Blue Rodeo Still a Favourite In Kingston

Blue Rodeo’s first album, Outskirts came out 34 years ago, longer ago than most bands ever see. They are not only still playing together, but actually getting ready for a brand new release, Many A Mile, which will be available to you on December 3^rd. A band of the stature of Blue Rodeo could just go out there and play the hits and people would be happy, but last night at Leon’s Centre, they unveiled a handful of new songs, possibly future hits.

Being the first concert at Leon’s Centre since February of 2020, people are starved for live music and they came out last night, and were not disappointed. The concert started out with a couple of well known hits, Trust Yourself and Diamond Mine to get things rolling.

They sprinkled in a selection of the new tunes like Ride Your Bike, I Owe It To Myself, When You Were Wild and I think About You. Jim Cuddy jokingly commented about people not wanting to hear new music but added “new songs have to start somewhere”. Blue Rodeo still have things to say, and that’s a good thing.

One of the highlights for me was a moment about halfway through when the band left Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor onstage to do an acoustic version of Bad Timing. It was great to have a more intimate moment with them and Jim can still hit those high notes as well as he ever did.

When the rest of the band returned, we heard a great version of The Railroad where Colin Cripps traded licks with the mandolin of Jimmy Bowskill who currently plays with The Sheepdogs but pops up in many other places when called upon. If it has strings on it, it’s likely Jimmy can play it. Colin Cripps is quite possibly one of Canada’s best guitar players and I thought he played a stellar show last night, treating the audience to some world class guitar solos.

Jim Cuddy has a voice that for most Canadians is instantly recognizable. He has given us some great performances such as the song Try, which was in the encore along with You’re Everywhere and Lost Together. Try was Blue Rodeo’s introduction to most people and even today stands as a crowd favourite as was evident last week. Cuddy’s vocal range was amazing and last night’s performance by the whole band was amazing. Maybe they are as excited to play as we are to listen. As I drove home from the show, I thought about the evening and I was moved. I had just witnessed a great moment in Canadian music, Blue Rodeo remains one of the best. Great to be back.

If you haven’t seen the show yet, you still have time with stops coming up in Peterborough, Barrie and Niagara Falls. Check out Blue Rodeo’s website for more information.