First Listen: The Weakerthans, Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre

I like the Weakerthans. They're not exactly what you'd call prolific - they've made four albums in 14 years - but what they do is precise and winning. They play a strummy sort of alternative rock, carried forth by John Samson's thoughtful, tongue-twisting lyrics.

I like the Weakerthans. But I didn't necessarily need to hear (or watch) them play these songs live. There honestly isn't much difference between the versions on Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre and the matching versions on their studio albums. This is a nice thing to have, but not exactly essential.

As for what's here, 13 of these 18 songs are taken from their last two albums, Reconstruction Site and Reunion Tour, so if you like those, you'll like this. It's good to have both Virtue the Cat songs on one disc, and songs like "Civil Twilight" and "Sun in an Empty Room" sound good live. I like the Weakerthans, and if you like them too, you'll enjoy this. But don't put off paying the gas bill for it or anything.