Wolf Parade Joke About Popcorn and Drugs in Chicago

Montreal group Wolf Parade returned to Chicago Tuesday night and performed a slew of songs from all three of their records in front of a packed, pre-holiday House of Blues crowd.

Opening with 'Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts' from their first record 'Apologies to the Queen Mary,' Wolf Parade's instruments were so amped up it caused the entire venue to vibrate and tremble. After the song ended, singer Spencer Krug commented on something an audience member had shouted out. "Did you say, 'Spencer, you're a fat f---er?' Well, I am getting older and things are changing," he said before starting the jubilant 'Soldier's Grin' from 'At Mount Zoomer.'

"Do you think it smells like popcorn in here?" Krug asked the crowd, referring to the venue, which sells the freshly popped snack. "Usually it just smells like weed, but tonight it's popcorn." Guitarist Dan Boeckner interjected, "It's because they make roofies that smell like popcorn." After that, they performed 'Cloud Shadow on the Mountain' from 'Expo,' a blaring 'Fine Young Cannibals' and their new single, 'Semi-Precious Stone,' which they said they didn't play very often because they're not sure if they like it yet. "It doesn't smell like popcorn anymore," Krug said after the song finished.

As the night progressed, so did the party. During 'Palm Road,' a fan briefly jumped onstage to dance then went back into the crowd. He tried it again later, only to have a security guard escort him offstage. After ending the regular set on the epic 'Kissing the Beehive,' Wolf Parade came back for a two-song encore and brought Norihito Hiraide from the opening Japanese band Ogre You A------ to help play 'Yulia.' Now armed with a bottle of wine, Krug and Boeckner took swigs before playing the final song of the 75-minute set, 'You Are a Runner and I am My Father's Son.' Loud and frenetic, Boeckner thrashed around as Krug slammed on his keys and ended the night in a sweaty mess.