I... Heart... Winnipeg

As I was getting ready for Friday night's Weakerthans show, I joked with Jana that they were the third best Canadian band to play in Seattle in the short time since we'd moved back. While I still lament missing the New Pornographers and the Arcade Fire, the Weakerthans might have outdone the rest of the north-of-the-border contingent this weekend.

The show was at Neumos in Capitol Hill, and it started with a burst of energy. By the time they finished their third song, "Over Retired Explorer," I thought that John K. Sampson and company had spent all their energy and best songs. But they were just getting started.

They played non-stop, racing through their catalog with energy and precision. They would pause just long enough between songs to smile at each other and take in the applause. Then they'd start back up, the crowd would jump and cheer when they recognized the first couple chords, and I'd find myself singing along to yet another song. I didn't realize how completely their albums had lodged themselves in my head, but seeing the Weakerthans live was like a joyous session of recovered memory therapy. Such wonderful lyrics.

And I've rarely seen a band having so much fun. The good times just jumped off the stage. They did guitar hero poses, danced awkwardly to their music, and, with a wry smile or a knowing head bob, shared the best moments of their songs with the crowd. In a great moment of showmanship, they dipped and raised their guitars in unison to the start-stop beat. On some songs, they stood at the front of the stage, four guitars across, seeming to say, Yeah we're gonna rock and its gonna be a good time.

I definitely had a good time. As they closed by singing together the horn part to "(Manifest)" I realized something significant had happened. I had gone to see a concert by a good band and left having seen one of my favorite, most literate bands. Not bad for a bunch of Canadians.