Blue Rodeo and the Ritter

Blue Rodeo (with Josh Ritter)

Arriving there we realized our giant mistake of buying lawn tickets but not bringing a blanket. This was compounded by the goose droppings that littered the field. We lay in the feces grass after carefully selecting and further clearing a spot while Josh Ritter played some American folk rock that was actually quite enjoyable as the sun dropped in the sky and the lights on the rides at the exhibition began to light up.
Just before BR were to hit the stage we realized that the 4th section of seats were largely unoccupied and unguarded. These seats provided us a much better view of both the stage and the big screens as well as another bonus spectacle. Jim and Greg got the crowd going with "Til I am Myself Again" and "Rain Down on Me". At the start of the show they showcased some new material which was rather pleasant but unknown to me. 'It Makes Me Wonder' brought us back to some hits before Keelor showed off his chops with a few solos before slowing it down with a keys/guitar version of "Dark Angel". The show picked up steam with '5 Days in May" and an incredible singalong to "Hasn't Hit Me Yet" with a firework display (part of the Chinese Lantern festival I suspect) went off in the background. In stark contrast, despite the incredibly tacky backdrop of an animated diamond soaring through a mine shaft the song itself, "Diamond Mine" was pretty darn good too. A few tracks later they said their goodnights and left the stage.

It took quite a lot of clapping and hooting before they finally came back for a two-song encore. Since the last time I saw them play Massey Hall and inconceivably to me they didn't play 'Lost Together' I knew that it wasn't a sure thing and I was beginning to wonder how many times I would have to see them before they included it. Luckily twice is enough as they closed the finale by inviting Josh Ritter, Luke Doucet, a member of Cuff the Duke and a female whose name I didn't catch to join them on stage for it. Josh and the female each had a verse to do on their own and though Josh sounded good the female really made that verse her own and impressed all of us thoroughly. Again they departed.

However the house lights/music didn't come on immediately leaving a possibility for an additional encore. And this time with less of a break they returned for a final tune, a cover of a song I didn't recognize, and with security having left their post to help with the mass exodus we managed to walk right up to the edge of the "floor" and take Blue Rodeo in in all their glory. It was a solid show all around and the boys have polished their show and prove why they have such a large following with performances like that.