The Most Serene Republic defies their name at a rocking set in Seattle

September 24, 2009, at the Crocodile Café

By Jonathan Shipley
Published: September 27th, 2009 | 8:00pm

Trombone playing front men of baroque pop bands don’t come along very often. But Adrian Jewett proved he is a wonderfully rare exception as he joined his six bandmates in the Most Serene Republic posse at the famed Crocodile Café in Seattle. The Ontario-based indie band, which also includes Ryan Lenssen (piano), Nick Greaves (guitar), Sean Woolven (guitar, vocals), Simon Lukasewich (bass), Adam Balsam (drums), and Venus Zine tour blogger Emma Ditchburn (guitar, vocals), was the first signed by the Arts & Crafts label that was not related to their neighbors, Broken Social Scene. And now, with three full-length albums under their collective belts, they are on a five-week tour to showcase their latest effort, …And the Ever Expanding Universe.

What the band is expanding is their musical universe and the way they shape and form each individual song, a facet they presented dazzlingly in front of a head-bopping audience. Jewett has magnetic stage presence — like a red-headed, lanky, epileptic Elijah Wood with red polish on his nails who just happens to know how to sing rollicking numbers with a trombone in his hand.

What is great about the tunes of the Most Serene Republic is that each one sounds distinctive and each song shifts within itself. One moment it’s standard 4/4 time, then shifts into 6/8, then slows down, then speeds up, gets louder, gets quieter, gets a solo, and ends with a rollickingly lift from all seven members. All songs share this characteristic so it’s a wonder seeing the band perform them as tightly as they do and with unwavering enthusiasm.

The new album, produced by Dave Newfeld (Super Furry Animals, Los Campesinos!), is diverse and exhilarating — just like the band on stage. But their instrumentation, though grand and complex, can seem a little self-indulgent at times. The trombone isn’t always necessary. The banjo in the third song of the set didn’t particularly add anything to it. The guy doing light beat boxing on the fourth tune was fun but not particularly arresting.

One of the best parts of the evening was the lighting or lack thereof when, at one moment, the stage lights went out completely. Un-phased, the band played on perhaps even more enlivened than before. The crowd roared their approval, the drums beat louder, the lyrics soared, the guitars railed, and the Most Serene Republic showed themselves to be mostly awesome.

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For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

The Most Serene Republic official site

The Most Serene Republic MySpace page

Arts & Crafts Records