Wolf Parade Light Fuse On 2016 Northside Festival; June 9, 2016
After Wolf Parade’s sound check on a gorgeous afternoon at Brooklyn’s McCarren Park, Dan Boeckner clipped on a microphone and spoke about this band‘s wildly triumphant comeback. “I underestimated what this band meant to people while we were active.” Maybe a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder in play here for both fans and bandmates. Wolf Parade’s shows ending their five year hiatus have been mad love fests! Smiles and positivity radiates from the stage to the audience where the waves gain power and bounce back. After five sold out nights at the Bowery Ballroom last month, this gig was a NYC victory lap. It also kicked off Northside Music, a festival that has evolved quickly and become a highlight of summer in the city. It ended in fine style on Sunday night with a Brian Wilson show at the same venue.
Boeckner brings great energy to whatever project he’s involved in and there have been plenty. Beyond Wolf Parade, he’s made compelling records with Handsome Furs, Divine Fits, and Operators. As he explained however, he always expected he would get back together with Spencer Krug, Dante DeCaro, and Arlen Thompson to make a fourth record and play shows. About eighteen months ago, it began to happen as the four men got together on Vancouver Island. After coming to the conclusion very quickly that it was fun and it felt like the right time, they brewed up half a dozen songs – four of which made the EP released last month.
As in the past, they didn’t make a move towards recording until the songs had reached a state where they could play them live. Boeckner told me they don’t write or build tracks piecemeal in studios. When they were ready, they adjourned to Dante’s studio in Shawnigan Lake and laid them down. Mike McCarthy, who is best known for his work with Spoon, then produced the ones featuring Dan’s vocals while the ones sung by Spencer were produced by Jonas Verwijnen of Kaiku Studios in Berlin whose resume includes Handsome Furs.
Here’s a bonus. Dan talking about his history with Spencer…”Don’t date my sister!”
