D.C. felt the presence of Tegan and Sara at the Warner Theatre this past Wednesday. The twins from Canada brought their A-game to the District playing a set list of over 20 songs — most off of their new record “Sainthood” released last October — and bringing back fan favorites from over their last 10 years of making music.
The set opened with “The Ocean,” where the vocals were less than stellar. They were quickly able to set the right tone for the rest of the hour and a half, which was filled with energy and passion from not only the musicians on stage, but also the crowd.
Known for their on-stage banter, Tegan and Sara did not fail to amuse the crowd with their charm, recalling their past experiences touring in Washington, D.C., sightseeing and joking about “stopping by to have tea with Obama.” Recognizing the awkwardness of playing a rock show at a seated venue, after a few songs Sara asked the crowd “if they’re not too tired from shoveling so much snow” to stand up for a little while. From that point on, even after asking the crowd if they wanted to sit down again, the crowd stood up.
Although they are not an outright political band, they joked about how maybe the crowd “felt like someone from the government should come and shovel your snow, but be careful, ‘cause it’s gonna be a socialist country, because all of a sudden they’re going to wanna take your snow and sell it and use it to make a blanket to someone who doesn’t deserve it,” Sara said jokingly.
When one goes to see a band with such a large discography like Tegan and Sara’s (six records over a period of 10 years) it is easy to feel like certain songs and albums are not recognized. This was clearly not the case, as the band played songs from almost all of their releases, including “Walking with a Ghost” and “Where Does the Good Go.” They also played songs that they may have felt deserved more recognition, including updated renditions of “Monday, Monday, Monday” and “My Number.” During the encore, they also played “Feel it in My Bones,” a song they collaborated on acoustically with techno powerhouse Tiësto.
Throughout the night, the band showed how versatile their sound is by playing on keyboards during “Alligator” and “Night Watch,” performing acoustic versions of songs like “Back in Your Head” and being able to rock out with songs like “Speak Slow” and their last single “Hell.” The current band members alongside Tegan and Sara are very comfortable on stage with each other and able to cover slip ups. During “The Con,” when Tegan accidentally added an extra measure, the band was able to keep everything in order so well that after the song she remarked that they were her “avatar.”
The crowd was ready to have their socks rocked, something Tegan and Sara quickly realized. They asked everyone in the crowd if they each drank a keg of beer before the show, to which the crowd hollered back. However, it was clear that Tegan and Sara knew how to handle their audience, at points letting the crowd “give it to them” and telling them to channel all this energy into singing classics from their fifth record, “Call it Off” and “Nineteen” — songs that became highlights of the night.
Overall, Tegan and Sara did not disappoint those who came out Wednesday night. They were able to channel all the insane amount of energy from the crowd into an amazing performance and left Washington, D.C., craving for more.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
