The Canadian twin sister duo, Tegan and Sara, amazed fans with a stellar performance Saturday night at a sold-out show at the Boulder Theatre.
Anxious fans chatted excitedly while waiting in a line that wrapped around the venue and snaked its way two blocks down the street. The overwhelming turnout surprised many older fans that were used to seeing the girls play in much smaller venues. Once inside the mid-sized, art-deco theater, the audience absolutely teemed with excitement for Tegan and Sara’s first big headlining show in Boulder.
After hearing a few notes of “Eye of the Tiger,” three women in their late twenties came bounding on stage amidst a whirlwind of fierce rapping. Although fans did not seem to know what had hit them, as Northern State’s set progressed, the crowd got really into the performance. The three emcees from New York City formed a rap group seven years ago after joking about it at a party. Since then they had released three full-length albums and are currently touring in support of their newest release Can I Keep This Pen?
Northern State mesmerized the audience with its unique blend of hip-hop and rock. Each song proved to be a completely new creation leaving the audience guessing throughout the set. The ladies of Northern State (cleverly named Sprout, Hesta Prynn and Spero) constantly interacted with the crowd, taking requests, giving high fives, and even seeking out one member’s old boyfriend who now lives in Boulder. Crazed fans went wild as the girls jumped, marched, posed, kicked and clapped their way through song after song.
Between numbers, the three related hilarious stories from their pasts and made jokes about the altitude that they were clearly struggling with.
Finally, Northern State was forced to end its raucous set by the sound technicians. Without the interference, Northern State surely would have continued to crank out genre-defying songs for the elated audience.
As Tegan and Sara took the stage, the audience roared with deafening applause and screams. The sisters launched into the set with a few popular numbers from their new album The Con. After three songs, the girls said their hellos and announced that a majority of the night’s music would come from older albums. While some audience members seemed disappointed, a majority of the crowd was thrilled.
Tegan and Sara tore through their set with an unrivaled fervor. Each song proved to be better than the last as the girls became increasingly more comfortable with the crowd and venue. However, at one point the show hit a small glitch. After a failed attempt to talk to the audience between songs, Sara politely asked that the crowd be quiet so that everyone could hear. One drunken fellow in the back yelled something about not needing to listen because it was Boulder. Needless to say, he was quick to exit much to the satisfaction of his fellow concertgoers.
Despite the momentary buzz kill, the show proceeded without any hiccups.
The girls played their classics like “Speak Slow,” “Monday Monday Monday,” and “Where Does the Good Go?” However, the highlight of the evening was a soulful yet playful acoustic rendition of “Walking a Ghost” for the encore.
With a subtle confidence, Tegan and Sara poured themselves into each song, heart and soul, making them an absolute delight to see live.
