Tegan and Sara Pay Tribute to 'Tough' New Yorkers at Special Show, Donate to Hurricane Sandy Relief (PHOTOS)

At New York's Bowery Ballroom on Monday night, Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara reflected on how returning to New York City always reminds her of the band's first trip here and when Spin referred to their early albums as "folk-Wiccan nightmares."

"I don't know what they'd call us now," Tegan chimed in.

"Folk-Wiccan-dance nightmare?" offered Sara.


The new T&S sound is evident in their new single "Closer" that's been getting its fair share of radio play and also in other songs off their forthcoming seventh studio album, Hearthrob, which is due out Jan 29. The sold-out Bowery crowd got a decent earful of several new tracks, before which Tegan confessed she "gets nervous to play" but all of which sounded impeccably tight, and unquestionably more retro-pop than anything the sisters have done.

Having just flown in from the United Kingdom where they were supporting the Killers in arenas (they'll do the same until late December in the U.S.), the Quins seemed slightly exhausted, but plowed through an hour-and-a-half set nonetheless, sprinkling it with their usual array of clever banter between songs.

They kicked things off with the brand new "I'm Not Your Hero," which was reminiscent of something you'd hear from Belinda Carlisle or Debbie Gibson. Not ever inclined to neglect their fans, Sara then announced that "we'll play old songs now" and launched into a T&S best-of parade: "Back in Your Head," "The Con," "Hell," "Walking with A Ghost," "So Jealous" and "Where Does the Good Go."

Then it was time for another new one and in kind, both Tegan and Sara put their guitars away and the synth beat kicked back up. The tune "I Was a Fool' contained a biting yet catchy chorus ("Love like ours just never fits/I stuck around/I didn't mean it/I was a fool for love") and very impressive vocal harmonies. The combined result delivered a big, poignant shudder. This was followed by another new one (less striking but still interesting) called "Messed Up" and then another slew of favorites: "Nineteen," "Living Room," and "Alligator," the latter of which dovetailed naturally into the Morgan Page dance tune, "Body Work," for which the audience, oddly, stared in stoic awe rather than dancing.

The set closed with "Call It Off" and then "Closer" (again, painfully minimal dancing) and just the Quins returned to the stage for the encore: A rich, semi-acoustic rendition of "Dark Come Soon" followed by "Not Tonight." Sara the latter dedicated to folk fans (mentioning she was still traumatized by the moniker "folk-Wiccan nightmare") and also to Bruce Springsteen, whose "I'm on Fire" she wove seamlessly into the song.

The last song was the Tiesto-inspired "Feel It in My Bones," which finally yielded a few more bobbing heads in the crowd.

After thanking the audience for coming out to see the show just two short weeks after Hurricane Sandy, Tegan told the audience it was touching to see them "band together and work through it," complimenting New Yorkers for being "tough as shit" and noting that the band was donating the proceeds from this tour's merch sales to hurricane relief organizations.

Look for a few more T&S headline shows wedged into the Killers' U.S. tour over the next month. And don't forget to bring your dance moves.