The Sam Roberts Band had audience members on their feet during the Canadian rocker’s performance at the National Arts Centre (NAC) Feb. 11.
The NAC may be better known for hosting theatrical productions but the Sam Roberts Band revitalized the venue with some old-fashioned classic rock. Sam Roberts, the band’s founder and lead singer, was the first to acknowledge the unusual venue.
Regardless of whether the venue’s designers had had rock ‘n’ roll in mind, Roberts said he was glad to be there.
“This is the cultural epicentre of the country,” Roberts said. “We just happen to be in town.”
Roberts was joined on stage by Dave Nugent (guitar), Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar), James Hall (bass), and Josh Trager (drums).
Waves of swelling colours engulfed the stage as the band sang their hit single, “I Feel You.” And if the lyrics, “Chaos rains in Atlantis roaming the seas/Like some praying mantis she had eyes for me” didn’t transport fans from the NAC’s classical interior to another realm then the light show accompanying the band certainly did.
The lights were a show in and of itself, which Roberts attributed to an Ottawa-based light technician that has performed with the band throughout their entire tour.
The band received the most applause for material from their new album, Collider. Fans cried out from the crowd and sang along to “The Last Crusade,” “Without A Map,” and “Graveyard Shift.”
The band didn’t shy away from older songs that rocketed them to Canadian fame, either. Audience members piped up as the band went through fan favourites “Don’t Walk Away Eileen,” “Them Kids” and “Where Have All The Good People Gone.”
For the most part, Roberts let the music speak for itself, only pausing to say “Thank you” and “Merci beaucoup” between every two or three songs.
