It's hard for me to pick favorites. I like a lot of things. That's part of my problem. When I obsess or really, really like something, I go all the way with it. This applies to music, theater, television, etc. I always need to go see this show or that concert. It's one thing after another. So, picking favorites is difficult. But I do have favorite bands, bands I see over and over again. As long as they're within a... 100 mile radius, I'm usually there. Well, 100's probably my minimum. I fly across the country to see bands I like. When they're within a 20-50 mile radius, I definitely go see them.
Our Lady Peace is one of those bands. Our Lady Peace is a band from Canada and in 1999 they released their third album called Happiness... Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch. Since that was during my very strong international music phase, I got addicted to Much Music, a Canadian music channel that actually aired in the States for a couple of years through one of our cable providers. I heard the song "Is Anybody Home?" and I was hooked. The video was beautiful, the music just hit my eardrums in a way that made me feel so connected to what I heard. Single after single came out and I liked every single one of them.
I saw them for the first time in 2002 at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. They had just released their album Gravity. I was 17 years old and moved down to L.A. for the summer to take an internship at a talent agency. Our Lady Peace played in July and a couple of really great bands opened for them: Audiovent and Greenwheel.
Audiovent's "The Energy."
Such a great song.
Greenwheel's "Breathe."
You might recognize Greenwheel's song as the theme show to a show on the WB called Black Sash. Or... you may not recognize it because I'm convinced the only people who actually watched that show were me and my friends Emily and Sarah. But the two openers put on a great show and it only made that night's concert experience even better. It was my first time seeing Our Lady Peace and you can just tell from the atmosphere in the room that the fans of the band are hardcore. The minute they started the opening chords of any song, the crowd went absolutely nuts. It was all fist pumps and singing along loudly (which the band encourages) and this vibe that can't be explained. It's peaceful. It's relaxed. You know you're there for the music.
I'll never forget they ended with 4 A.M., one of their signature songs. It was an encore song. They came out on stage together with Raine in front of the microphone. He starts singing but the crowd overpowers him. He takes a step back and we go through the first verse, chorus, second verse when he says, "You guys don't even need us here." That statement is met with jeers, of course. If only they'd stayed on that stage forever. Canadian flags waved in the air, people cheered loudly as they took their final bow.
I've gone to a lot of shows, a lot of concerts but when I left that show, I felt changed. My heart felt fuller. It was like the music sunk deep into me and it hasn't let go yet. I've gone to other life-changing shows of theirs -- The Troubadour show a few years ago, The Viper Room, another Troubadour show. But there's always something special about the first show, isn't there? From the two opening acts I loved, to hearing songs I loved from the new album, the older albums, the sing-along -- it was perfect.
A favorite recent song of theirs.
Couple photos I took at the Troubadour show.
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bigboobedcanuck and Training Season by 
