The Most Serene Republic played le Poisson Rouge

Ever since I heard the debut album by The Most Serene Republic I had been a quest to see this band live. Their interesting mix of poppy post-rock which I think of as a mix of Death Cab for Cutie and label-mates Broken Social Scene. Their records have all been easily accessible but layered with great sounds as well. All of their work is very intriguing and while they always follow their own sound each album still manages to sound a little unique. After years of trying to see them live, only to have other events get in the way, I was finally able to make it a reality last Thursday. I arrived after the band had already started, but the unusually early start time of 7:30 had granted me a good spot in the small crowd. The band powered through tracks from all of their albums and had great interaction from the audience. At one point the lead singer asked if it was worth it to buy the first Ramones album on vinyl, to which I replied with a thumbs up, and he said well alright I guess I'll go buy it tomorrow. Many reviews of TMSR have said that there is too much going on in their records and the band cannot really focus on a direction, however their live shows prove everything that gets lost in the studio. This is perhaps the most accurate way to describe the show. The triple guitars, bass, keys, drums, and a variety of other instruments all came together so well on stage. The only thing that really plagued this performance was that the band was suddenly switched from headliner to opener which drastically cut down their set time and had them playing for a much too small crowd.