Back in the day, I clutched tightly to a bright yellow Sony walkman. I bet you had one of those tacky things too. I took my walkman everywhere... 'cause it seemed like the thing to do. Without question, my favorite cassette to play was Public Enemy's It takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. The cassette was epic and powerful (although my suburban, teenage mindset was wasn't too aware nor concerned about that).

Perhaps the one track which became permanently etched in my brain was the 3rd track on side A, "Don't Believe The Hype". Well... maybe not so much the lyrical flow of the song stayed with me, but rather the bare bones chorus consisting of Flavor Flav adamantly chanting back and fourth Don't/ Don't believe/ Don't believe the hype remained with me.

That tape came out 16 years ago... yeah, time has passed, things have changed, but that mantra stuck with me. Question the buzz, avoid following the masses, and for the love of God, don't believe the hype.

Broken Social Scene has been showered with volumes of praise, accolades, and in turn, a huge amount of hype has come to surround not just the band, but the concept of the band itself.

And why not?

On paper, the story behind the scenes is nothing short of unique. A few years ago, Toronto musicians Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning started toying with a side project, recording instrumental ambient little songs in a basement studio. The finished tracks made their way around the local scene and a demand for a live performance soon came to life.The boys took more of an open stage approach to their performance and invited local musicians to perform with them. Not one or two friends, but upwards of 14 musicians on stage, at once, on any given night. Once this approach took flight, the introspective quiet motif was gone, a collective was born, and the resulting jam sessions created a layered sound all over the map dabbling across artsy indie rock, wrapped around scorched vocals, littered with dub and ambient influences.

The... uh... hype behind these live sessions gained momentum, and soon enough the collective which now composed the Broken Social Scene recorded the You Forgot It In People CD. A CD which, without reservation, was declared a pop-masterpiece by arguably every critic in Canada and eventually the US and Europe. But know the ledge here... the declaration of "pop" isn't paralleled to the Britney Spears "Hit Me Baby One More whatever" approach, but in the eclectic sense, pulling elements and cues from bands akin to Dinosaur Jr, or Sonic Youth - but more importantly band members were taking fundamentals from their other external band efforts - including KC Accidental, Metric, Stars, Do Make Say Think, Treble Charger, A Silver Mt. Zion, and Mascott.

And here's the thing... the critics love the CD. The hipsters can't get enough of You Forgot It In People. But, I can't wrap my head around the disk. Yeah, a few tracks like the crescendoing "Anthems For A Seventeen Year Old Girl" jump out. But, it seems I can't handle the creative overflow going across style after style. I tried and tried, but honestly... I did not believe the hype. I just didn't get it, I guess.

Jump ahead to late March of 2004. I find myself at the Mac Hall Ballroom. Broken Social Scene is headlining and about to shuffle on stage to perform to a sold out crowd of 800 people. I'm seriously fighting for space with hipsters outfitted with low-cut Chuck Taylors and thick rimmed glasses. The place is a buzz... I'd swear I could feel the floors vibrate, but I know that isn't the case. I start questioning the hype yet again.

Of the recorded fourteen band members only six are in town, and they hit the stage... and go off. The lack of numbers in the collective has nothing to do with the vitality of the output. Their style is frantic, vibrant, by the time they had ripped into a spacey version of "Kc Accidental" the crowd, including my damned self, was locked in for the night. Although there was an air of improvisation to the performance, the boys were true showmen. With the pin point precision they played off the room's energy. They brought the pulsing crowd up into a bouncing frenzy with more rocking versions of songs like "Cause=Time". Hell, they even parlayed soundboard errors with microphones and synthesizers into moments dripping with cool. Kevin Drew was the most superb anti-front man. He broke all the lead clichés with charm. Instead of focusing the attention on himself, he let the band take over. Instead of wooing the ladies, he pined about missing his wife back in Toronto. His genuine emotions, created an intimacy beneath the chaos. The layered arrangement of all the instruments on stage retained clarity - which was a feat in itself. Usually, when three or four guitar players try to riff out at once, the only result is cluttered muddy sound. But the boys knew their role and knew how to play off one another, and it ruled... and I finally got it.

Believe the hype.

Perhaps the greatest moment of the night came when when a chain smoking Kevin Drew sheepishly announced, "Ummm... we're gonna try to pull of this song, even though there are no ladies from our band with us tonight". The audience expected a testosterone laced rendition of "Anthems For a Seventeen Year Old Girl". Instead, Drew called the opening act, The Stills, back on stage. With free space at a minimum, the stage was now cluttered with ten performers. Before anyone could figure out where they should stand, or what mic to sing into, the band began to hammer out a rocking version of "Almost Crimes". The touring version of BSS played a game of call and response with The Stills belting out the higher pitched lyrics usually reserved for Emily Haines (who is now busy rising to fame as the front woman of Metric). This was a true example of organized chaos. As the song began to gain momentum, the true "sum bigger than the parts" collective sense of the band became evident. The performers on stage exchanged goofy grins back and fourth, making it look fun and effortless to have ten guys mesh a myriad of instruments and a beer soaked choir of vocals in baroque synchronicity. This was the Broken Social Scene that charmed the pants off fans and critics alike, this was above and beyond the hype. Even the sceptics standing at the back of the room, with their arms crossed couldn't help but get into it and grin right back at the band.

Elsewhere

By Rob Anand
Photos : Andy Scheffler
Published : April 22, 2004.