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I went to a Concert and a bunch of Canadians Broke Out

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I'm up in Tennessee for Bonnaroo this weekend. Tonight we saw The Little Ones who were a pleasant surprise (to me at least) and Sam Roberts Band and The National who were amazing, stupendous, terrific, etc.

Six weeks ago I watched The National open for Arcade Fire at the Atlanta Civic Center. They seemed much better last night. Perhaps it was the smaller venue or perhaps it was the fact that I was second row. But their dynamic control was much sharper and energy much more manifest. The one thing I will say is that their lead singer has one of the worst cases of stage fright I've ever seen. He spent half the show with his back turned to the audience. He looked genuinely frightened at times and slipped off to the side of the stage or back to the drum kit whenever he wasn't required to sing.

Before The National was the Sam Roberts band which as it so happens is from Canada. We started chatting with people around us and virtually everyone was from Canada and had turned out to support this act from their home country. I saw two Canadian flags being waved and I felt for a moment like when the Leafs or Habs had come to visit the Thrashers. A few minutes into the set a gigantic red and white beach ball emblazoned with "CANADA" in large leaders appeared and was bounced around throughout the show. Our friends from the north were very vocal in their support. Unfortunately, I think their devotion might be a bit misplaced as I was not at all impressed by the Sam Roberts Band. Their drummer in particular was so boring that they could have replaced him with a metronome and it probably would not have hurt the sound very much.

Tomorrow Cold War Kids are on tap as Tool. I've raved about Cold War Kids before and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again. This will be my first Tool show and I've heard their stage show is quite a production.