In the years since Gord Downie’s passing, a massive hole was torn in the tapestry of the Canadian music scene and the nation’s unifying fabric. There have been bands who have brought together legions of fans, and a few others who have stretched into the mainstream, but there is one act that has been there the entire time, steadily plying its craft and continuing to pack each and every venue the band enters. That band is Blue Rodeo, another key fixture in the Canadian Music Scene, and is currently wrapping up its 40th anniversary tour.
Blue Rodeo has long been a fixture in the Canadian Music Scene, crossing paths with the Hip out on those dark Canadian highways on a few occasions, even sharing a stage or two along the way. It’s unlikely that there is a corner of this nation that the band hasn’t visited, and with its catalogue of instantly identifiable hits, it’s no wonder that they continue to pack venues coast to coast. So when the band comes knocking, it’s always a welcome experience. It’s akin to playing host to a close friend or family member who lives Provinces away; you will spend those initial hours catching up and sharing recent happenings, but you always return to reminiscing about past adventures. There is always a comfort and familiarity in those visits that is soul-nourishing, and that is what it’s like to experience a Blue Rodeo show.
Halifax has long been a staple on any Blue Rodeo tour itinerary, and at this point, you can almost bet that Blue Rodeo (or Jim Cuddy’s solo projects) will find themselves in the city at least once a year. While the loss of the Tragically Hip and Gord Downie certainly tore a hole in the musical tapestry, Blue Rodeo has been quietly patching it up and in the process uniting the nation even tighter. Having the opportunity to walk around the venue and see the diverse patrons in attendance here in Halifax, it’s clear that for all of the circles in that expansive Venn diagram, friends, family, co-workers, and neighbours were all sitting together in that single circle of convergence.
The many differences that may be held outside of the venue didn’t matter; we were all here for the collective experience of singing along to a set of Blue Rodeo classics such as “Bad Timing”, “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet”, “Try”, and the ultimate closer “Lost Together”. For the last handful of years, the setlist hasn’t differed a great deal; there may be the occasional inclusion of new material from the band’s latest release, but the main core of the set remains intact. It’s that familiarity that keeps people coming back, not to mention that with each subsequent set, the band continues to hone its craft. On this trek, the band took the opportunity mid-way through the show to bring out some stools and unplugged for a few songs, treating the crowd to a handful of acoustic tunes.
When the show reaches its end, it closes out with Blue Rodeo welcoming their supporting act (and friends) to the stage to join the band in singing its signature tune “Lost Together”. For this 40th Anniversary Tour, the band tapped the well-known singer-songwriter Adam Baldwin to provide tour support (along with Baldwin’s longtime collaborators Zach MacLean and Kendel Carson), and much like the opening set here in Halifax, Baldwin and his band absolutely wowed with a set that drew largely from his latest album Concertos and Serenades, and saw Adam handling keyboard duties, before strapping on a guitar for a couple of tunes. Baldwin earned a much-deserved standing ovation for this opening set, and when he returned at the end of the night, he returned with his daughter by his side (who shared a mic with another local favourite, Jen Grant, while Adam beamed proudly).
Blue Rodeo is uniting the country through its expansive catalogue, spanning an impressive 40-year career. An accomplishment rarely achieved, especially when some bands are lucky to get a 5-year career, let alone 4 decades together. There is little better than sitting in a packed Scotiabank Centre singing your heart out to some Blue Rodeo gems, and you can bet we’ll all be back here to do it again next year. You know that Gord would fully endorse Blue Rodeo as the band that is once again uniting the nation through song.
