Blue Rodeo – always a great excuse for a road trip. For the third time this year, Team GDW traveled north to hear the band live in concert. This time, we made our first-ever pilgrimage to the historic Sanderson Centre in downtown Brantford, ON. Built in 1919 as a vaudeville theatre, this is a fabulous venue – and, as we soon discovered, the staff and volunteers are incredibly welcoming.
Following a lively 45-minute set by Ron Hawkins, Blue Rodeo came onstage around 9:15 p.m. Our household wager regarding whether Jim or Greg will lead off was smashed by the two pairing up on “Heart Like Mine.” (Not that we were at all disappointed.) Familiar favorites like “Cynthia” and “Bad Timing” were intermixed by two songs from the forthcoming album. As is traditional, Blue Rodeo invited Hawkins to join them for “Lost Together,” the last song before the encore.
We had wondered how the band would adjust following the departure of Bob Egan; what resulted were expanded solos from relative newcomers Colin Cripps and Mike Boguski, as well as Jim Cuddy. The always crowd-pleasing “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” closed the show to a singalong and a standing ovation. Once again, we left a Blue Rodeo show craving more – and yes, Greg, we will definitely see you down the road.
