When you come out of the heavily hyped independent music scene in Montreal (along with artists like the Arcade Fire, the Unicorns, Destroyer, and Frog Eyes), and have Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse produce your first album, it raises everyone’s expectations. Thanks to this, Wolf Parade had a lot to live up to at their show last Saturday at the Intersection in Grand Rapids.

But for the most part they did, despite difficulties both self-inflicted and unavoidable – technical issues with the sound, a broken snare drum, and vast quantities of alcohol consumed by all members of the band.

Wolf Parade’s sound – plodding and anthemic rock, anchored by two strong lead singers, (one with a riveting yelp that could best be described as a yodel, the other with a gravelly sneer) – along with the casual talent of the musicians, triumphed over the numerous problems that presented themselves. The band members remained good-humored throughout, conversing with a lifesize cardboard cutout of the rapper Nas they propped up on stage, chatting with the audience, and generally enjoying themselves even as they had to wait for a drum, or were waiting for the sound man to work out some sonic issues. The songs are each brilliant little vignettes, with lyrical story arcs and highly original musical arrangement, and within the first five seconds of any of them the long downtime between songs was forgotten.

Highlights included the bleak and startingly original “You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son” that came halfway through the set, causing the mostly-full Intersection to go wild. The heavy beat on the drums (which contributed to the snare drum breakage), and the vaguely Southwestern-sounding guitar grew more and more tense until the band exploded into a long jam at the end. Lyrically it’s equally captivating, with poetic, deeply personal lines like:

I’ll draw three figures on your heart/ One of them will be me as a boy/ One of them will be me/ One of them will be me watching you run/ watching you run / into the high noon sun.

Another highlight was “I’ll Believe In Anything”, an optimistic, instantly catchy number with a brilliant arrangement. The slow, stately “Dinner Bells”, which was part of the two-song encore, impressed with its emotional, affecting lyrics.

The first opener, the semi-local band Anathallo, gave a typically intense and unique performance, replete with trombones, imaginative percussion (including velcro and a wrench), and huge, thumping bass drums. Playing a mix of new and old material, they impressed the crowd with everything from catchy, cacophonous chants to quiet piano numbers. The only downside was the constant murmur of the crowd, which didn’t mesh well with Anathallo’s occasionally quiet demeanor. Second opener 256 mystified the gathering by playing a set of straight-ahead rock resembling Nickelback that didn’t fit at all with the other two bands’ more unique sound. Overall, though, it was an excellent night that showed how great music can triumph over anything, whether it be liquor, a broken drum, or Nas. 8/10