Hot-tipped Montreal indie rockers Wolf Parade began a new round of touring at the Paradise Rock Club Friday night, playing a set consisting primarily of their heavily fêted debut album, Apologies to the Queen Mary.
Taking the stage at about 10:30 p.m., the recently-expanded Wolf Parade (now up to a five-piece, from four) established a compelling stage presence fairly quickly, skipping formalities to launch into a new, blues-inflected song.
Despite the possibly off-putting choice of opening number, the band’s setlist was dominated by songs from Apologies. Eleven of the album’s 12 songs made an appearance, with “Same Ghost Every Night” the lone absence.
The performance initially took some time to find its footing. Vocalists Dan Boeckner (wearing a “Hello, my name is: WOLF” sticker) and Spencer Krug started out with their microphone volumes adjusted far too low relative to the instrumentation, robbing some songs, such as “We Built Another World” and fan-favorite “Shine a Light,” of their distinctive vocal elements, particularly the deft harmonizing in the latter’s bridge.
The band also seemed a little shaky for their first show back from a two-month touring hiatus. Now and then, the hooks in catchy songs such as “Modern World” sounded strangled in the mix. Frayed nerves were also evident in a dearth of banter with the audience; the brief pauses between songs were limited to rounds of drinks and profuse thank-yous for the receptiveness of the crowd.
Krug and Boeckner’s mics were pumped up in volume in time for “Grounds for Divorce,” and the set noticeably improved from there. “It’s A Curse” and album standout “I’ll Believe In Anything,” which closed the pre-encore set, invigorated the crowd. Also notable was a stirring rendition of brooding album opener “You Are A Runner and I Am My Father’s Son,” transitioning without pause into “Fancy Claps.”
“Runner” seems like a prototype for the new material that Wolf Parade peppered into the set. The post-Apologies songs are mostly dark, sparsely arranged and built on a heavy sense of tension, like their spiritual forbearer.
Toward the conclusion, the show picked up pace, and crowd and band attuned with each other strongly for the first time all night. “I’ll Believe In Anything,” the most enduring song in the band’s repertoire, shone brightly, as did slow-jam encore finisher “Dinner Bells,” sending the audience off with words of approval for Wolf Parade.
