Friday night, Mike dropped by Vero’s place to have a few beer before we headed out to see the Sam Roberts Band at the Bronson Center.
The Bronson Center is a venue that I’ve only seen a theatrical play in. I had no idea if it would be a great venue for a rock concert but I noticed that it’s gaining popularity as a venue. We arrived there a few minutes before The Stills took the stage and I was disappointed to see that the place was PACKED! Argh! General Admission inside a theater…no fun. We found three seats together near the back and then I went to peruse the merchandise table. I scored a vinyl copy of the new album for $20 and a tour poster for $5 which were each $5 less than what I would have paid on the website. I’m glad I held out to see if I could snag the vinyl from the booth.
I went back to our seats and sure enough, when the Stills started up, no one was standing up. I was groaning because I thought we had entered classic Ottawa rocking standards…I still remember going to Eric Clapton and we were the only people on the entire floor who were standing up during the concert. Anyhow, the tables turned when The Stills said it was alright to go in front of the stage so a SURGE of people ran up to the stage. We decided to follow suit but by the time we made our way up there, they were turning people away and asking them not to stand in the aisles. We spied a few seats that were empty so we nabbed them and I must say I was much happier with our new found seats which were a few rows from the stage.
I really couldn’t understand why the Bronson Center was becoming a venue for a lot of rock acts considering they didn’t server any beer and they had theater seating. Then Mike hit the nail on the head…he mentioned that it allows it to be an all-ages show. My disdain for the venue and the band immediately disappeared as I realized that living in Ottawa, there must be a ton of underage people who miss out on seeing their favourite band for the sole reason that it’s held inside a bar somewhere. The fact that I couldn’t get myself a beer disappeared and I appreciated the energy coming from the crowd during The Stills set. This is the first time I’ve seen The Stills and they put on a good show. I enjoy how they have two vocalists.
After a short break between bands, the Sam Roberts Band hit the stage and started out with their title track from their new album, Love at the End of the World. I love this tune and it got the party started. The band doesn’t look too different than the last time I saw them at Bluesfest. The only new addition that I spied on the stage was an LED setup behind them.
Sam thanked the crowd from the onset and mentioned how it was nice to end their Canadian tour in the place where it all began…probably a shout-out that Ottawa radio first picked up his breakthrough single ‘Brother Down’ (I nabbed that factoid from the Ottawa Citizen review).
The show was great and I was surprised at how the time flew. Mike mentioned that I wasn’t imagining it…they played an hour before heading off stage and returning for another 30 minutes of an encore (which included a member of The Stills on saxophone during Mind Flood and…Brother Down I believe?). They probably played a shorter set due to the fact that they were returning the next night for another show.
There was a lot of energy throughout the entire show and I really enjoyed how the set list was heavy on the rock and interspersed with a few slow numbers…the ideal rock show set list!
The Sam Roberts Band have hit a point where they have a bunch of albums to pull material from. If I were able to, I think I would have went to the next night as well to catch a variation on the show. There are so many classics I missed this night…The Gate, No Sleep, Don’t Walk Away Eileen…I was also hoping to hear The Pilgrim or End of the Empire from the new album. But I really can’t complain. I stumbled upon a night of a stellar setlist. Heck, I got to hear The Resistance AND An American Draft Dodger in Thunder Bay? Beauty.
Set list (in order that I remember it…could be wrong)
Love at the End of the World
The Resistance
Fixed to Ruin
Hard Road
Up Sister
Stripmall Religion
Bridge to Nowhere
Where Have All the Good People Gone?
An American Draft Dodger In Thunder Bay
Lions of the Kalahari
Brother Down (w/ saxophone from The Stills?)
Them Kids
With a Bullet
—–
Detroit ’67
Words and Fire
Mind Flood (w/ saxophone from The Stills)
iplaying: I Might Be Wrong – Radiohead (Amnesiac)