By PAT ST. GERMAIN
Winnipeg Sun
THE MOFFATTS
Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg
Thursday, February 1, 2001
WINNIPEG -- The Moffatts didn't have to ask Who
Do You Love? at the Centennial Concert Hall last night.
About 2000 screaming girls made that abundantly clear when
the brothers from Victoria hit the stage.
And the quartet -- 16-year-old triplets Bob, Dave and Clint
and cheeky older brother Scott, 17 -- played to the crowd's
precocious passion, big time. The concert opened with a slow,
teasing intro to hit single Bang Bang Boom from their latest
album Submodalities. As the music came up, brief flashes of light
illuminated the brothers onstage, giving the teens, who shared
the girl zone with a few dozen parents and a handful of males,
brief glimpses of the band while they worked themselves into a
fan frenzy.
Scott, the semi-dangerous rebel Moffatt, earned his keep as
a frontman with truly impressive vocal and character range,
delivering a soulful rendition of Brit-popper Antifreeze/Aeroplane,
sticking his tongue out Gene Simmons-style during Walking Behind
and following up a slow country ballad by launching straight into
surf rocker California.
And, hey, the triplets weren't bad, either. Drummer/vocalist
Bob -- aka the cute one -- kicked things up a notch merely by
introducing Antifreeze/Aeroplane. Keyboardist Dave got the girls
fired up when he borrowed centre stage to sing I Don't Want You
to Want Me, and bassist/vocalist Clint more than held his own
while the versatile band rocked into the night.
Fans, most in their early teens, stayed after the show in
droves to line up for The Moffatts' and opening band Wide Mouth
Mason's autographs on band merchandise, which was moving fast at
$30 a pop for T-shirts and $7 for posters.
Many of the fans came prepared with signs to pay homage to
their favourite Moffatt.
Rochelle Beardy, 13, had her tribute to Bob ready to go
four months ago, after she decorated a metre-wide piece of
cardboard with more than two dozen photos of the drummer and the
slogan Bob Is Hot.
"I love The Moffats. My wall's full of 109 pictures of
The Moffatts," Beardy said, showing off an album cover photo
of the band at ages 11 and 12.
Cuteness definitely counts, but many of the young fans have
a much deeper appreciation for the music.
Lisa Koss, 14, and the nine pals she showed up with,
pointed out that unlike pop boy bands like the Backstreet Boys
and 'N Sync, The Moffatts are actual musicians. And while the
quartet were thought of as bubblegum popsters after their first
album Chapter 1: A New Beginning, last year's Submodalities won
critical acclaim for its variety pack of styles and maturity.
Now, Koss says, they rock. And that's a good thing.
"And they're Canadian, too, so it's also the pride.
They're not an American import."
Well said, but Koss and company still exercised their right
to get vocal for the bands, standing up and roaring for Saskatoon
blues rockers Wide Mouth Mason as the show opened.
At 26 years of age, the trio are a full decade older than
The Moffatts, but drummer Safwan Javed, guitar slinger Eric
Perrault and frontman Shaun Verrault got the crowd in the mood to
rock and, in the process, won over a new pack of fans.
(Original text: http://www.canoe.ca/AllPop-Moffatts/c020101_winnipeg-can.html )