Tegan and Sara
Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
11.11.14
Twin sensations Tegan and Sara picked up their tour again on Tuesday, playing a sold-out show at the prestigious Paramount Theatre. Seattle last saw this duo when they opened for Katy Perry at the Tacoma Dome back in September. And, while a gig that size full of screaming girls is nice and all, Tegan and Sara can best be enjoyed when they headline inside a more intimate, manageable venue. With a longer set, fans can enjoy the trademark banter that makes them so accessible, even as their popularity continues to skyrocket. There’s a reason everybody loves them, and their amazing music will only tell you half the story.
Tegan and Sara indicated that their set for the evening would be longer than usual, as this would be their last tour for Heartthrob. They would end up playing for nearly two hours alongside their four-piece touring band, taking their time as they cherry-picked an illustrious catalogue, playing in total 22 songs. The set was lovingly sprinkled with chatter between tracks, discussing topics ranging from Sara’s children’s book idea, which became the inspiration for “Walking with a Ghost,” to demos and ex-girlfriends. For S’s and G’s, let’s review some of the endearing, awkward banter from Tuesday’s show:
“Sometimes I think that when we first started out, a lot of people liked to hear me and Tegan talk to each other. And now, a lot of times, yeah I think people probably, to a fault, encourage us to speak. One thing that happens that I’ll never totally understand – just because I’m not like this in person, because I’m actually scared, I don’t even like it when people, who I’m interacting with and exchanging money, like at a store, like I get afraid if they ask me too many questions. So I don’t like a lot of attention – I know that surprises you – But I don’t like a lot of attention when I’m not on stage, or doing my job. So when I’m in public, I really actually enjoy not being recognized.” – Sara, on popularity vs anonymity
“I tell you what, that’s scary, because one time I got in the audience, and that’s when you realize that I’m actually five feet tall, and shit gets really crazy, because everybody pushes forward, and then you think you’re responsible for killing me.” – Tegan, on leaving the stage
“We’re gonna play another old one, are you OK with that? We like democracy, so we’ve got a whole PowerPoint presentation we can put up, we can vote on songs by cheering, or do you just trust us to pick all the hits?!” – Tegan, on compiling a satisfactory set list
“The record that I think left the most profound scarring on me was The Con. It’s a debate that we have a lot backstage, and in our private lives, but the question of… if you can truly ever write something great, create something great if you’re happy, or do you have to be, like, bottom-of-the-barrel sad depressed to create something that will touch people and make people happy and move them and carry them through their dark times? And the part of me that wants to be happy feels in opposition to this theory that you can only be good if you’re sad. But the part of me that wants to be good is really hoping something bad happens, so that we write a really good record for you again. I suppose being an adult is finding the balance between traumatizing reality and exciting fantasy. And as much as it was a very dark record and a dark time, each time I would write a new sad song, I felt sick pleasure playing it. This one in particular… The more sad you seemed, the happier I felt.” – Tegan, on writing and performing “Call It Off”
Review by T. Monte
Photos by Sunny Martini
Tegan & Sara
