ago when my friend Roberta won tickets to a show. They were some young band whom I had never heard of before and now I don’t even remember their name. In fact I had totally forgotten about the metal detectors until I went into the venue on Friday night (February 1st). Club Nokia has to be one of the only music venues I have ever been in that makes you go through a metal detector. At the Palladium they have a hand wand that they use if needed, but a metal detector I don’t understand, especially for an indie band.
The first good news of the night was the fact that the Staples Center was not in use and I was able to find parking for $5. The second good news of the night was the fact that I was easily able to sell my extra ticket to a nineteen year old girl who will probably remember that show for years. The third good news would have to be that since the general admission floor was already full, I got to go upstairs and sit right behind the VIP section. Clea Duvall (an actress) who I used to see at all the “girl band” shows sat down in the row in front of me and later I noticed Greg Kurstin (the guy who produced their new CD and who is in the band “the Bird and the Bee”) sitting in the same row. Celebrity sightings aside, it was a fantastic show. All the ladies were in the house. I haven’t seen that many women at a show since early Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre shows. Having a female audience always changes the dynamic of the show. The energy level is different (maybe due to all the estrogen in the room) and I feel safer at these shows. Not that I don’t feel safe at other indie rock shows I go to, but the lack of males in the room makes it feel more communal at these shows. I feel as if I could be on stage or that the music is speaking directly towards me compared to when I watch mixed or all male bands perform.
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Tegan and Sara at Club Nokia, Los Angeles (02/01/13) photograph by Jennifer Juniper
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