By Megan Wadding, November 2014 Web Exclusive.
Identical twin songstress lesbian duo Tegan and Sara hits the Valley this month and their diehard fans are coming out in droves to see them perform.
The Canadian pair, who released their seventh studio album, Heartthrob, early last year, will take the stage at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre Nov. 17 before finishing up their “Let's Make Things Physical Tour.”
The band is known to have quite a passionate fan base, including unabashed “superfans,” who proudly note that they’ve followed the band since they came onto the indie music scene in the late ‘90s.
Best friends of 18 years, Theresa Beltran, 35, and Zan-KyL Odom, 30, both of Phoenix, have been hardcore fans of the band for more than a decade and plan to attend the upcoming concert along with a group of friends.
“I definitely love them. Their music is timeless,” said Odom. “I recently listened to their If It Was You album. I used to listen to this album on repeat 10 years ago. It still gets me feeling things today.”
Odom, owner and operator of URBANpup, Doggie Daycare Alternative in Phoenix, said he has been a fan of Tegan and Sara for 13 years and owns four of their albums and boast an impressive collection of merchandise from previous concerts he’s attended.
Odom said he loves everything about the band.
“[I like] their sound, lyrics, style and their amazing youthful skin. I especially love the way they interact with one another,” said Odom.
Odom credits Beltran with introducing him to the duo many years ago.
Beltran, a local musician who also works at FedEx, said she has been a fan of Tegan and Sara since their first album and was introduced to their music through a Canadian pen-pal in 2002.
“I was an immediate fan because they were indie musicians like me,” Beltran said. “Their talent is what made me like them so much. They’re so young and versatile.”
Beltran said she too owns a lot of Tegan and Sara merchandise.
“I have all of their albums. I own songbooks, too, since I am a musician,” she said, adding that she even owns their albums on vinyl because she is a fan of old technology.
Alongside other diehard fans, Beltran has even taken part in a Tegan and Sara “street team” in Phoenix over the years.
“It’s a guerilla marketing strategy,” Beltran explained. “We put up posters and handed out fliers and merchandise to advertise Tegan and Sara shows. I have [leftover] pins, posters and stickers.”
Beltran said it has been a few years since she has seen Tegan and Sara, so she is very excited for the show.
“I have been to four [of their] concerts, I think. I lose count because I go to so many shows,” she said. e