Tegan and Sara Rock Hiro Ballroom: Set Showcases Songs from New Album, Classic Faves

Tegan and Sara's new album The Con came out about a week ago, so fans last night at New York's Hiro Ballroom were either familiar with the single "Back in Your Head" and a few others or very familiar with each track off the album thanks to illegal downloading. I won't name names.

Either way, hopefully all fans had at least played The Con a couple times in their CD players or mp3 players before attending the show because when Tegan and Sara took the stage (no openers!), Tegan announced that they'd be playing the album in its entirety from end to beginning. The sisters wanted to "dunk our heads" into the new material and I'm glad they did.

When I first heard the album, I wanted to write it off. Nothing really seemed to stand out to me aside from "The Con" and "Like O, Like H." Many songs are under two minutes and those were the ones I liked least. But with each subsequent listen, the songs continued to grow on me.

I was nervous, at first, last night to hear of the show's set list, but it was absolutely amazing. Every song had power, much more so than when just listened to on CD. From "Call it Off" to "I Was Married," Tegan and Sara showed everyone that they not only had the looks, but the talent as well.

The highlight of the evening came after just three songs ("Call it Off", "Dark Come Soon", and "Like O, Like H") when, during a tuning break, Tegan began talking to the audience which led to Sara talking to the audience which led to stories about the girls' childhoods being told throughout the rest of the show. (Tegan broke her arm four times before the age of 12, but it had nothing to do with abusive parents, despite how bad the story sounds, she assured us.)

They admitted that they wanted to do smaller theaters as kind of an "Evening with Tegan and Sara" thing. It definitely worked. Their stories were humorous and sometimes let us in to what the song was about or why it was written. The banter between the band on-stage let the audience see that these people were up there singing not because they wanted the money or the fame but because it was something they enjoyed and they were having fun doing it. Tegan even thanked the audience for listening to the new album with such attentiveness.

How could the audience not be mesmerized by the sisters' vocals and musical prowess? At 27, those girls have been touring and making music for 10 years. They've obviously been through a lot, learned a lot, and cut their hair many different ways. (Right now, Tegan has one side long and the other short, while Sara went for the full-on mullet.) Both of their voices have soul and depth. They can sound like little nymphs or they can be strong and booming. And their harmonies never cease to amaze me.

These two women aren't afraid to get experimental with their sounds either. While playing some of their older songs (including the amazing "Monday, Monday, Monday" and "Living Room") after finishing up The Con, it's easy to see how Tegan and Sara have progressed as musicians. Their music is still rock with a hint of pop but there's also something completely adult, unabashed, and unafraid in what they do now. They've really come into their own on this album and this tour.