Someone asked me a few days ago, "What is it about Our Lady Peace that makes you love them so much?"  I shot back with all the normal responses.  I love the passion they have on stage, they love their fans, they love the music...She said back to me "yes, but a lot of bands love their fans and have passion for the music".  I went on to talk about the live show and the feeling you get when you sing 4am with 20,000 other people, the connection you make with so many strangers.   She continued to play devil's advocate and told me once again that this happened at a lot of shows and it wasn't that unique to this particular band.

I realized that she was right.  It does happen at a lot of shows.  Every band has their dedicated fans.  I was at a loss to pin down exactly what set Our Lady Peace apart in my mind.     I've been thinking about it since then.  I do love the way they interact with the fans, the time they take to thank them.  I relish the intensity they pour into every note of their music be it live or recorded.  I adore how visceral every member is.

In September of '97 I found myself at a small OLP show in Boston.  After chatting with the band a bit I discovered that they had been on a 7am flight to get there, after a show the night before.  Considering most shows don't end till 11pm- midnight, that was on the impressive side.  The caliber of their performance was not affected in the least. After the show,  there was an autograph session that the band themselves were not aware of.  Scheduled to last 20 minutes, the line up began to form.  And it grew and grew and kept growing.  45 minutes later, security stopped people from lining up.  60 minutes later the band was finishing up the last of the line.  They could have simply gotten up after their 20 minutes and left everyone wanting more.   But that wouldn't be the OLP that I've come to know and love.

I admire the enthusiasm they put into a live performance, claiming every show to be their own. When you walk away from an Our Lady Peace performance you take with you a little more than just memories of the music.  You take with you a little insight into the music, what the band wants you to see.

I remember a concert I went to last winter. About halfway into the show the lights dropped.  Duncan started sending out the despondent bass line from Car Crash to the crowd.  Behind Jeremy, a flicker began and formed into the footage of driving down a barren country road.  I stood among 16 000 people and yet I was completely alone.  As Raine's voice soared through the crowd my mind thought back to the many times I had driven down a similar road, just as directionless, just as lonely. Together the film and music spoke to the level of despair that,
singularly, might have been lost.

But if I had to pick just one thing that set them apart from the many other musicians out there I would have to say it was the music.  Not just the lyrics, but the wonderful intermingling of sounds and words that so beautifully compliment each other.    I've heard stories from many people, explaining how Naveed saved their life, mirroring their thoughts and emotions back to them in a simple chorus of  "I can't live here anymore..".   How 4am made them pick up the phone and call their father for the first time in years.  It still astounds me how many people from different walks of life this music touches.

When you get a little deeper into the songs you begin to realize exactly how much of a role the instrumentation plays in the effectiveness of the song.  Lets face it, 4am wouldn't be quite as heart wrenching as it is without the build to the bridge where not a word is sung.  Car Crash just wouldn't be as eerie without that amazing bass line to set the mood.  And the unwavering pace in Julia is set from the second Jeremy lays stick to skin. The driving guitar in Under Zenith that is just as powerful as Raine imploring 'hold me'.

The first song I heard from Our Lady Peace was Superman's Dead.  I watched it, I enjoyed it, made my own personal notes about Raine's questionable mental state.  At this point I wasn't a fan of alt rock.  I wasn't even a huge music lover.   All through my life I had been into music but as I got older I started to see what I considered to be its transparent nature.   When I discovered OLP I learned that I had been very wrong, I was just looking in all the wrong places.  I knew from the first time "do you worry that you're not liked, how long till you break" reached my ears that this was something different.  They introduced me to a whole new side of the industry that I never knew existed.  Away from the main stream, thin lyrics and cookie cutter sounds.

I listened to Superman's Dead again.  I saw OLP live, I ran out and bought both albums.  This is when my appreciation truly began.  I read the lyrics.  I listened to the non "Radio-Friendly" songs.  I saw the thought Raine puts into his words,  telling a story without actually telling it.  He leaves everything open.  Letting you wander through the song's scenery, but at the same time, you inexorably end up at his truth, no matter where you headed.

When it comes down to it, the music is what reached out and grabbed me by the throat.  And it is the music and lyrics, and the way they speak to me, that I will always love.

 
 

RESPONSES:

Subject:    view response
Date:       Mon, 21 Sep 1998 20:35:54 EDT
From:       [email protected]
To:         [email protected]
 
 
 

Stacy,

I think you made a great point that is very clear to every die-hard OLP fan.
One of the reasons I think OLP is so passionate about their music is because
they know how it is to be the listener.  What you can and can't get out of
different music.  Another reason is because the 4 amazing people who make up
Our Lady Peace can make the most beautiful and meaningful music together, so
they have alot to be passionate about.  They put their heart and soul into
every album and every live show.  All of that is what attracts so many people
to OLP's music.  All I have left to say is that they better keep it up!!!
hehehe

~Jenny/OLPmaypol