August 21, 2009 - Our Lady Peace @ the Troubadour, Los Angeles
I got lucky. My first show that I get to go to in Los Angeles is at the legendary Troubadour, which is tiny if you didn�t know. And not only that, it�s a band that made the �90s matter�Our Lady Peace. Needless, to say, I was totally and completely stoked.
Preceding OLP was Raine Maida�s newest production project, Billy the Kid. This girl is cute as a button. Her performance reminds you of an innocent little girl playing rockstar in her bedroom�and doing it well. There are things about her vocals and her songs that remind me of Meredith [Godreau] from Gregory and the Hawk and her songs are catchy as can be. I get excited thinking about how epic it would be to hear this girl let go vocally, and really rock out. Because while she�s already great she could be extraordinary.
Finally, Our Lady Peace takes the stage. Opening with �Monkey Brains�, the band starts strong and aggressive. These guys totally and completely rock the fuck out. Singer Raine Maida is right at the edge of the stage, getting in everyone�s faces, letting us know he means business. Strapping on his acoustic for �Superman�s Dead�, he asks the crowd if we came here to sing tonight. So he turns the mic on us and after the weak attempt we offer, he asks again, �Wanna sing?� Of course we respond with enthusiastic shouts. �Then sing, motherfuckers!� And we gladly comply.
The band must be loving this wonderfully enthusiastic crowd tonight. Raine performs almost like he�s leading a religious service, with the passion, commanding presence, and energy of a Southern televangelist, almost spastic as though he might begin speaking in tongues at times. Suddenly he gets quiet and contemplative and, amidst the chaos of the crowd and music, remains still, leaning against the microphone stand for entire instrumental breaks. So much of his mannerisms are ridiculously mellow, lo-key, and aloof�he looks so comfortable and at home with what he�s doing that you believe every word that comes out of his mouth.
Our Lady Peace is a band who knows what their fans want. I have yet to attend another show with such a great mix of old and new songs; a mix between popular and the gems that never get radio airplay. Most of their arrangements are the same as the records, with the exception of Raine shoving the mic in the crowd and commanding that we sing with all the well-known numbers.
The high-point in the show, however, was during the pre-encore closer, �All You Did Was Save My Life�. Raine notices that the people in the balcony are sitting and desires to get them on their feet. He runs backstage and climbs out a window over the soundboard, careful not to mess up any of the settings. He scales a pole, nearly touching the rafters, before landing in the balcony, getting the people on their feet. When he finishes there, he dangles from the balcony before dropping down into the crowd and racing his way back to the stage and the band says goodnight.
Now, you know there�s nothing like a good audience chant to get a band back onstage, and its mere seconds before the crowd is repeating a chorus of �O-L-P! O-L-P!� The band returns, with Maida declaring, �L.A. must be heaven!� With a trio of classic numbers for the encore, the band picks the perfect closer, �Starseed�.
Like I said, I got lucky. Who knew that the first show I attended in Los Angeles would be one that would grace my list of top ten greatest shows of all time? - Popwreckoning.com
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