Who doesn’t love an impromptu concert by a popular indie band? Nobody, that’s who. So when A.V. Club Chicago broke the news late Tuesday that Toronto super collective Broken Social Scene would perform a free show somewhere in town, naturally, it piqued our interest. All principle members including frontman Kevin Drew, guitarist Andrew Whiteman, bassist Brendan Canning, drummer Justin Peroff, guitarist Sam Goldberg, singer Lisa Lobsinger and horn section appeared on an especially erected stage under an “occasionally perfect” Heineken billboard directly across from Wrigley Field. Drew professed his love for Chicago, mentioning that the band spend nine months working on Forgiveness Rock Record here in town with Tortoise/The Sea and Cake’s John McEntire. The group ripped through seven songs in total (Cause = Time, Texico Bitches, 7/4 Shoreline, Anthems of a 17-year-old Girl, KC Accidental, World Sick and Ibi Dreams of Pavement). Our friends over at Gonzo Chicago have an excellent wrap-up of the night below. If you want more video, XRT has a few to quench your thirst. Enjoy!

There’s no group that truly lives the motto “variety is the spice of life” quite like Toronto’s Broken Social Scene.

For the follow-up to its 2005’s self-titled album, Broken Social Scene jumped at the chance to work with Tortoise multi-instrumentalist John McEntire. The new, as-of-yet untitled album, was recorded in part at McEntire’s Soma Studios in Chicago and Giant Studios in Toronto, which is owned by former Death From Above 1979 vocalist Sebastien Grainger and Metric guitarist Jimmy Shaw.

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