Titus Andronicus – Live in Vancouver (10/03/15)

I wish I could write like Titus Andronicus’ Patrick Stickles.

When he reviewed the Replacements reunion show two years ago (http://www.spin.com/2013/08/the-first-replacements-show-in-22-years-riot-fest-titus-andronicus-patrick-stickles/), he turned a simple concert review into a 9,000 word epic, transcending styles, genres, and eras.  It’s a fascinating piece of literature, even if you’re only moderately familiar with the band’s history. Yet, I can’t write like that. I’m just not that smart.

The beauty of it is that no one can write like that. Stickles has a unique voice unlike anyone else, sometimes rambly, sometimes pointed yet always articulate. It’s what makes Titus Andronicus‘s albums so captivating. It’s how one album can have 9 minute opuses full of complex verses regarding the civil war and the next will have a minute long burst where they simply repeat “Food Fight!” over and over again. Then they follow that album up with a 29 track, double album clocking in at an hour and a half; this band is eclectic and that’s part of their charm.

That charming nature seeped through their raucous set at The Biltmore Cabaret for a fully real, honest and unpredictable evening. It began randomly enough, as the massively bearded Stickles pleaded with the crowd to stay calm, respect each others’ space and don’t go too wild. The request, like the review, was rambling and long winded yet articulated and pointed – and became a recurring theme of the evening.

He, like Joyce Manor and Rvivr before him, politely asked the crowd to refrain from crowd surfing and rewarded everyone with No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future. His brother came on stage to read as Abe Lincoln before A More Perfect Union and they played a bunch of songs from the aforementioned double album The Most Lamentable Tragedy.

One look at the band’s recent set list, you’ll see the band never plays the same set twice. They switch it up, pulling from their  wide catalog – keeping it fresh for the audience and the band themselves.

As it is with every Saturday show at The Biltmore, there was an 11PM curfew so the venue can do their weekly dance night. This caused the New Jersey act to cut their set short, eliminate the encore and decide on the spot what to cut and what to keep. Paying tribute to their Canadian tour date, they opted to forgo playing some of their bigger hits (I would’ve loved to have seen In A Big City) and performed two Neil Young cover tunes instead.

The set blurred together. It was fun, rambunctious (but respectful as requested) and showed Stickles’ genius and personality.

It was a sweaty, random, mess and I wouldn’t expect anything less from a Titus Andronicus show.