On July 7th, Broken Social Scene released Hug Of Thunder, their first album in seven years, shortly after which they announced the Hug Of Thunder Tour with Belle Game.
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| Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
Before playing the last show of the tour in the States at The Wiltern in LA then bringing it full circle with two final shows in their home-base town of Toronto Canada, the tail end of their North American Tour brought the Canadian bands to The Fox Theater in Oakland.
Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene is the executive producer of, Fear Nothing, the sophomore album from Belle Game which was released just last month. After working with a member of one of music's most beloved bands to now touring with them, the four piece opening act had an understandable humbleness about them.
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| Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
Washed out by intense crimson and indigo lights, The Belle Game was staged in front of cloaked back-lined equipment of the 15 piece headliners as a steady stream of show-goers arrived.
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| Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
Andrea Lo's vocals were more like hymns, giving them their signature ethereal sound as lyrics entwined with softly blown-out instrumental elements. Keyboardist Katrina Jones rendered some woos when she engaged fans at one point: asking how we were doing and sharing how the band b-lined it for In & Out as soon as they crossed state lines and that it was their very first time, ever in Oakland.
Otherwise, there wasn't too much action during their mellow set, the lighting didn't let up or change and there was very little movement on stage. It was fitting though, anything more would contradict their crush-pop aesthetic.
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| Belle Game at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
With their impressive ensemble of musicians and array of instruments, Broken Social Scene was quite the opposite. The energy in the then full-house, instantaneously shifted from the peaceful welcome to a full-on Americana Hootenanny mere seconds into their first song of the night.
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| Broken Social Scene at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
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| Broken Social Scene at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
Belle Game opening for Broken Social Scene is a great example of how opposites attract even when it comes to a concert bill. Their sound and stage presence differ enough from one another that they compliment each other.
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| Broken Social Scene at The Fox Theater in Oakland 10/26/2017 photo by Marc Fong |
The last shows of the Hug Of Thunder Tour are in Canada November 1st, 3rd and 4th!
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