UWM Post fringe

Review: Tegan and Sara @ The Riverside Theater 03-25-10

Traditionally, Canadian pop stars, Tegan and Sara have fared well with Milwaukee audiences (opening for the Killers in 2005, selling out the Pabst Theater in 2008), so it came as a bit of a shock that Thursday night’s show at the Riverside was anything but sold out. The mostly barren balcony quickly became an afterthought though, as soon as the Quinn sisters took the stage, giving license to the hundreds of teenage girls packing the main floor to scream indefinitely.

Touring in support of Sainthood – their sixth studio album – the girls were definitely not stingy with the new material, playing several Sainthood songs (“The Ocean,” “On Directing,” “Hell”) before exploring material from their back catalog, starting with So Jealous.

Known for their quirky stage banter, the Quinn sisters stayed true to form by delivering random anecdotes between songs. Most of the conversation was lighthearted and humorous in nature (their mother illegally downloading music, the creepy basement underworld of The Rave), but things got semi-uncomfortable when Tegan made a slight reference to her failed 5-year relationship that inspired The Con. One wonders how her current partner feels about such an open dialogue at this point.

As the evening at the Riverside progressed in became clear that Tegan and Sara would be unable to replicate the atmosphere of energy captured so perfectly during their previous Milwaukee performance at The Pabst. Their bigger songs, “Nineteen” and “The Con” in particular, failed to match the level of intensity generated at the more intimate venue nearly two years ago. It’s not that the girls’ playing wasn’t up to par – they were spot on actually – it was just a lack of collective energy caused by the absence of a full balcony.

Judging by their summer plans of playing select dates on the resurrected Lilith Fair tour and a joint tour with Paramore planned for late summer/early fall (8/14 Milwaukee date at Summerfest grounds), it’s safe to say that the girls are more than ready to take their act to a bigger stage. Hell, they deserve it; they’ve been paying their dues for over ten years now. But will they have the crossover appeal to draw more mainstream listeners, or will they simply retain the niche audience they currently hold? I’m sure there are some veteran fans that would be less than enthused at the prospect of losing their current connection to the band only possible in the smaller, more intimate venues, but more Tegan and Sara for the world is ultimately the greater good.

“The Ocean”

-Jacob Schneider