The Weakerthans
Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre
ANTI (2010)
why you'll love it: The Weakerthans are just as strong live as on record
why you'll hate it: nothing new or special to bring live
The Weakerthans has gone down in my memory as one of the most "true to studio" live performances I have ever seen. Either I was being too kind, or this live album was recorded on an imperfect night. It's still a great performance though.
Performing in their hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, this album serves mostly as a greatest hits of their past two albums. Not many of my favorite old songs are present here, but my newer and overall favorites like "Sun in An Empty Room" and "Reconstruction Site" make an appearance.
Unique performances of a few songs have given me a newfound appreciation for them. It's easy to get swept along with the hometown crowd during "One Great City!"; and as a comment I read on youtube notes - it does indeed take stones to exclaim "the Guess Who suck" in the Burton Cummings theater. I've never really given the song "Benediction" much of a shot until now either.
One peculiar thing about this album is the lack of fluidity. There is a an obvious fade-in/out on many of the songs. I realize that the intent must be to edit out the talking and tuning bits in between songs, but usually a live album would make some attempt to use the crowd noise to bridge the gaps. It's not a big deal at all, just an oddity.
This isn't much of a treat for long-time fans, unless you've never seen them live. A fine introduction to newcomers though. Samson is the best songwriter around today, and the hi-quality capture allows you to hear all of his lyrics for the first time clearly.
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