In the late 1990s and early 2000s, rock and alternative dominated Canada’s music scene, with artists like The Tragically Hip, Alanis Morissette and the Barenaked Ladies leading the way. Still, there were many other bands and artists who helped build the foundation of that scene, notably Toronto’s Our Lady Peace and Burnaby, B.C.’s Matthew Good.
On March 8, thousands of fans filled TD Place Arena as Good and Our Lady Peace brought their co-headlining cross-Canada tour to Ottawa.
It has been over 20 years since both artists broke into the mainstream. But still, they both continue to put out great new music; Good released Something Like a Storm in October and Our Lady Peace just dropped Somethingness in February.
Before either of the headliners took to the stage, the crowd was treated to an opening performance by Ascot Royals. It didn’t take long for the Toronto rockers to win over the crowd, as they immediately filled the arena with energy. By the end of their short performance, they left the crowd wanting more.
Up next, the crowd welcomed Good to the stage with enthusiastic applause and cheers. Much of Good’s set highlighted new songs from Something Like A Storm, such as “Bad Guys Win” and “Men at the Door,” but there was still emphasis on many of the classics from the Matthew Good Band days, such as “Apparitions” and “Strange Days.”
Closer to the end, Good performed “Load Me Up,” one of his greatest hits. By then, pretty much everyone in the arena was standing and singing along. It was so loud and intense that you could literally feel the floor shake under the seats.
As the evening’s closing act, Our Lady Peace kicked things off with classics “Angels/Losing/Sleep” and “Superman’s Dead,” followed by a sing-along rendition of “Innocent.” For one of their most well-known hits, “Is Anybody Home?” lead singer Raine Maida didn’t even need to hold the microphone for the chorus, as the loyal fans united and carried the words with the band only quietly playing in the background.
Partway through their set, the entire band gathered centre stage for a brief unplugged set. Before going into an acoustic rendition of “In Repair,” Maida expressed his support for the #TimesUp movement, which was fitting, especially because it was International Women’s Day.
Maida, who is married to Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, said that he hopes his sons learn from the movement and specifically called out employers who don’t pay women and men equally.
“Change that shit right now,” he said, receiving the praise of the crowd.
After closing their main set with “4am,” the band came on stage for an encore. Before getting back to the music, Maida shared the story about the first time he saw The Tragically Hip perform in 1992, and how that night changed his life. They followed it up with “Ballad of a Poet,” a new song from Somethingness Maida wrote as a tribute to the Hip’s late frontman, Gord Downie.
“Light your phones up for Gord!” Maida said, and at that moment, thousands of lights filled the arena for what was an incredible and beautiful moment.
They weren’t done yet; Good and his band came back to join Our Lady Peace for a collaboration performance of one of his classic hits, “Hello Time Bomb.”
Our Lady Peace then closed the show with “Starseed,” one of the hits from their 1994 breakout album Naveed.
Overall, the entire show was fantastic. The line-up of artists was truly outstanding. Additionally, the visuals and lighting really added to the spectacle.
The evening also showed that these artists and songs are still very much a part of people’s lives. Ascot Royals showed that the Canadian rock scene is very welcoming to amazing new talent. Good and Our Lady Peace, on the other hand, proved that fans still have a lot of love for the legends.
Photo by Jeff Pelletier
