like going back home

last night i went out by myself to a show in town: Rheostatics. i got there just as the opening band was winding down their set. the place wasn't overly crowded, but it was far from empty. i chatted up the girl at the door, and she gave me an announcement poster after i asked. then i wandered around, waiting for the rheos to come out. over in a corner i saw someone i knew so i went over to talk with him. i'd seen him before at other rheos shows in town. he was there with his girlfriend, and they asked if i wanted to sit with them, and i agreed.

the rheos came out just after 11pm and opened with some recent tunes. the crowd was really into it. i sat back and enjoyed the show, and i thought about how comforting it is to see this band play live. there's a familiarity in their shows that feels like going back home.

rheos fans are a unique bunch. although we are not many in number, we are faithful to the core. it's difficult to convince non-rheos fans about the greatness of this band, and it's even futile to do so. you either get it, or you don't. it's almost like there's an inherent rheostatics gene in our dna.

at one point in the concert, martin's guitar went dead. he got down on his knees and tried to fix his pedal, to no avail. then he angrily took off his guitar and stormed off stage in the middle of a song. having cooled down, he came back a minute later, picked up another guitar and finished the song with the band. this happened again during the second encore. he seems on the edge. i sense that he's in such a creative zone on stage that when problems arise, he's incapable of dealing with it. it's such a focussed intensity that we're all lucky to be able to experience when we see him perform.

a highlight was during one encore when they played a song that they called "the wreck of the edmund fitz-body count", which, translated, means, the lyrics to record body count to the music of the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald. they later played the 'real' version of body count. they played most of the songs from their new album, and tossed in a few fan favourites as well.

it's always such a treat to see these guys. the crowd is always really into it, and the boys are obviously loving their time on stage.

Ill be adding a song by them to my life soundtrack. I'm leaning towards one or two, and there's a good chance I'll add the live version from their "Double Live" cd. it's that CD that opened my ears to the world of rheostatics.

i just want to be home again...