You can go read a whole lot of vaguely written, round-about confirmations that Broken Social Scene has split at Kevin Drew’s Twitter.  I know BSS has broken up before, but for some reason I think this may really be it for them – for at least a long while this time.  Shortly after splitting last time, we almost immediately began hearing of the “Broken Social Scene Presents…” projects, which turned into Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew Solo records, and soon thereafter saw the band reunited for live gigs and eventually, the release of the pictured full length LP, Forgiveness Rock Record, released May 4, 2010.  Preceding and following the release of that album, the band toured extensively, coming to Dallas a few times, and hitting the summer tour circuit as well.

I for one am extremely disappointed to hear this news… Broken Social Scene was an incredibly talented collection of musicians that understood both the subtleties and broad strokes about how to put on a flawless live show, and which put out some of the best albums released in the last 15 years.  Their musical reputation is indisputably secure, but beyond that, they seemed to legitimately care about their audience.  I think it was in 2008 that the band cancelled a gig here and in Austin, TX because Drew had come down with the flu.  Months later, Drew, Canning, and select members of the band returned to Dallas and Austin – using members of the Polyphonic Spree to act as scab players to fill out the pieces of the band so that they could actually play a complete show.  They had felt bad enough about cancelling on those two cities that they scheduled a two city tour, just to make up the dates.  That to me says a whole lot about how Broken Social Scene treated their jobs as musicians, and how they very clearly revered their fans.

I’m reminded about Drew’s final words to the audience in Dallas at the old Gypsy Tea Room following their October 2006 concert: “Love each other and always remember that Broken Social Scene came to your town.  Good night.”  You’ll be missed, Broken Social Scene, and thanks for everything.