SEPT 27 - 2002
Tegan and Sara will make you hear noises in the dark
By Justin Sadler
The Brunswickan


As Tegan and Sara mounted the stage on the eve of their birthday in the rather hot and stuffy cellar pub, the cheering crowd was instructed to "stand up and consume more alcohol!"

Wasting no time at all, the twins from Calgary, Alberta burst into the hard-hitting opener, `Time Running,' the first track from their new album, If It Was You.

With the release of their third album, a follow up to their folk-influenced This Business of Art, Tegan and Sara shook UNB with a much more punk influenced, power-driven, electric sound.

"We're digging up our roots," Sara said backstage, but it's obvious they've come a long way from their days of a high school punk band.

Praising the audience as the best crowd in Canada, the band presented a mixture of strong, rhythmic music. The twins thanked the Police and Cyndi Lauper as some of their musical influences. More obvious ones were Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, Bif Naked, and popular punk band, Blink 182.

`I Hear Noises,' the first release from their new album, was well received by the audience. The song meshed the sounds of the Indigo Girls and Blink 182 into a likeable punk tune.

"Call MuchMusic and request that the bastards play it," Tegan shouted to the crowd.

The sounds of the evening varied from the pounding, Celtic drumming, and the drilling, acoustic guitar riff of `Living room,' to the soft acoustic solo of `Divided,' written about the trials and tribulations of sisterhood.

The girls explained, "We want to identify with students. We're writing music about things people can easily relate to, like love in our lives."

`City Girl' is a solemn story of love and confusion, one that would obviously reach out to their audience.

The show came to a climax with `Don't Be Cruel,' seemingly one of their best songs that didn't make the new album.

Tegan and Sara perfected the evening with `Come On Kids,' a solid ending for the show, like the closing song of a good movie.