“Hello Hamilton! It’s Saturday night – don’t get into a fight!”
Hamilton Place’s Great Hall erupts in cheers at Greg Keelor’s good-natured jibe at the city’s rough-edged reputation. Keelor, fellow front-man Jim Cuddy and the five other members of Blue Rodeo then launch into their twangy opener, “Cynthia”.
This is the last show of their 25th anniversary tour. Formed in 1987, the rock-country balladeers from Toronto are not quite as famous as other great Canadian acts. But over the years their soulful, hurtin’ songs have featured in high school gym slow dances, make-out mix tapes, and long drives to the cottage. Blue Rodeo’s place in the life soundtrack of generations of Canadians is assured.
Cuddy and Keelor are rounding out their 50s, and their audience is not much younger. Observed one woman, one of the few 20-somethings present: “You know you’re old when you’re drinking wine at a concert.” But the wine-drinking baby boomers settle eagerly into all of Hamilton Place’s 2,000 orange cloth seats to listen.
With a quarter century, twelve albums and thousands of shows under their belts, the Canadian Music Hall of Famers operate smoothly live. The stage is expertly lit, with slow-moving images projected behind the band to match each song’s theme – white shimmering dots on an ink-black backdrop in the case of “Diamond Mine”, for example.
Over two hours, with an intermission, Blue Rodeo crank through their many hits (including “Try”, “Lost Together”, and “Bad Timing”). The audience cheers knowingly within the first few notes, every time. The only waver is the scattered applause when Keelor dedicates a song to the aboriginal Idle No More movement.
The non-singing musicians mostly stick to their inconspicuous backing roles. Michael Boguski on keyboards is the exception. Crouched over his instrument, he flails the keys with virtuosic gusto during his many solos.
Jim Cuddy is front and centre. Blessed with handsome looks and a sweet, soaring voice, he’s the undoubted favourite of most of the women present. Frequently changing guitars – a different one for each of the first six songs – he taps, stomps, plays the harmonica and smiles through the set.
By contrast, Greg Keelor’ sound is raw, somehow both tough and vulnerable. Sitting to Cuddy’s left and chewing gum, he’s aged more and his hair and beard are white. But he’s the raconteur, telling tales of the “shittiest gig ever” at the Erie County Fair that inspired “What am I doing here?”. After Keelor sets up “Madawaska”, a tale of northern Ontario wintertime infidelity gone wrong, Cuddy jokes that the intro is longer than the song.
The acoustics in the hall make it possible for the crowd to sing along without drowning out Cuddy and Keelor as they croon and harmonize. Which is a good thing because everybody knows the words and belts them out joyously as if they were in the privacy of their Toyota Camrys on the Queen Elizabeth Way.