Blue Rodeo @ GM Centre

No photopass for me so I stole this from their myspace. Its from Vancouver.

from Bad Timing
"And maybe soon there'll come a day
When no more tears will fall
We each forgive a little bit
And we both look back on it
As just bad timing thats all"...

Blue Rodeo
GM Centre October 24

Greg Keelor must have known something those of us who had arrived early at the gig didn't, because the band opened with Rain Down On Me and when the evening was over the crowd walked out into...rain. Go figure as Spirit Of The West might sing and its proves as the next big name coming in November Mr. Bob Dylan may sing you don't need a weatherman etc.

The Skydiggers were in support but I think they'd needed their own support as their sweatervest country rock was sleepy and lost. They were really just a soundtrack to finding your seat. Best see them in a smaller venue...maybe a living room.

But Blue Rodeo sure have moved on up over the years and can command a hockey arena no problems. And who knew Jim Cuddy could rock out like that. He was giving 'er, in particular on an extended guitar solo on encore Trust Yourself. I'm more used to seeing Keelor with his Crazy Horse vibe, sometimes with The Sadies. Jim Cuddy is usually the balladeer as he showed when he played a couple of solo gigs at Johnny B's last year. Not tonight... Cuddy was a revelation.

The set was about half their latest album Small Miracles interspersed with the hits. After Try from their debut Outskirts (twenty years ago) Cuddy told the crowd... Many of you were wondering if I can still get up there...(referring to the higher notes of the tune...) well there you go he said. And yes he can still get up there. With a band as familiar as Blue Rodeo, (sometimes I think I could tell my life's story using just their songs), its easy to fall into the songs and forget exactly how good they are.

Five Days In May, Lost Together got the big cheers and on Hasn't Hit Me Yet the crowd sang the first few verses themselves. Great moment as the band played along sans Keelor or Cuddy. The two went sans band themselves when they did an acoustic version of Bad Timing, which underlined how uncanny this band is at capturing the minutiae of life and love. Its also one of the ten acoustic songs they recorded recently at Massey Hall and available soon as a CD/DVD titled Blue Road. The DVD portion contains a film by our D-Rock friend Juno winner Christopher Mills.

And a quick observation on the crowd which I'd guess was about 2,500, small for that room. Does no one know how to clap with the beat in this town? There was one group of girls on the other side of where I sat and they were just off, loudly off. I don't know what songs they were hearing but it wasn't what the band was playing.

And to the guy who parked two spots down from Mary on the south side of King, leaving the ass end of his Jeep out in traffic... thats just ignorant. Your mama may love you but you're not that special. Park properly Princess. We've enough problems downtown without you adding to them.