Live At the Burton Cummings Theatre

iTunes Review

The indie-rock masters from Canada (Winnipeg and Toronto) deliver a live album that extends from every angle of their decade-long career. The pure punk-pop punch of the six-minute “Wellington’s Wednesdays” from their 1999 debut album Fallow falls into line with the stylistically diverse material from their three ensuing studio albums. Audience noise is kept to a minimum and stage patter is jettisoned for a tight, concise set of one melodic gem another. “Reconstruction Site,” the title track from their third album, and “Benediction” add pedal steel and a country lope. “Civil Twilight,” from the band’s 2007 release Reunion Tour, adds a bouncy keyboard to its skittering groove and solid harmonies. But nothing beats the simple, straightforward drive of “”Plea from a Cat Named Virtue,” where the band take to the road like a van-battered Midwest American rock ‘n’ roll band (or maybe these Canadians just wait for summer’s big thaw and trek the Provinces). In any case, with singer John K. Samson leading the way, the Weakerthans are among the finest bands of the 2000s.