Broken Social Scene perform at the Lincoln Theater on Oct. 13, 2022. Photo by Kyle Gustafson

I was kneeling down in the aisle at the Lincoln Theater during the second song of Broken Social Scene’s performance Thursday night when the person that walked by me toward the stage caught my eye.

Turns out it was lead singer Kevin Drew. He was on stage with the band for the first song, KC Accidental, but wasn’t needed for the second song, “Stars and Sons” because bassist Brendan Canning handles vocals for that one. So Drew found an empty seat in the front row and cheered his bandmates on, much to the bemusement of the band and the crowd around him.

That sincere but slightly goofy vibe carried through the rest of the night on Oct. 13, as the band performed tracks from their seminal 2002 album, You Forgot It in People. Billing the tour as a 20th anniversary of the album, the band took a different approach from most of the other album anniversary tours I’ve seen, by not playing the album front to back.  Instead, they sprinkled other tracks, new and old, around the album tracks, making the show more like an essentials playlist.  I wholeheartedly agree with this approach as album sequencing and setlist sequencing are two totally different things and this lets the band tailor the pacing of the show more to their liking. 

So of course we got to hear classics from the album like “Cause=Time,” “Almost Crimes,” and “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” along with hits from their other records like “7/4 Shoreline,” “Sweetest Kill,” and newer material like “Hug of Thunder.”

Stream You Forgot It in People by Broken Social Scene on Spotify:

“So who is in the band for this tour?” is always pertinent when the BSS collective tours and this time is no different. In addition to stalwarts Drew and Canning, regulars Andrew Whiteman, Charles Spearin, and Sam Goldberg were joined by Amy Millan and Evan Cranley from Stars and drummer Loel Campbell from Winter Sleep. The rotating cast is always an adventure but never seems to affect the performances and this night was no different. Spearin’s wiggly guitar parts were the night’s MVP for me, probably because I was seated in front of his monitor and I could hear everything he was playing with amazing clarity.

Drew thanked the audience for coming multiple times while also plugging all the other bands that the BSS members also play in. BTW, Stars are at the 9:30 Club in December and Metric are coming through next weekend. Don’t sleep.

Setlist:

Been a while since I snagged one of these. pic.twitter.com/MF7GpT0OTc

— Brennan Johnson Fan Club 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@kgustafson) October 14, 2022

Here are more photos of Broken Social Scene performing at the Lincoln Theater on Oct. 13, 2022. All photos copyright and courtesy of Kyle Gustafson.