Montreal was starting to thaw and the city was starting to feel alive again. It was a monumental day, the first of the year where I could leave my house in shorts. Regardless, it was time to head to Laval and head indoors for some life-affirming music.
Locals The Damn Truth were first on the bill. I swear these guys are attempting to single-handedly keep the spirit of rock n roll alive. It was early, but the crowd was dancing and singing to favourites like “This Is Who We Are Now.”
Having seen this band come up in the Montreal bar scene, it’s incredible to see how effortlessly they’ve evolved to arenas. Singer Leela Baum fills the space like she owns it.
Big Wreck were next up and wasted no time hitting the crowd with The Oaf right out of the gates. He’s probably tired of hearing this, but damn it if it isn’t a high compliment, hearing Ian Thornley live you can’t help but hear Chris Cornell’s haunting voice somewhere in there.
If you’ve been going to rock shows in this city for a while, you’ve seen Big Wreck open for someone. They’re a go-to “we’re touring Canada and need someone to rock for 45 minutes” band. They’ve earned that spot by delivering consistently strong sets over and over.
Bookending the set with their biggest hits, they saluted the crowd with radio staple That Song.
I’m not sure if the house DJ was trolling by playing Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” to open the between-sets set, but I see you.
I guess I’ll call our headliners Live while we still can. After reuniting in 2017 with the original lineup, singer Ed Kowalczyk is the only remaining member. His former bandmates recently served him with a cease and desist on using the name. That’s a lot of drama they’re selling.
The Live logo appeared on screen in disco lights while a disco remix of Operation Spirit played. Definitely something different for the band. They proceeded to open with the more traditional arrangement of the song.
The crowd then jumped to their feet for the opening lines of “Selling the Drama.” From a distance, with his sunglasses, Kowalczyk looked a lot like Paul Schaeffer.
“All Over You” and “Pain Lies on the Riverside” kept the nostalgia berries juiced, Kowalczyk having shown no signs of slowing down 34 years later. He spoke about growing up in a Pennsylvania town with high racial tensions and how it inspired his 19-year-old self to write “The Beauty of Gray.”
We then found The Distance to Here with a stripped-down version of “Run to the Water” and the ever-powerful “The Dolphin’s Cry.” The latter of which featured Kowalczyk’s most haunting vocals of the evening.
While the song was a highlight, it is during this song that one of my disappointing suspicions was confirmed. The video screen in the back was playing images of tidal waves ravaging through a city and it was the most obvious AI slop I’ve seen in a professional setting. Those waves were operating on wonky physics no self-respecting animator would be happy with. I no longer felt so bad for my pirated copy of “Birds of Pray.”
A little moment of levity, when after dedicating “Heaven,” which he wrote after the birth of his first daughter, to all the moms and daughters in the room, he completely forgot the lyrics and had to restart.
Kowalczyk then had a clumsy wardrobe change into a cowboy hat and western jacket, announced “Horse,” the secret song after the end of Throwing Copper. To my recollection, in over 30 years of avid concert-going, this was the first time I’d seen a secret track played. Until that moment, I didn’t even know it had a name.
The heaviest riff of the night closed out the main set, with the intensity of “Lakini’s Juice.” All us old folk got up and danced, while a few younger folk who were accompanying parents sat confused.
A short moment offstage led into the encore opened by “Turn My Head.” I really feel like a lot of bands are abandoning letting the encore stew, they weren’t even gone long enough for the ole oles to start.
Proceedings kicked into high gear with “I Alone.” Kowalczyk took a moment to introduce us to the other “members of Live,” which was interesting considering the lawsuit filed a week earlier.
There was no other way to send the night off than the magnanimous “Lightning Crashes.” There’s an ethereal quality to that song that is only amplified live with a couple thousand people singing along. It sent the crowd home happy.
If you’re still reading this, you’ve earned a little reward. Next time you’re at Place Bell with your car, heading back to the island, don’t sit in the traffic with everyone. Drive north on Le Corbusier and turn left after Centre Laval. You’ll be on the highway in 2 min. But shhhh… that’s our secret.
Review – Richard Brunette
Photos – Ryan Rumpel
