Last night was Nickelback and I had Brad as my man-date. It was fun and loud. Rake, Danko Jones and Live all rocked my socks. It was my first time seeing all three of those bands and would gladly see them again on their own. Don’t worry Chad, the only band that went to eleven was Danko Jones. He was the highlight of the night for me. High energy, loud, wailed on his Gibson Explorer for the whole set and is generally one cool cat.
Rake was good, but quick. Doors opened at 6:00PM and that’s when Rake took the stage. They are a young band but with a little polish will finally get some success they deserve. As for Live’I have always been a Live fan and was sad when I learned they are now no better than an opening act. I am always hoping that each LP they do will continue to get better. Unfortunately that hasn’t been true since The Distance to Here, but with new songs performed last night I hope their new release doesn’t disappoint.
As for Nickelback, they did what they do best. Play loud, chug beer in record time and light enough pyrotechnics that it would have put Stay-Puff out of business. I have seen Nickelback twice before, both in a much different setting. The first time was them opening up for Everclear in 2001 and the next was them headlining a day at Stage13 in 2002. It was more of the same last night, except with more agression and a good blend of songs played. They had a video tribute to Dimebag Darrel during Side of a Bullet which was one of my high points during the set.
Last night was a great concert, all four acts were fun and gave it their all. Our seats were surprisingly good, we had great sound as a speaker pointed right at us so we had no patented-Rexall-echo. And we could see most of the arena, so when lighters came out for Lightning Crashes I could see them all. Or when the floor was a sea of motion during Too Bad, it offered me a taste of what it would be like to be that guy on the stage. So, in conclusion, good times, good times.
And now changing gears. Today is an important day, it’s election day! I have already voted and hope for a favorable outcome (read: Conservatives do not get a majority government). Back when I was first able to vote I did my part unfortunately I don’t think I read the book on How To Vote. My vote was registered, but it was probably counted under that small percentage of those who submitted a blank vote.
Y’see, I did a check instead of an “x” beside the name I was voting for. I have since became wise to the ways and can mark an “x” with the best of them. I will be monitoring the Canadian news sites today to see how the results progress, and hope you all exercise your right to place an “x” beside someones name today.
UPDATE:
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper will become Canada’s next prime minister, as Canadians have elected a Tory minority government and ended a 12-year reign of Liberal rule, CBC News projects.
Well, it’s not a majority, which was what I was pulling for. I imagine the next 18 months in Canada will be filled with much of the same that we saw when the Liberals had their minority government.
