by Hugh23 » 10/28/2016, 1:54 am
1. One Man Army
2. Superman's Dead
3. Naveed
4. Innocent
5. Paper Moon
6. Thief
7. Monkey Brains
8. Is Anybody Home?
9. Drop Me in the Water
10. Not Enough
11. 2029/In Repair/Grace, too
12. Somewhere Out There
13. Clumsy
Encore
14. 4am
15. Starseed
The Budweiser Gardens in London, ON was prepped for the Our Lady Peace concert. The hockey arena was set up in the RBC Theatre format which placed the main stage at one end of the rink on a blue line. There was a main floor seating area with two large sections of about 20 rows with the sound board located in the goalie crease area. The Budweiser Gardens seats at one end of the rink oval were filled from one side of the blue line to the other end of the same blue line. This concert format allowed for 3200 fans to attend this show and I couldn't see one empty seat from the main floor to the top balcony.
At exactly 9:30pm OLP took the stage to a cool recorded musical interlude. The band gathered their instruments and Raine picked up his bullhorn. Raine looked every bit the 90's alt rock leader today as he did when OLP first came on the scene in 1994. Raine wore a white t-shirt, blue jeans and black combat boots. He also wore his black leather jacket and he had a red flannel shirt tied around his waist. OLP mimicked the musical interlude and then morphed into One Man Army. The entire band had great stage presence and energy. The fans felt the energy and gave it right back, singing along to almost every song.
Raine's singing and voice were excellent. He hit most of his falsetto notes and purposely missed others. Many times Raine would slow down or drag out a line as the band played at regular time. He changed the delivery slightly for a few songs and it was interesting. Steve Mazur was in another world with his guitar playing, but first Steve and his guitar tech, James, had to solve a problem. At the beginning of Innocent, Steve's pedal board which he uses to control his guitar's sound, quit after his first few riffs. Steve and James knelt down and tried to switch some wires with no success. James left the stage and returned one minute later with Steve's older pedal board. I found out later James ran outside of the arena to the bus to retrieve it. Before Innocent was half over Steve and James hooked up the old pedal board and Steve continued on as if nothing happened.
Steve was so intense and into the music he rarely looked out into crowd as he was playing. He would close his eyes and let the music move him. So many times the fans would burst out in a loud cheer right in the middle of a song because we could see and hear Steve's passion. Duncan Coutts and Jason Pierce have developed a nice musical relationship and drive the beat of most OLP songs. I enjoy watching Duncan elevate as he jumps to the beat.
Raine spoke to the fans before Monkey Brains and said it's a little known fact he wrote the song about Monarch Butterflies. Raine said it takes three generations of Monarchs to migrate from Mexico to Canada and this song was about the arduous journey of the butterflies. I love that rocking song and now I have a greater appreciation for the lyrics. One of the most emotional moments of the concert was when Raine spoke to the fans before In Repair. I am paraphrasing here, but Raine said everyone in the building was facing some difficulty in their lives right now, whether it may be mental illness, a physical aliment or even a divorce. No matter what our problem may be we must continue to fight on and stay positive and help each other through whatever we face. That statement touched me and many others as we all took a collective deep breath and reflected. Besides being a big OLP fan, I have a passion for The Tragically Hip, too. OLP played two full verses of the song Grace, too by The Hip with full instrumentation at the end of In Repair, before fading out.
OLP played their new song Drop Me in the Water. It is a REALLY good song to hear live. The tempo rises and falls and Raine's lyrics fit so well. Steve had a blistering solo to end the song. One last interesting point to discuss was OLP's return to start the encore. Raine came out and asked, "Does anyone have a cell phone?" In less than a minute half the fans pulled out their phones and turned on the flashlight app. There were so many phones lit up it appeared as if the house lights were on.
Now my wife and I will travel to Toronto to spend Friday shopping, eating and visiting old friends as OLP plays in Ottawa, ON. On Saturday we'll go to Oshawa, ON to merge with Our Lady Peace for another musical experience.