7/25 Wolf Parade Show @ La Zona Rosa

Dim the lights. Shadows form on stage. Crowd screams. The sharp slam of a snare drum beats down signaling the beginning of “You are a Runner and I am my Father’s Son”. Wolf Parade has just entered the building. Sit back and enjoy the spectacle. So marked the beginning of a masterful show by Wolf Parade on Friday night at La Zona Rosa in Austin. The band has been recording and touring non stop since the release of Apologies to Queen Mary of 2005 with various side projects (Sunset Rubdown/Handsom Furs) and a new album At Mount Zoomer out this year. With such a hard working band on stage, you’d think the live act may suffer from all the intense work. Not the case.

The band’s “First real show in Austin” featured songs from the bands only two albums mentioned above. Highlights of the show included “Shine a Light”, “Sons & Daughters”, “This Heart’s on Fire” & one of the best songs of the 21st century & encore favorite “You’ll Believe in Anything”. Notice a trend? You guessed it, all those songs appear on Apologies to Queen Mary from 2005. Not to say that songs from At Mount Zoomer are bad by any means, but they just aren’t up to par with the older material. I will say songs like “Language City” & “Call It a Ritual” have their moments and sound better in a live setting for sure. I guess it’s not really fair to ask a band to recreate such a ground breaking album so I won’t hold it against them. Regardless, At Mount Zoomer is still better than most the crud being offered to us nowadays and Wolf Parade proved themselves as one of the top live acts around. The guys are becoming a veteran touring act that knows what it takes to rock your face off and still make you cry while it’s still attached. Have yourself a look if they ever come to your town, you won’t regret it.

The fantastic pictures were provided by our very talented photographer Jonathon Edwards. Visit him on MySpace.