A Steady Diet of Sloan

To say I’m a fan of the Canadian rock band Sloan is an understatement. I’ve followed the band for over 30 years and like wine, the band gets better with age. My friend Thomas and I hit up Union Stage last night for Sloan’s concert return to DC.

Touring in support of their latest album, Steady, the Toronto-based boys did not disappoint with a blazing two-hour show. Opening with three songs off of Steady set the tone early - we were in for a show of 30 catchy, hook-filled songs that would soon span the 30 years of the band.

“Scratch the Surface” (the opener) blazes with crunching guitars and some fantastic harmonizing. Like so many Sloan songs, it plays into a sing-along with the audience so well. Up next was “Dream It All Over Again” a 70’s inspired track that bounces along nicely.

The beauty of Sloan is that they trade off on lead vocals as well as swapping instruments throughout the set. Bass player and main lead singer Chris Murphy would head behind the drum set for a number of tracks while drummer Andrew Scott would grab the guitar, as Jay Ferguson switched over to bass.

They are just an uber-talented band that translates from recordings to live so well with added energy. I should add that touring member Gregory Macdonald (a member of the Canadian band Limblifter) is a fantastic addition to the live sound with keyboard, percussion and backing vocals.

A top three favorite album of mine is Between the Bridges from 1999, so I was pleasantly surprised that they played two kick-ass tracks from it, “Take Good Care of the Poorboy” and the ridiculously catchy “Losing California”.

A very cool moment happened later in the show - an 18-year old fan joined the band from the audience to play guitar and sing on the beautiful “Coax Me” (even though he wanted to play bass on “The Good in Everyone”). The joy and playfulness of the band shined through in this moment - a band that truly connects with their fans.

Right afterwards, Chris Murphy’s 15-year old son took over on drums for the 1992 smash “Underwhelmed” which live in concert has a bit more pop to it than the recorded, grungier version.

After two incredible sets (with a brief break) we were treated to three final songs with two off of the underrated Never Hear the End of It and the show-stopper “The Good in Everyone” from One Chord to Another.

Sloan last played in DC just before the pandemic, I was at that show as well. I first saw the band at The Black Cat in 1999. As long as Sloan keeps coming back to DC, I’ll keep going to their shows - and I highly recommend you find them on tour and see them!