Bahamas
Afie had the distinct pleasure of opening for Blue Rodeo for their annual summer show in Toronto. Granted with the Amphitheatre's penchant for punctuality a majority of the 20,000 attendees were not yet in their seats when he strolled out along with his band precisely at 8pm. Those of us who were on time were treated to the Bahamas affair, a fleshed out solo project that is rooted in electric guitar, alongside a drummer and additional guitar, yet has feelings of folk well embedded. As an added bonus there were two lovely ladies accompanying him on vocals, including Tamara of The Weather Station. As the audience filtered in the band confidently performed numbers from the most recent Barchords like Caught Me Thinkin' and standout Okay, Alright, I'm Alive, plus a throwback to Pink Strat with Hockey Teeth. The song of the set had to be the surprising strength as Never Again grew and grew. Seemingly humbled by the slot Afie gushed not only about 'biking to work' but also the beauty of the massive audience with the trees and the blue sky in the background as the sun set. Agreed - it was a very pleasant scene with a fitting soundtrack.
Blue Rodeo
On this perfect summer evening the boys of Blue Rodeo, all seven of them, came to entertain and prove why this has become a summertime staple. Twenty-six years in the game they certainly have mastered a live show but that is not to say that it comes off too excessively polished. The pedal steel and Cuddy's many harmonicas featured prominently and weaved their way right from opener Head Over Heels on through. With Jim and Greg passing the mic with ease they brought most songs from their recorded state to live brilliance, slipping guitar solos in wherever possible such that even mid-set numbers came across as epic closers. An example of this was Diamond Mine with its piano and Cuddy's electric guitar solo, or even Five Days in May which had their third guitarist laying it down. Interspersed with these Canadian classics were a surprising number (5) of new tracks like Mattawa from their forthcoming autumn release, all of which sounded strong and could very well be mainstays in summers to come. That said people come back year after year for moments like Jim Cuddy playing the piano on After the Rain and their rendition of the Bee Gees' To Love Somebody which has taken on a life of its own. The most hair-raising moment was the twenty-thousand strong choir who without prompting took to their feet and took Hasn't Hit Me Yet from the band before they even sang a note - belting out the nearly literal line "..out here in the middle of Lake Ontario." This was followed by closing number - a standard - Somebody Touched Me which was dedicated to the memory of the recently departed former member James Gray and had more than a touch of gospel in its call and response.
Amazingly an hour and forty minutes had passed by in what seemed like a flash and people were hollering for more. Fortunately they would deliver with Til I Am Myself Again, before Jim Cuddy awed us all with Try. What else could be left in the tank but the ultimate Blue Rodeo song as the ladies of Bahamas joined them while Afie had to the honour of singing a verse of Lost Together to play us out into the gorgeous Toronto night. Until next year, boys.
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