NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
It’s been a busy couple of years for Tegan & Sara (Tegan and Sara Quin) , the twin musicians from Calgary. They signed with Mom and Pop records, released their latest studio album “Crybaby”, debuted “High School”, a TV show based on their memoir, toured North America supporting “Crybaby”, and recently released a graphic novel “Middle School”! Oh right…and they’re touring North America again! On Thursday, June 15, 2023, they played the Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, making up for the cancelled show from last November.
Tegan and Sara’s live shows are always eagerly anticipated and this one was no exception. There were over a hundred VIP fans lined up early, awaiting a soundcheck and the opportunity to meet their favorite band! There was a bit of an unexpected sprinkle but what’s a little rain amongst friends?
Another local act, Dragonette (aka Martina Sorbara) opened the evening. Dragonette used to be a three piece electronic band but after a split, Sorbara continued on as a solo act, albeit with touring musicians. She is definitely a high energy performer, bounding around the stage when she wasn’t playing guitar. She did have a slight technical issue when she couldn’t hear her guitar through her earpiece but otherwise, it was a great and amazingly quick twelve song set. The crowd, especially those in front, didn’t seem particularly interested and that’s a shame. Arriving early isn’t just about waiting for your band to take the stage. It’s also to perhaps discover a new act that you hadn’t heard before. It wasn’t until the final song “Hello”, which was a top ten collaboration with DJ Martin Solveig, that the audience really started moving with the beat. It was a great way to end the set!
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I have to admit that I haven’t seen Tegan & Sara since 2016’s Love You To Death tour. The sisters’ foray into mainstream pop, with “Heartthrob” and “Love You to Death”, from their indie rock roots was the topic of much discussion (some not so friendly) back in the day but there were great songs on those albums no matter their detractors.
There were some more technical delays so Tegan and Sara didn’t take the stage until fifteen minutes later than scheduled. But when they did, as expected, the crowd went nuts! They kicked off their set with an oldie “You Wouldn’t Like Me” from 2004’s “So Jealous”, probably my favorite Tegan & Sara record. A couple of my favorite songs are from “The Con” but “So Jealous” felt more incredible end to end. After that, they went straight into “I Can’t Grow Up” from “Crybaby”, then “Back in Your Head” from “The Con”! What a way to start! Their twenty-one song set comprised of songs from throughout their discography while still playing about half of “Crybaby”. On a few of the songs, they re-interpreted them for the tour, which made them almost sound new. It’s always nice to hear songs that you think you know but make you go wow when you hear the new interpretation.
Sara told a story about when they played a street festival on Danforth Street when they first started out. They had played other gigs: one that their dentist had put together and another at a pool where no one was listening except for the lifeguard. At the Danforth festival, no one was listening and Tegan and Sara got into a fight onstage. The show had taped been for an electronic press kit that was supposed to be sent to record companies but the fight spoiled it. Their manager was so angry that he made them watch it. Around that time, Tegan had written “My Number” and they all thought it was going to be a big hit. It wasn’t it got them noticed and on the Letterman show.
Tegan spoke a bit about the Tegan and Sara Foundation, raising money for LGBTQ kids. They’ve already written checks for over $125K to send kids to summer camps. She said that in their 30s, they wanted to be mainstream but in their 40s, priorities had changed. Sara had a kid and Tegan got a dog. They want to feel fuller, not bigger now and they wanted to thank their fans for not abandoning them when they went mainstream with an acoustic version of “I Was a Fool”.
After playing a crowd favorite “Walking With a Ghost” to close out them main set, they returned for an encore with “Where Does the Good Go” and “Stop Desire”. It was interesting that, although it sounded like Tegan was disavowing their “mainstream” phase, they did play six songs from that period, with several of them eliciting very positive reactions from the audience.
While the music during the show was quite enjoyable and the crowd obviously had a great time, Tegan and Sara went pretty much straight from one song to another without much of a pause. I understand that the setlist was extensive but I’d easily trade a couple of songs to hear some of the classic banter that they’re so well known for. Where were the smiles and the quips? It felt like they were just going through the motions. Perhaps it was a bad day or Tegan and Sara got into a fight but, from the sidelines, it’s hard to understand when you don’t know the whole story. So while I still definitely felt the music, I no longer felt the joy.
Setlist
You Wouldn’t Like Me
I Can’t Grow Up
Back In Your Head
Smoking Weed Alone
Yellow
Under My Control
Feel It In My Bones
Boyfriend
Closer
MY Number
Burn Your Life Down
I Was a Fool
The Con
Fucking Up What Matters
Nineteen
Sometimes I See Stars
Living Room
Shock to Your System
Walking With a Ghost
Encore
Where Does the Good Go
Stop Desire
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