The Constantines @ Cafe du Nord

ChairmanMeow

Few bands make quality rock n' roll like Toronto's The Constantines. Even though they're stupid sick dope musicians, it seems they are still always overlooked as one of those proverbial "bands that will save rock n' roll." I honestly don't get it.

The Constantines…duh.

However, I'm not without blame. I've listened to them off and on for a while, and always say to myself, "Hot Damn! These canucks are fucking great!" And then I forget about them.

So when I noticed they were playing Cafe du Nord, the show called to me like a can opener… played at 11! It was high time I got my shit together and became a fan of The Constantines, and not just in passing.

They have the same sort of indie-rockinness feel that the Wrens do, and at times sound like Fugazi, without the budget-priced shows or CDs. But they're considerably better. I guess one of the problems I've always had is that I don't know anyone else who likes The Constantines. Hell, I don't even know anyone else who has heard of The Constantines.

But I was determined to say "fuck all" and go with my gut. So on that, I decided to give the show a shot.

I told you they were from Toronto!

Holy shit am I glad I went.

The band has a knack for writing some seriously amazing blue-collar "we can overcome" songs. It's the kind of shit you would expect to hear on the way to a Pittsburgh Steelers game, except for that fact that Steelers fans are idiots and should all be shot. Seriously, they suck.

But suck not do The Constantines do. (That was possibly the best ever sentence ever written right there.) Frontman ~~Steve Lambke~~ Bry Webb (thanks Jen for straightening me out) should not have the voice he does. But he does. It's as if he summons some sort of gruff rock god from the past with some eeeerie Canadian ouija board before each performance and just lets it floooooooow.

Not only was their show more than solid from top to bottom, but they did one of the best covers ever.

Spencer Davis - a honky!

The last song was a cover of "I'm a Man" by The Spencer Davis Group. I became a big fan of that song from hearing it on "The Document"–a superb mix by DJ Andy Smith of Portishead. And get this–Spencer Davis is white. Daaaaaaaaamn! I had no idea! A few members of the opening band came on to help, and it was raaaaaaaaaaaaaad. (see last pic below)

Anyway, here are some more bad pictures as is trademark to the Web site.

The Constantines - Young Lions (Live from Lee's Palace)
The Constantines - On to You (Live from Lee's Palace)
The Constantines - Young Offenders
The Constantines - Working Full Time