TT The Bears Place in Cambridge hosted Corin Ashleys(the Pills)new band Dirty Ticket,Philidelphias The Capital Years, and the kings of Canadian pop Sloan.

Dirty Ticket fused uptempo pop/rock and a bit of a roots/country vibe and did a good job of not boring me. The lead vocals were split between corin and the two guitarists and the harmonys sounded good. They were all over the pop map at times sounding like 80's Elvis Costello or the Beatles but always adding their own feel to it. This was their first ever live show and it showed. They still need some work but it's a great beginning.

I should have liked The Capital Years but I just couldn't. They were tight but I was dissapointed that a band with three guitarists did so little with them. I got a Secret Machines vibe from them but I was not into it at all. Plus they were arrogent and annoying on stage.

Sloan played from 11:15 until they were forced to stop due to the Cambridge curfew at 12:45. It was all Guitar/Drum/Bass...none of their songs with organ were featured so it was mostly an uptempo set list. I thought the sound was good, all four vocals came through great, and from the first notes of Losing California the croud was into it. I have seen Sloan every show they have played in the area (except their last tour w/ Jet) and this was definatly one of the best. They played all of their "Hits" form the current greatest hits collection and did some deep cuts like "Before I do" featuring Andrew on guitar and vocals and "False Alarm with Jay on lead vocals. There was also an impromptu acoustic version of "Coax Me" as the crew changed Andrew's bass drum head that he broke two songs in.

All in all a great night and if you like good old fashioned rock and roll with great hooks and harmonies as well as good songwriting check out Sloans "A sides Win" singles collection featuring treai 14 singles over the last 13 years as well as two new tracks.
www.sloanmusic.com for more info