Over the years, Canadian indie-rock collective Broken Social Scene has undergone many metamorphoses, transforming from a modest three-member group to a sweeping 19-member ensemble at one point. But as various musicians have come and gone, two members have remained throughout: the band’s co-founders, Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning. The longtime friends’ most recent project has been the Broken Social Scene Presents series, launched by Drew’s September release of Spirit If… and soon to be followed by a Canning solo album. Drew appeared at the Fillmore At The TLA to promote Spirit If…, and he was joined by Canning and Justin Peroff (also of BSS), as well as Andrew Kenny (American Analog Set), Jimmy Shaw (Metric), Mitch Bowden (Don Vail) and Sam Goldberg (Uncut).

Arthur & Yu, the Seattle duo of Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott, started off the night with songs from debut In Camera, the first release from Sub Pop co-founder Jonathan Poneman’s new Hardly Art imprint. After seeing Arthur & Yu open for Iron & Wine two months ago and nearly falling asleep to the band’s Sonny and Cher-like tunes, I expected immediate disappointment. Surprisingly, the band was welcomed by showers of hoots and hollers from the audience and turned out to be crowd-pleasers. Canning and Kenny even joined the band for a few songs on guitar and keyboard, respectively. The constant beat of the tambourine and the guitar riffs became slightly tiring after five or six songs, but the band delivered an overall good performance.

Soon, Drew marched vibrantly onstage and took his place at the center microphone with Canning at his side. Beginning with Spirit If… track “Lucky Ones,” Drew brimmed with energy as the audience joined in the chorus without any reservations. For its second-to-last performance of its U.S. tour, the band glowed under the ever-changing colored stage lights and transformed the event into a full-blown dance party. Although primarily highlighting Spirit If…, the band pulled a few songs from older records. “Cause = Time,” from 2006’s You Forgot It In People, gave the audience just what it wanted: traditional Broken Social Scene.

Canning stole the microphone for You Forgot It In People track “Stars And Sons,” then transitioned to a song to be released on his own record next year. Joined by his bandmates and members of Arthur & Yu, Canning entertained the crowd with a catchy melody backed by a blaring trumpet, guitars and drums. Canning took on a bouncy, Belle And Sebastian-like light-hearted style, a sound that could set him apart from the frenetic and buoyant signature of Drew and Broken Social Scene. After Canning’s brief sneak peek, Drew returned to center stage and described the modern relationship as “a punch and a kiss at the same time” before segueing into “Back Out On The…” as the band beckoned the crowd to sing along.

The set came to a close after the band plowed through the supercharged “Superconnected” from Broken Social Scene’s 2005 self-titled release. Delicately finishing with Spirit If…’s “Gang Bang Suicide,” Drew left the audience astounded by his delicate vocals and incisive emotion. As the lights cut out, the audience persisted until the band returned for an encore. Drew and Co. played a cover of Pavement’s “Kennel District” and jokingly attempted Bryan Adams’ “Summer Of ’69.” The encore appeared to end with BSS’s “It’s All Gonna Break,” but as the audience prepared to leave, the members of Arthur & Yu appeared onstage to accompany the band in a nearly a cappella version of “When It Begins.” Together with the audience, they chanted the lyrics: “It’s gonna be really hard when we get to the end, but don’t forget what you felt.” After a performance like that, it would be difficult.

—Ali Carter