Yeah so… work suddenly got tough and I haven’t really done anything but work and sleep (or mostly not sleep) so no posts in a week of Toronto.
Last night I decided to force myself out, to see if getting away from work might ease stresses. I’d been watching concert listings for Toronto since I got here but there was nothing and nothing and nothing… then a couple days ago I noticed a Sloan (what are the chances!) show popped up at a small space not far from their studio, it was already sold out, I checked the usual places and found nothing except a couple tickets on StubHub for $130… I love Sloan but…. $130?
I decided to hang out in front of the gig and see if anyone was selling or scalping a ticket, it was pouring rain and way too cold for my meager jackets, there was no one selling so I ducked into the lobby of an old folks home nearby to warm up. I checked StubHub again and the $130 ticket was now $15…. yup.
There’s something extra great about seeing a band in their hometown, lots of obscure songs, lots of band friends and family in the crowd, lots of inside jokes that I didn’t understand.
It’s always interesting to see how a band works songs from the new album into a live show (‘Courage’ by the Hip is totally about this) and it’s rare to see a band play lots of new songs, it’s rarer to see a band play ALL the new songs AND it’s even rarer to see an audience totally on board with this. Last night was light on the hits, they didn’t even play Underwhelmed, fine with me, completely.
Really it was a perfect show, no opening act, great crowd, good room with good sound, plus they played two 15 song sets over nearly three hours AND with lots of crowd participation.
A Bit Gone 