Juno-award winning rock quartet Sloan played the Boyce Farmers Market on Thursday, Dec. 5, as part of the tour for their newest album 12.
Fans of all age groups packed the Farmers Market floor as Sloan came to the stage – half an hour late. The band started the show with a joking apology.
“Sorry, guys. I couldn’t find my glasses,” explained vocalist Chris Murphy.
The band played hits off of almost all of their twelve albums, including “Underwhelmed” from their first album Smeared, “Everything You’ve Done Wrong” from 1996’s One Chord to Another, “Other Man” from 2001’s Pretty Together and multiple songs off their most recent album 12.
Many fans in the crowd had been listening to Sloan for years. The volume of their constant singing often rivalled that of the performers. Murphy frequently turned the microphone to the audience, allowing them to shout every word to the chorus of popular songs.
Sloan have a laid-back demeanor on stage, informed by their decades of performance experience. The musicians joked around with each other throughout the show, making faces at the audience and laughing about mistakes.
“I’ve never heard that version of the song. We’ve only played it 10,000 times,” said Murphy after guitarist Patrick Pentland started a song on the wrong key.
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sloan shared with the audience fond memories of the east coast and Fredericton. The band mentioned recording an album here and have since regularly included the city on their tour schedule.
“We’ve been through here a million times. We were here a few years ago and played our second album Twice Removed all the way through. Were any of you here?” asked guitarist Jay Ferguson, receiving shouts and cheers from the audience in response.
Towards the end of the show Chris Murphy voiced his appreciation for the venue, posing a riddle to the audience.
“What is sometimes a farmers’ market, and sometimes looks like Madison Square Garden?” he asked, referencing the beautiful light work done by the crew.
After playing for an hour and a two-song encore, Sloan wished the crowd a good night and a safe trip home. Pentland raised a glass to the audience, with hands holding beer cans and plastic cups lifting in response.
