Sloan didn't disappoint, especially not with a strong (if fractured) new album like the 30-song "Never Hear the End of It" providing the bulk of the material. The band started with the same one-two punch as the record, tossing the vocal to each member on the psychedelic anthem "Flying High Again" segueing to the triumphant chorus harmonies of the galloping "Who Taught You to Live Like That?"
That set the tone for the show, which mined the album's structure -- linking directly from scraps like the stomping "Something's Wrong" to fuller songs and back again -- even when dipping back a decade or more with older material like "The Good in Everyone" and "Pen Pals." But each song, whether old or new, short or long, got the same full-bore treatment. Even on the midtempo, moody "Everybody Wants You," drummer Andrew Scott attacked his kit, hitting his drums as though it was the hardest-rocking song on the set list.
Such urgency is vital to a band's survival (and sanity) after 15 years, and the constant shifting of the spotlight from one member to another prevented anyone from getting too cozy or antsy. Scott stepped out front twice, taking the guitar from Jay Ferguson, who bumped Murphy to drums. (Guitarist Patrick Pentland stayed put.) And even shuffling the lineup, Sloan still sounded like a killer arena band up close.
Brendan Little opened the show with earnest but undistinguished singer-songwriter fare. He was followed by Spiral Beach, which played a sharp, hooky, and slightly unhinged brand of post-punk spiked with dry, casually self-deprecating wit.
