I caught my favourite band on the Massey Hall stop of their Small Miracles tour last night and what an amazing show. Massey Hall is my very favourite place to watch Blue Rodeo. I've been watching & listening to these guys for twenty years and both the venue and the band feel like home. Blue Rodeo are a national treasure, one of those bands that make you want to come home to Canada when you're living in a far off place. I can't tell you how hard the song Hasn't Hit Me Yet made it for me to move back to Dublin all those years ago (and I love Dublin!).
“I never thought this could happen
But somehow the feeling's gone
You got sick of the patterns
And I got lost in this song”
—
Here's the video from their 1993 album Five Days in July:
Blue Rodeo's eleven album history means they can never possibly play all the songs you'd like to hear but the show was an excellent mix of classics like Try and Lost Together and tracks from their latest album. Some of the highlights of the night include Greg Keelor's haunting rendition of Dark Angel, the Lost Together finale (including opening band Cuff The Duke, Melissa McLelland and tonight's opener, Luke Doucet) and of course the enthusiastic audience singalong to Hasn't Hit Me Yet (Greg didn't even have to utter a word until the second verse). This YouTube clip of Hasn't Hit Me Yet live is from the Ottawa show but gives you an idea.
And here are some photos I snapped, followed by last night's setlist:
Setlist
1. 5 Days in May
2. Cryin'
3. Rebel
4. Blue House
5. 3 Hours Away
6. Try
7. To Love Somebody
8. Tell Me Your Dream
9. Know Where You Go
10. Bad Timing
11. Till I Am Myself Again
12. Joker's Wild
13. Rain Down On Me
14. Black Ribbon
15. C'Mon
16. What Am I Doing Here?
17. Dark Angel
18. This Town
19. Head Over Heels
20. Heart Like Mine
21. Trust Yourself
Encore:
22. Hasn't Hit Me Yet
23. After The Rain
24. Lost Together
One of the things I've always loved about Blue Rodeo is that as well as being outstanding musicians they're consummate storytellers. Check out the first few lines of Sad Nights:
“I walked you to the corner we stood beside the bus
And the tears rolled down our faces as the driver stared at us
Typical summer that time of year
When you go back to Toronto and I stay here”
Better yet, watch the video so you can enjoy Jim Cuddy's heartbreakingly wonderful vocals:
God, I wish I could write books the way Blue Rodeo write lyrics!
