Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo (more photos...) photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer |
by andrea gilders - clubkingsnake contributor
May 6th, 2008
Showplace Performance Centre. Peterborough, Ontario
Seeing Blue Rodeo was, for me, the culmination of nearly 20 years of anticipation.
Honestly, the performance lived up to my expectations and to my delight even exceeded them.
Showplace is a fabulous venue, big enough to have great clear loud sound without overwhelming the audience but also, with only 17 rows of floor seating, giving everyone a sense of being an intimate distance from the stage.
Beginning the night with a very stripped down stage set Blue Rodeo opened with a fabulous acoustic versions of “Five days in May� (from their absolutely classic CD
Five days in July), I was overwhelmed almost immediately by the fabulous timbres of the voices of the two singers, Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor. For anyone unfamiliar with Blue Rodeo, well simply I say look them up and give them a listen. A really long listen (they have recorded 11 albums) I simply don’t have the space here to do justice to explaining careers as long and solid as theirs.
The stage set was simply a black curtain, a single snare drum, two acoustic guitars, pedal steel, bass, keyboard and off to the far right, a lamppost.
They moved quickly through to some newer material on their 2008 CD
Small Miracles. Songs such as “Old Blue House� and “3 hours away� blended beautifully with their brooding oldies.
“Palace of Gold� stood out for the simple but effective lighting scheme, some low gold lights and two simple spots.
Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo (more photos...) photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer |
A surprisingly upbeat version of the 1987 hit “Try� from their debut “Outskirts� supplied some amusement as Cuddy assured a front row concert goer (who he ‘knew’ was at his first ever concert) “Don’t go to sleep yet kid, this is the big one�.
“To Love Somebody� broke my heart. To hear the torment and raw edge to the lyrics “You don’t know what its like� to simply be belted out with such power and range took my breath away. The magnificent cacophony of piano and clean loud thunderous guitar was spectacular.
“Working on a railroad� was a thrill and showed what you can do with only one drum if you play it with enough passion and talent.
“Bad Timing�, one of my favourite songs of all time, played on a stage with only Keelor and Cuddy was thrilling.
At the end of this number, the curtain finally drops away to reveal a full drum kit, lights and electric guitars. The band swung right into a rousing version of “Til I am myself again�
Then for a real treat they brought out Sadies Guitarist Travis Good to perform “You’re everywhere�. Travis, who is was quite wraithlike, played an absolutely amazing speed and skill. It was fabulous to see the band, especially Keelor who was singing, get right into the music, practically dancing while he ‘bopped’ away to the Travis Good performance. I’d never heard of the Sadies or Travis Good before that night, but I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more to come with that much talent.
The energy stayed high but the mood became more thoughtful as they moved through ‘Black Ribbon’ and ‘Useless Night’ culminating in the utterly amazing ‘Dark Angel’, with the stage cleared, simply Keelor, a single spot light and the simply astonishing Bob Packwood on piano.
Bob Packwood of Blue Rodeo (more photos...) photo by Clint Gilders - staff photographer |
Really, if piano players were supporting actors, Bob Packwood would be Donald Sutherland. Incredibly talented, everything he plays is filled with this fabulous rich texture and the entire experience is just completely enhanced by his seemingly effortless enthusiasm and fantastic joyful skill.
After Dark Angel there was simply song after song executed in the same infectious emotional way that had been present through out the show. For me however, it was the opening song of the encore that was without equal.
If you’re from Canada you know about snow. Perhaps though the point is more like if you’ve ever lived anywhere else and missed snow, this song will reach you. “Hasn’t Hit me yet� for me, has always been simply about the sense of home that I have always had here in Ontario and, when they opened the encore by projecting an image of gently falling heavy snow on the back of the stage and had snow falling by the now lit lamppost on the corner of the stage, I truly, truly was moved in ways I cannot explain.
For me, that moment, to see that song performed that way, was the culmination of the emotions I’ve felt since I first heard it in the late autumn of 1993. I was a long long way from home and a lifetime away from now.
The very last song, a rousing chorus of “Lost Together� performed with opening band Cuff the Duke (featuring a great little bass solo and fiddle bit) was a terrific send off for the night.
It sent me away with a smile on my face and a love song in my heart. And really, what more can we ask of music than that?