As someone born and raised in Halifax who came of age in the ’90s, Sloan will always have a special place in my life’s soundtrack. Now based out of Toronto, the band was formed in Halifax in the early ’90s and burst onto the music scene with their debut album Smeared and the infectiously catchy single “Underwhelmed”, whose popularity led to Halifax becoming the epicentre of a music explosion that spawned a variety of other successful acts. Supporting my studies with my part-time job at the now-defunct MusicWorld at Halifax Shopping Centre, my coworkers and I spent many hours playing Sloan CDs on repeat.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more prodigious band. They’ve released 13 full-length albums and have various awards and award nominations to their name. All four members write, sing and play various instruments, contributing to Sloan’s expansive collection of songs, and last night’s show was a perfect opportunity to showcase that. The band played two full sets, with a brief intermission between the two.
Touring in support of their newest album, Steady, it was the band’s first show in the capital in a long time (not including a show at Burnstown’s Neat Cafe a few months ago). COVID had derailed an intended tour stop for the anniversary of the Navy Blues album, so early in the first set, Chris Murphy told the crowd, “We’re gonna give you a little Navy Blues super set,” treating the crowd to “C’Mon, C’Mon”, “Iggy & Angus”, and “Sinking Ships”. Also in the first set was crowd favourite “500 Up” from the Smeared album, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Watching a Sloan show is like musical chairs as the guys switch roles and instruments, trading off on lead vocals. Now behind the drum kit, Chris Murphy said, “Now’s the time in the night when we decide whether or not to try this next song,” at which point Patrick Pentland shrugged off the guitar and took over raucous lead vocals on the punk-influenced high-energy “HFXNSHC”.
The second set featured a number of songs from their most recent album. The band was tight, and the trademark Sloan harmonies were spot-on as they worked their way through the set. With so much material across 13 albums, it’s impossible to hear every song you’d want to hear, but the sets were jam-packed with new material and old favourites. They closed out the second set with “The Rest of My Life” and “Money City Maniacs”, which both drew an enormous response from the crowd.
The crowd made it clear they weren’t going anywhere just yet, and before long, the band came back for a four-song encore of “Losing California”, “The Lines You Amend”, “Underwhelmed”, and “The Good in Everyone”. A long time coming, this Sloan show was well worth the wait.
Sloan’s newest album Steady is available everywhere you buy or stream music (including a limited-edition first-pressing vinyl).
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