Canadian indie rock collective Broken Social Scene played a packed show at Brooklyn Steel this weekend (September 29th) in continuation of their You Forgot It In People 20th anniversary tour with support from Hannah Georgas.
Historic rain and wind buffeted the state of New York last week, leading to severe flooding and a state of emergency. Thankfully, the rain had slowed down and mostly stopped by the time the doors to Brooklyn Steel opened Friday night. The band thanked the audience during their set for braving the elements. “It took a lot for everyone to be here tonight and we appreciate it!”
Singer-songwriter and fellow Canadian Hannah Georgas opened up the evening with truly heartfelt and catchy pop/rock songs. Despite the fact that the venue was mostly packed by the time she took the stage, the audience was almost completely silent during her set, with hearty applause breaks as the only exception. She even commented, “Wow! It’s so quiet in here.”
As Broken Social Scene took the stage for the headlining act, the warm and cozy atmosphere of the venue instantly transformed into an electric frenzy. With the band’s ensemble makeup consisting of some eight-plus members, the stage was packed with just about every instrument imaginable. Bandmates switched positions, instruments, or sometimes left the stage, depending on the song. They played hits from their entire catalog, with a strong focus on the tour’s titular album, You Forgot It In People. The band brought Hannah Georgas onstage for their final song, fan favorite “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl.”
Broken Social Scene frontman and co-founder Kevin Drew spoke with us over the phone last week and we asked him about his new solo record, Aging. We also chatted about the economics of touring as an indie rock group, that viral Boygenius moment, and how Meryl Streep and Tracy Ullman ended up joining the band on stage at Webster Hall last year. Check out those stories in our interview article.
When we spoke to Kevin, he was staying in what he called a “Haunted Hilton” in Pennsylvania. He explained how you could tell if a place was haunted, “You know when you’re in a hotel room, and suddenly you feel like you’re in a sort of coffin. And it has that digital blue light with the time. And if you look at the shadows on the ceiling. And if you can feel the sort of mold in the dirt of the lines on the carpet. That’s how you know.”
We shared a laugh, and Kevin went on, “Well I got friends with kids, they’re like, ‘Do you believe in ghosts?’ And I’ll say, ‘I’m a scientist man.’ But I gotta make sure there’s no monsters under the bed. I believe in all of that.” Kevin took a more serious tone for a moment. “I believe in it because I believe in being a dreamer. I love the idea of another plane. My mother passed a couple of months ago. […] I like to believe that there’s more than us. And because I don’t have children, I need to believe in that.”
Kevin opened up about releasing a record so soon after his mother’s passing. “The desire to put up a solo record was not high, but it was actually Brendan Canning, you know, my partner in Broken Social Scene, he said, ‘You gotta put it out man.’” Kevin wrote and recorded these tracks in 2014, but had left them on the shelf while the band worked on other songs for the band’s upcoming 2017 album Hug of Thunder. He continued, “I didn’t think my mom was going to pass a month before we dropped a song. You know, we arranged everything sort of the 10 months in advance and I had no idea why I was waiting so long and it all kind of lined up and Brendan just says ‘Look, put it out and just we’ll play.’”
During the Brooklyn Steel show, Broken Social Scene played Out In the Fields from Kevin’s solo project. As Kevin said in our conversation, it was the “Broken Social Scene” version of the track. Given the collective nature of their group, many members have contributed songs to the band’s setlists over the years. Kevin said on stage, “My mother was always in the audience at every show.” and dedicated a song to her memory.
Kevin Drew’s solo record, Aging is available on vinyl now, with the digital release streaming in November. Check out the rest of our interview with Kevin here.
Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People 20th anniversary tour continues with a few remaining dates in the US and Toronto. Be sure to check out Broken Social Scene’s music here and Hannah Georgas’ music here.
Interview, writing, and photography by David Reichmann. Check out the full gallery below.
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