Tegan And Sara took a night off their support tour for the band Fun to play a sold out show at Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York. An eclectic and energetic crowd was treated to a 90 minute set that mixed cuts from their new record with plenty of songs from their extensive catalogue. The show started off with songs off Heartthrob, that included, GoodBye, Goodbye, I’m Not Your Hero and the ultra-catchy I was a fool. The crowd was enthusiastic throughout the show, at times louder than the band, especially during their breakout hit Walking With A Ghost. The set showcased the duo’s musical and songwriting prowess and a confidence that only comes from over ten years on the road. The show also included some of the girl’s trademark stage banter and crowd interaction that at times bordered on being a stand up comedy routine with fun stories about filming music videos and meeting crazed fans before shows. The backup band was extremely tight, with keyboardist, John Spence at the center of the stage, where his synthesizer played a major role in the songs from the new album. Many people were unsure about the direction the band seemed to be going with this new record which is a lot more Synth Pop than the more indie rock sounding early records, but the new songs were some of the best parts of the show. The highlight of the show came with a haunting rendition of Now I’m All Messed Up (see video below), a heart wrenching tale of love lost. After closing the show with Closer, the opening song off of Heartthrob, they played five more songs for an encore that included a fantastic acoustic version of Nineteen and even slipped in a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire into one of their songs.

The best part about a Tegan And Sara show is the relationship they have with their fans. Even though the majority of the crowd may have been seeing them live for the first time, it felt like a bunch of old friends were getting together. This connection with their fans, that many pop acts don’t necessarily have, makes for what is an obvious special connection for the fans to their music, along with their unrivaled talent for writing catchy, intensely personal songs about love and loss. Just from watching you could tell that the Quin sisters were feeding off the clamorous crowd who did not let up for the entire set and that made for a memorable night which we all should hope will inspire the twins to come back to Buffalo really, really soon.

Now I’m All Messed Up