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May 05, 2010 By Laura Studarus Photography by Laura Studarus Broken Social Scene

I harbor a not-so-secret fantasy that one day, after moving to Toronto, Kevin Drew will ask me to play the triangle in Broken Social Scene. Despite my crippling lack of musical talent, the band’s high-energy set at The Henry Fonda Theater did nothing to dissuade my delusions.

Why not? Broken Social Scene is the kind of band you can’t help but want to join, be it musically, or simply as part of the audience. With the core of six members (Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Justin Peroff, and Sam Goldberg) fleshed out to 12 for the evening (with the addition of singer Lisa Lobsinger, a violinist, and four-piece horn section), their set felt a bit like a friends’ jam session—that is if you’re lucky enough to have friends with talent to spare. Quirky enough to name one of their hits “7/4 (Shoreline)” (after the time signature!) and relaxed enough that the term “hipster” might be misappropriated to describe their appearance, these are the sort of relaxed, perennially talented art-rock friends that Los Angeles’ Silver Lake district would kill to induct into the fold. Bandleader Drew does nothing to break this image, be it dancing like no one’s looking, or addressing the crowd like old friends, his statements peppered with non-sequiturs. “I’m drinking non-alcoholic beer for you guys!” he announced. “It’s what all the ninjas are drinking.”

Playing Garth to Drew’s Wayne was co-founder Brendan Canning, who, despite having a near show-canceling flu, was in fine form, dancing and leg-kicking like, well, a rock star. “I think I broke my fever!” he announced a third of the way into the set. “Thank you Los Angeles!” he said gleefully, crediting Law & Order for his swift recovery.

Despite being some 12 hours before the official release of their newest album, the band charged through a large portion of Forgiveness Rock Record, including “Forced to Love,” where Drew pulled a grinning guy from the audience to hold his lyric sheet. The audience reacted to the new material with the same unreserved gusto as they did hits “Fire-Eyed Boy” and the Emily Haines-penned “Anthems for a 17-Year-Old-Girl.” The latter featured an ethereal sounding Lobsinger on vocals.

On a night that no one seemed to want to end, the band played 19 songs. Refusing to leave the stage, as per tradition, they simply announced that they were starting an encore. “You know what you’ve gotta do, even if you don’t want to do it!” Drew announced before their last song, a dramatically extended version of “It’s All Gonna Break.” “This is your anthem!” he announced. Everyone finally sated, confetti rained down as band and audience alike danced, for a moment, all part of the same scene.

Set List:

1. World Sick

2. Stars & Sons

3. Texico Bitches

4. 7/4 (Shoreline)

5. Fire Eyed Boy

6. Forced to Love

7. Art House Director

8. Cause=Time

9. All to All

10. Sweetest Kill

11. Anthems for a 17 Year Old Girl

12. Water in Hell

13. Major Label Debut (fast)

14. Where’s Your Heart, Where’s Your Mind

15. Ungrateful Little Father

16. KC Accidental

17. Meet Me In The Basement

18. Fucked Up Kid

19. It’s All Gonna Break

(www.brokensocialscene.ca)