Oct
23

The Raveonettes - Live in Montreal 10/20/09 Review

Tag: blog

[IMG]http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b312/gabecb/raveonettes_in-and-out-of-control.jpg[/IMG]

The Raveonettes - Live Club Soda, Montreal 10/20/09 Denmark’s gloom-pop duo The Raveonettes must be proud of their latest release, In and Out of Control (Vice Records). At Wednesday’s Club Soda show, the band played nearly the entirety of their new record; a brave move considering the album has only been available for two weeks (legally that is; a leaked version surfaced some time earlier). Compared to the relatively minimalist set the band played when they were last in Montreal, (Spring ‘07, at the thankfully now-defunct Les Saints) this was an arena-worthy show in nearly all respects, from the bombastic light show (heavy on the strobes of course) down to the two encores that closed out the show (more on that later). Despite the heavy-emphasis on the new LP, the crowed reacted favorably to the new material, breaking into spontaneous handclaps during “Break Up Girls!”, and erupting into sporadic pogoing for “Suicide”. However, the loudest reaction was reserved for “Love In A Trashcan” from the Pretty In Black LP, proving that the packed club wasn’t entirely filled with new converts. To reward those faithful that have stuck with the band over the years and through their various stylistic changes, the band reached back to “Experiment In Black”, a b-side from their debut, 2002’s Whip It EP, during the first encore. If that seems like an odd choice for a “crowd-pleasing” encore, the band had a few other surprises as well; no “Hallucinations” or “You Want The Candy”, two of the best-known tracks off their previous (and breakout) LP, Lust Lust Lust. Following a few minutes of confused stagehands walking about, and after the house lights had been turned on, the band nonchalantly walked back onstage for “Last Dance”, the first single off In and Out of Control. Whether the second encore was planned, or the band suddenly realized they had left their new single out of their set, it showed that despite the elaborate lighting setup and larger venues, The Raveonettes still know how to inject some spontaneity into things.