Music

Wolf Parade scorches Nanaimo with first show in five years

by Johnnie Regalado

Photo: Derek Janzen

In preparation for their first string of shows in over five years, Wolf Parade packed The Queens Hotel in Nanaimo, B.C. on a Wednesday night for a secret warm-up show, calling themselves “Del Scorcho” but not fooling anybody. The chance to see one of Vancouver Island’s finest musical exports was enough to draw fans from many hours away.

Wolf Parade shared their night with Nanaimo psych rockers Wide Eyed and Moths & Locusts, whose slow building jams served to amplify the audience’s anticipation. Everyone in the room was reminiscing about their Wolf Parade (and side-project) concert history, while patiently awaiting a return many thought would never come.

The setting felt perfect, a comfortingly non-descript room with no bad vantage point. A quiet city on a quiet night. Intimate nostalgia. Exactly where you’d want to catch up with old friends over a beer and good tunes.

When Del Scorcho took the stage it was surreal. Spencer Krug mythically hovering over his keys stage left. Dan Boeckner razor-ready for guitar shred stage right. Dante DeCaro and Arlen Thompson centre stage, the steady beat connection between the two increasingly unique songwriters: “We’re Del Scorcho and we haven’t played a show in a million years.”

As soon as they struck their first chord, you could tell they were together again. The night became electric. Relief and admiration flew in both directions. It was obvious that they were truly excited to be playing music together again, for the first time in only they know how long. The audience was raptured by the return of their heroes, the band resurrected by the passion their songs invoked. “This is exactly what I hoped to come back to,” remarked Boeckner, as the audience howled ditto.

Their set included two brand new songs that fell into the dancier pop end of their repertoire, much like the sleeper hit “Disco Sheets” from their 2005 EP. These new songs, mixed in with classic cuts from Apologies to the Queen Mary like “I’ll Believe in Anything”, “Modern World” and “This Heart’s on Fire”, really illustrated just how much range the band has developed in their journeys.

It didn’t take long for the five-year hiatus to be shaken loose. Krug’s synths and singing were omnipresent, Boeckner was shredding so heavy, but it was Thompson’s drumming that shook the shock out of everyone; his contributions have been easy to overlook on the records but in this tiny room he demanded deserving presence.

Like many previous Wolf Parade live performances, the culmination of the reunion came with the crashing climax of “Kissing the Beehive” which might be the truest Wolf Parade song, not just a Spencer song or a Dan song, but one for the whole band. The clarity came during the Velvet Underground-esque noise jam: they are clearly ready to show the rest of the world why we never forgot them.

In this current state of constant music turnover, with new bands breaking every week, it is almost unfair for one band to harness two distinct frontmen who both lay down such heavy hitting tracks. On their own they’ve cut some amazing records, and the discography of Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs are stellar in their own right. But on an unsuspecting night in the nuclear free city, the wolf pack came back together and everyone knew this was how they were meant to run.