The local opener, Sinnet, had a style that couldn't be described too far beyond "rock." The band got pretty hokey when they busted into a song celebrating pizza. Birthmark, the solo project of Joan Of Arc/Make Believe's Nate Kinsella, followed. It was a heady, atmospheric, indie-electronic method that too often seemed to drift or merely set the ambience, though much of the audience did seem to appreciate his opening set.
Great Scott, in Allston, MA, is an intimate bar of a venue (or venue of a bar), with the crowd forced into a dimly lit floor/stage area where it's easy to engage with the band. Luckily, Tim Kasher was his usual drunken, jovial self. Exchanging playful jabs with the crowd, silly banter, riffing briefly on funny covers (see below) and taking or rejecting requests. Anyone who has watched Kasher's bands (Cursive and The Good Life) know that Kasher is a pretty capable frontman/musician even after kicking back a few. It wasn't much different here. He played through a sprawling collection of solo songs (both familiar and new) as well as Cursive and The Good Life tracks with his signature mutter, yelp and strain intact. The attentive crowd nodded along to the smorgasbord of new jams and shouted in unison to the Kasher standards.
Immediately, Kasher's opening song was seemingly new, beginning with him saying he had "a story to tell." After this, Kasher shot the shit by wishing everyone a happy Easter, since St. Patrick's Day was the following day. Nate Kinsella joined him for a few songs here and there, and as Kasher would often go off script with the covers or random requests, Kinsella was able to keep up.
Set list (11:34-1:05):
[new song]
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The Jessica
[Attempted cover of Extreme's "More Than Words" and something else]
Hard on the Ticker [?]
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Keely Aimee [The Good Life]
Album of the Year [The Good Life]
--[Nate joins, helps with impromptu, abridged cover of Blink-182's "All the Small Things" with an audience member]--
Busiest Bee [new]
[new song?]
Donkeys [Cursive cover]
Cold Love
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[new song]
--[Nate leaves]--
Strays
The Prodigal Husband
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The Cat and Mouse
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What Have I Done? [Cursive]