Tegan and Sara
Koko, London
5 March, 2008

Tegan and Sara are identical twin sisters. It's easy to tell this by looking at them - not only do they have the same face, same build, etc, they also have the same haircut. They're also both lesbians. This is less obvious - their songs never explicitly mention their sexuality and it's not relevant to their music. It's a shame then, that tonight becomes an unavoidable showcase for it - not so much in terms of the band (though their backdrop of three cut tree trunks looks suspiciously like a castrated phallus) but the audience. Probably 80% female and 75% lesbian, it feels like you shouldn't be there for the music at all.
As it happens, the songs sound slightly underwhelming, not very loud and dragged down by the band’s annoying, ridiculous banter.
Still, those from their superb new album, The Con, sound as heartbroken and moving as they do on record, regardless of the sexual politics surrounding them. Call It Off in particular is a lament of equal parts beauty and sadness, and is a welcome reminder of what this gig should have been about, rather than what it became. The songs are fantastic – they shouldn’t take second place.

Mischa Pearlman