Category: Concert Reviews

Vero’s parents are in town and they offered to babysit so we went searching for a good night out.

A good night out came in the form of the Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Superbowl party….for $40 you get two free drinks, a pound of wings, a $20 voucher to play the slot machines and most importantly…a concert by The Trews!

It’s been awhile since we have seen the The Trews but once again (at no surprise), they kicked some serious ass.  Man these guys rock!

I remember years ago seeing Alice in Chains at Bluesfest and lamenting the fact that they only had a one hour set.  But then they proceeded to blow me away.  Just pure rock for 60 minutes straight.  It changed my view on the one hour concert slot.

The Trews were no different…Vero commented that they were just piling on all the hits one after another with no time in between.  They got a job to do and they were sticking to it!  It was fantastic!!!

John-Angus even strutted up onto the top of the bar while soloing.  How much more rock and roll can you get?

And hey, I even managed to record the thing on iPhone which is turning out to be a trusty recording device.

10/10!

I feel this is going to be more of a review on the actual Bronson Center than the show itself!  Short review: Texas King caught the crowd’s attention and Big Wreck killed it as usual.  I recorded the show using my iPhone and it came out pretty good!  I will try again at the next concert.  I brought Etienne to the concert for his birthday and we met up with a few of his friends who were equally blown away by the show.

A history of the Bronson Center and a review of the new changes: YEARS AGO, the Bronson Center sucked large.  Mike and I would show up for a show and it would be general admission throughout the entire building so we would end up in the back row with our parkas on and sweating bullets.  I believe that show was for Broken Social Scene.  No beer, dying of heat, it sucked.

Some really, really close seats.  I could see the sweat on their faces!

Sunday night in Ottawa…what is there to do?

Head down to the National Arts Centre to see Matt Mays on the Howl at the Night tour, that’s what there’s to do!!

You all know my love for Matt Mays.  He can do no wrong in my eyes.

This tour was the culmination of everything that has come before it.  His band is top notch and the way the night unfolded was magical.

I had no idea Etienne and I got tickets so close to the stage…third row in a the small Babs Asper Theatre at the  National Arts Centre.  It was uncomfortably close at first but once the show started and the crowd gathered it just made it all the more intimate.

Pretty sure I could touch the stage if I reached out my hand!  I was also kicking myself for leaving the good phone at home.  The iPhone5 camera does NOT take the best photos.

Skye Wallace.  The Dream Weaver.

Skye Wallace opened up the set and it was a rocking good time.  The band was firing on all cylinders and Skye Wallace is a force to be reckoned with.  She had an incredible stage presence and is definitely worth seeing again.  I even picked up all her albums at the merch booth after her show.

Starting out the show nice and slow.

The Howl at the Night tour was a combination of their past few tours.  They opened the show with a bunch of acoustic tunes and morphed into a full out electric show.  I really enjoyed how the set unfolded…first up was Matt solo on piano.  Then he invites a bandmate.  Then another, and another, and another.  8 songs into the set we finally get to see the full lineup.

I really love the latest touring lineup of Matt Mays.  I always enjoy Adam Baldwin as the right hand man and now the stage is flanked by Leith Fleming-Smith is an insane keyboardist who has his own legion of fans.  I even saw someone with a homemade t-shirt of Leith and it said Leithal Weapon.  Fabulous!

I’ve seen Matt Mays a lot over the years.  I remember seeing him open up for the Sam Roberts Band on their inaugural tour back in 2003.  They’ve been around Ottawa quite a bit and I have to say that this was the best live incarnation of the band I have ever seen.  Everything coalesced into a fantastic night.  I was glad that Etienne got to experience the power of Matt Mays for the first time!

I almost forgot to write about a highlight of the night…Matt brings the mic out into the crowd through the aisles at one point and then decides to hook back in on good ole Row CC which was our row!  Sure enough, he starts walking on top of all the seats to end up smack dab on Etienne’s seat and singing to the rest of the theatre.  So basically, we had to stare at his butt for the rest of the song which was hilarious.  Good times were had.

Check them out on this tour!

Here’s the tour poster created by Ottawa’s very own Ottawa Gig Posters.

Setlist (Matt Mays)

Howl at the Night
Drive On
Dark Promises
Downtown
Ola Volo
Ain’t That the Truth
The Past
Spoonful of Sugar
Travellin’
Building a Boat
Indio
Station Out of Range
City Of Lakes
Take It on Faith
Let There Be Love
Terminal Romance

Tall Trees (country version)
On the Hood

A few months ago my bud Matt got me into this bluegrass band called The Dead South who hail from Saskatchewan.  They had this incredible video:

Anyhow, when I heard they were coming to town a bunch of picked up some tickets for a Tuesday night in Ottawa at the TD Place.

Elliot Brood in full Hallowe’en garb

Thanks to Vero for letting me head out on a Tuesday night to check out this band!  Going to a concert is a game day call when there are two kids in the house.

I missed the first couple of songs of Elliot Brood which is a crying shame because the first song they played was C’est L’Halloween which I had been talking about the week prior at work.  Supposedly this song is super popular around the world but no one has heard about it.  But out of nowhere, Elliot Brood opens their set with it!  My friends were freaking out.  Here‘s an interesting article about this song.

Great stage setup by The Dead South!

I found Chanelle, Matt and Matt’s mom a few rows from centre stage.  The TD Place floor was packed but they had shut down the stands for the event…probably due to lack of ticket sales?

Elliot Brood was a great rollicking time and I will definitely be checking some of their music again as I was not familiar with them.

The Dead South put on a great show as well.  I’m not entirely familiar with their catalogue of tunes but the crowd seemed to know every word!  You can tell the band is embarking on a larger production type of show where they choreograph some moves (like the swaying of their instruments at the same time) as well as some extended jams to fill in some time between songs.  I was wondering if the lack of a drummer would be an issue but with a bluegrass band, there are no worries!

Also, can I put a shout out to Danny Kenyon who handles the cello strapped to his back like a champ?  He is crazy good.  Let’s be honest, the entire band is great.

Two thumbs up for this show.  Catch them if you can!

Can I just say I think it’s really interesting how they are huge in Germany but this will be the first tour that brings them to the Maritimes?  I can’t wrap my head around that considering they are a Canadian band!

Now…onto my one gripe.  It’s a large one so hold on the for the ride.

Who the heck charges $20 a CD to ticketholders?!

I was walking in there thinking I would plunk down my cash to pick up their three albums.  I have listened to them on Google Play Music but it was time to support this band with some dollars.

Now, I’ve been to a few concerts over my lifetime.  As I type this, it shows that I have been to 610 of them.

In my experience, I have never seen a cd priced higher than 15 bucks.  Generally you’ll see CDs hanging around the ten buck mark.

Now, on one hand, you would think that maybe the price of CDs have gone up over time and that’s how they can justify their price.  I do agree that the price for CDs are slowly creeping into the 20 dollar range.  In fact, The Dead South albums are all hovering around 22 bucks on Amazon.

But the other hand is the following: you’ve already got fans coming in the door.  You also are hoping to win new fans with your awesome tunes and your show.  You want to melt their brains and have them wanting more when they leave.  What better way to do so than to have a cd at a bargain?

Case in point: I walked out there with nothing other than a poster.  I didn’t even bother picking up one CD.  But I was ready to buy all three CDs if they were priced at $15 or less.  My friend Chanelle was thinking of picking up a CD to support the band but balked at the $20 price point.

I went to see Skye Wallace a few weeks after this Dead South show and she blew me away much like Dead South blew me away.  I went and picked up all her albums for ten bucks each.

In today’s market, buying tour merchandise has become even more of a showing of support for a band.  We already have your music via streaming services.  Why do we need a CD?

To show our support.  So please don’t gouge us.

Hey, what do I know?  Maybe you end up selling enough $20 cds to a smaller group of people but still make more money?  I’m trying to wrap my head around what the ultimate goal of selling tour merchandise is. Is it to make the most profit, or is it to get something in the hands of fans to show their support, or is there a middle road somewhere?  I have a feeling the middle road is what most bands take.

Rant over!  Still a great show and I encourage everyone to check out The Dead South!

Setlist (Elliot Brood)

C’est L’Halloween [Matt Maxwell]
@Unknown[Lyrics: …I could hear them coming over that hill…]
’til the Sun Comes Up Again
Jigsaw Heart
Dig a Little Hole
Woodward Avenue
@Unknown[Lyrics: …come out with your hands held high…]
2 4 6 8
The Valley Town
Without Again
Write It All Down for You

Setlist (The Dead South)

Diamond Ring
Time for Crawlin’
Boots
Miss Mary
The Recap
Honey You
That Bastard Son
Blue Trash
Fat Little Killer Boy
Snake Man
Black Lung
Heaven In A Wheelbarrow
Spaghetti
In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company

Crawdaddy Served Cold
Banjo Odyssey

I live a privileged life in that I can go see live music out on a sweltering day (40 degrees) and enjoy some beers with friends at the same time.

I enjoyed Day 1 of Bluesfest more so because I didn’t have one particular band I wanted to see so I meandered around and stuck around for what I liked.  I like that more than sticking around for a couple of hours for a band I really want to see.

The Egyptian Magician and I out for a good night!

Zaki Ibrahim was pretty good! 

I am really enjoying the fact that Bluesfest has customized caution signs for me this year.

I really enjoyed the show Chvrches put on.  I left to see U.S. Girls at one point but decided to come back to see the end of their set.  I also enjoy a band who puts some stage makeup on.

These two couldn’t stop talking about their love of the Liverpool football team.

Mina and I loved the keyboardist’s shirt from U.S. Girls.  I wasn’t blown away by their performance but they had a dozen people on stage so that’s impressive on it’s own.

Little Steve and the Disciples of Soul knocked it out of the park for me!  This was the show of the night in my opinion.  I didn’t even realize that it’s Steve Van Zandt’s (Springsteen) solo band!  I checked out the beginning of their set and came back for the end of it.  I’m pretty sure they were blown away by the crowd and put on a legitimate encore instead of a planned one.

I came to see Alt-J as per Etienne and Mina’s suggestion.  They were decent and I enjoyed their lighting setup.  I have a feeling they were just a little too mellow for me that night and that’s why I left to find a little more rock.

Ah yes, here’s the more rock.  This was taken right before they decided to do an encore.  Check these guys out if they come to your town!

A month ago I saw that Patrick Watson was coming to try out some new material at the Black Sheep Inn.  All those words pointed to an immediate “I NEED TO SEE THIS!”  Unfortunately for me, I figured I had enough time to talk with Vero to see if it was alright and to ask Jean-Francois if he wanted to come along.

Turns out that 60 minutes is too long in the land of Patrick Watson coming to the Black Sheep Inn.  Both dates were sold out within minutes and I was left a broken shell.  (Of course I’m dramatizing!)

Fast forward a few weeks later and I see a Facebook post pop up….’Additional date added to Patrick Watson at Black Sheep Inn!’  I couldn’t believe it!  I jumped on it.  Two tickets, bam!

I’ve only been to the Black Sheep Inn once in my life to see Matt Mays with Adam Baldwin.  Years ago it was already known as a legendary venue and it’s still the same today.  On one side of the main strip through Wakefield you have the Black Sheep Inn.  On the other side you have the taste of Quebec with a view of the Gatineau River.  I was trying to find a history of the Black Sheep Inn and the closest I could find of its modern history was an interview with the owner Paul Symes.

I’m already regretting not snapping a photo of the Inn with its beautiful view of the river!

I found this image on Google.  This gives you a better idea of how it is set up.

I arrived after nearly an hour of driving the highways of Ontario into the highways of Quebec.  The highways of Quebec are other-worldly are you are weaving in and out of the Gatineau hills.  Parking was an issue at the Inn so I managed to find some parking at the community centre which was a quick five minute walk from the venue.

You can already tell that the Inn is a different kind of venue when I walked in.

“My friend isn’t here yet.  Do I have to wait for him or can I go inside?”

“No problem, what’s your name?  Just tell him to give us your name when he comes in and we’ll mark him off on the list.”

That’s it, that’s all.  None of this ‘Where’s your ID?’ or ‘No, everyone needs to be together to come in.’  I knew I was in heaven already!

The Inn was already packed when I got in so I managed to find a couple of tall seats up against the wall instead of getting us a table.  I sat there with beer in hand and marvelled at the intimacy of the venue.  Mina showed up as well and we had to fend off the vultures for our chairs.  At one point we both got up for a beer then I said “Maybe I should go back to hold our chairs” and there were already vultures out to grab it!

Everyone was pretty excited to be amongst the privileged few (75 people maybe?) who got tickets.  Not a bad seat in the house!

I like how the Inn makes the event special.  They put out candles on the table and turn off the lights when the band hits the stage.  Patrick Watson!  What a show!  What a privilege to witness new music.

It’s pretty interesting to hear that the band finished recording their new album two days and ago and figured they should book some time at the Inn to figure out how they would translate those songs in a live setting.  It’s interesting to see a band struggle a little with things like forgetting lyrics to new songs or missing cues to start/stop certain parts of the song.  It’s really interesting to be part of that process…they could have just hung out and jammed with themselves for weeks on end, or just hit the road for a bit and play in front of people while they were figuring things out.  It also looks like they have a new drummer and a keyboardist along this time.

After the show.  We saw the band outside when we were leaving and said “Great show!”.  I have a feeling that they were probably going to hop back into the Inn after their cigarette and just jam to whoever wished to stick around.  I would like to think that this DID NOT happen otherwise I’ll be kicking myself for leaving!

Check out how amazing Mina’s camera is in night shots.  Google Pixel for the win.

The new songs are interesting and add a little more different beats and keyboard pads than usual.  They also completely re-imagined Lighthouse during the encore so I don’t know if that was just a ‘Black Sheep thing’ or if this is indicative of what they want to accomplish during the upcoming tour.

I feel privileged to have been in a small tavern with 75 other people who got to witness some new songs come to life, shared some maniacal laughter with the crowd and just felt overwhelmed by the entire experience.

I didn’t even realize I chose some seats under our friend Che!

Etienne and I headed out to Montreal during flood season to go see Alice in Chains.  I had to sell a ticket to see Metric, July Talk and Murray Lightburn as they were playing Ottawa on the same night.  Doh!  We first stopped into this excellent brewpub.

Vero and I stayed at the Hotel des Arts the last time we were in Montreal so I decided to try it again.  For some reason we got a super deal at $60 for the room!  I don’t think I would stay here with kids, but for two guys in for town for the night, it’s a decent place.

Etienne found a great Indian place right behind the hotel.  Darbar.

View from the top!  I haven’t been to MTelus (Metropolis) in about twenty years.  I saw Counting Crows here in 1999.  It’s a cool ballroom.  The place was insanely packed!  Etienne likes hanging out in the balcony area but it was too crowded so we headed back to the floor.

City and Colour opened up which was a strange opener in my opinion.  While I like City and Colour and the majority of the crowd knew him as well, it’s a really strange mix considering the music Alice in Chains plays.

Alice in Chains were on FIRE right from the start.  They still got it!  I really like their latest album so I was excited to hear a few of the new tunes live.

View from the top.  The crowd was hot tonight!  Montreal crowds are always the best.  In fact, I believe the mayor just declared Montreal the heavy metal capital a few weeks ago!

View from the bar in the back.

I believe I snapped this photo during the last song (Rooster).  The crowd was singing so loudly I couldn’t even hear the singer over the PA!

After the show we decided to get another drink and wait for the coat check line to get smaller.  Good thing we did or we would have missed out on Quebec rock and roll royalty!

We ended up in MTelus night club bar where we could finish our beer and it turns out that Eric Lapointe was sitting at the bar.  I can’t say I’m too familiar with him but Etienne says he’s like the Mick Jagger of Quebec.  He sure seemed like it with his mirrored shades sitting at the bar.  We are having a good laugh at that.

Alice in Chains did not disappoint and I hope to see them again on tour soon enough!

City and Colour Setlist:

Fragile Bird
If I Should Go Before You
Waiting…
O’ Sister
We Found Each Other in the Dark
Sleeping Sickness

Alice in Chains setlist:

Bleed the Freak
Check My Brain
Again
Never Fade
Them Bones
Dam That River
Hollow
Your Decision
Rainier Fog
Down in a Hole
No Excuses
Stone
Red Giant
It Ain’t Like That
Nutshell
Angry Chair
Man in the Box

The One You Know
Got Me Wrong [with Dallas Green]
Would?
Rooster

Opening band: Walk The Moon

Let’s be honest here…we didn’t know their music other than Shut Up and Dance

Thoughts of the show:

• Dropped Sierra off with Marie-Claude and hit the road with Eric, Vero, Jean-Francois and THE SEQUEL!
• It was a rainy, miserable day to travel.  They were calling for freezing rain which did not happen thankfully.
• How is that Ye Olde Orchard pub doesn’t have a smoked meat sandwich on the menu but has every other sandwich known to man?  Still good times there though.
• Walk The Moon isn’t our cup of tea but damn they have a catchy song with Shut Up and Dance
• Let’s call it right now: Muse is amongst the top three live acts currently touring these days.  This show also won the award for greatest Muse show I have ever seen.  I thought the 2nd Law Tour was insane but this was just over the top excess in all its forms and you know what?  I love that about an arena tour.  You want to see that kind of insanity.

You want choreographed dancers/horn players that look like they are from Tron?  You got it.

You want Matt Bellamy with awesome LED shades surrounded by guys spraying smoke?  You got it.  (I took this photo from Reddit)

You want to see two giant robots showing up and you think that the show can’t get any better but they come back out and deliver 15 minutes of metal music all the while having Murphy the inflatable robot in behind them?!

• Unfortunately for Vero, there was a LOT of robot imagery in the concert.  This is not good for people with a fear of robots.  For me though…it was the greatest sight these eyes have ever seen!
• I managed to snag a poster and a shirt and managed to remember to pick up my ticket stub on the way out of the Bell Centre.  They have the nice habit of handing them back out to folks instead of ripping them up and throwing them in the trash.
• Best show of 2019?  Time will tell but I best it is.

Walk The Moon Setlist

Next in Line
Up 2 U
Lisa Baby
Timebomb
Anna Sun
Kamikaze
One Foot
Shut Up and Dance
Headphones @Info[Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” outro]

Muse setlist

Algorithm @Info[Alternate Reality version; shortened]
Pressure
[Drill Sergeant] @Tape
Psycho
Break It to Me
Uprising @Info[Extended outro]
Propaganda
Plug In Baby
Pray @Tape
The Dark Side
Supermassive Black Hole @Info[‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ intro; The Troggs’ ‘Wild Thing’ outro]
Thought Contagion
Interlude
Hysteria @Info[AC/DC’s ‘Black in Black’ outro]
The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
Dig Down @Info[Acoustic Gospel Version]
STT Interstitial 1 @Tape
Madness
Mercy
Time Is Running Out
Houston Jam @Info[w/ Futurism, Unnatural Selection, Micro Cuts]
Take a Bow
Prelude
Starlight

STT Interstitial 2 @Tape
Algorithm
Stockholm Syndrome / Assassin / Reapers / The Handler / New Born @Info[The Deftones’ ‘Headup’ outro]
Knights of Cydonia @Info[Ennio Morricone’s ‘Man with a Harmonica’ intro]

Wow, Stuart looks totally different than his promotional shot for this tour!  He has a beard that must have been growing for a year now!

Opening Band: The Proud Sons (who did a great cover of Don’t Let Me Down)

Thoughts about the show:

• Met up with Amanda and her friend Bryan
• I always enjoy the floor area of the Algonquin Commons Theatre.  Always a great spot to take the band in.
• I have officially saturated my intake of The Tea Party ever since they reformed a few years back.  Considering they were touring on the strength of their new hot single Black River I was hoping for less of a greatest hits show and more of a ‘let’s spice things up and throw some rarities in there’ kind of show.  I didn’t get my wish.  Is it wrong for me to start complaining about the setlists at these shows?  On one hand, they give the people what they want…a great live show with some great tunes.  On the other hand, I feel like I’ve consistently seen the same songs and banter for the past few years.
• A reminder to not order a beer between the opening act and the main act.  There’s not enough time to drink it and that’s the second time I fell into that trap!
• There were no tour posters to pick up nor the Jeff Martin EP that I’ve been eyeing up (but has ridiculous shipping costs from Australia).  It’s interesting to see a band 29 years in who are making their bread and butter from touring.  They don’t have the money to print off 10 different t-shirts, backpacks, lighters, etc etc etc.  They are strategically choosing to bring out a few t-shirts for a tour along with some signed merchandise for the uber-fans.
• The Tea Party still has my love even though I am growing tired of their setlists.  Next year is their 30th anniversary so you know I’ll be going along for the ride once again.
• Old Man Palmer can’t handle Monday night concerts!

Setlist

The River / Sober / The River
The Bazaar
Psychopomp
Way Way Down (new song)
Release
Zahira/Favorite Son/Halcyon Days (I always find it interesting that he brings out the 18 string beast and only plays the 12 string portion)
Save Me (w/ bow solo) / Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)
Heaven Coming Down / With or Without You
The Ocean at the End
Bring It On Home / Black River
Temptation

The Messenger [Daniel Lanois]
Winter Solstice
Sister Awake / Paint It Black / Heroes / Sister Awake