Matt Good & Our Lady Peace bring the Nostalgia to London

Budweiser Gardens was the seventh stop on this all Canadian joint tour with Matthew Good and Our Lady Peace with support from Ascot Royals on Saturday night, and while it was a more intimate setting being a half arena show it couldn’t have been any better.

First off lets all just agree that you cannot go wrong with an all Canadian lineup and I couldn’t have been any more thrilled when rock veterans Matthew Good and Our Lady Peace had added Brantford natives Ascot Royals to the lineup for select dates, London being one of those dates. Personally I believe The Ascot Royals were a great fit for this tour for so many reasons that I will most definitely elaborate on. Reason #1 being this band is a band you need to see. The energy these guys have on stage is infectious which was absolutely evident in the crowd when they hit the stage. Reason #2 the  insane vocal range of frontman Jimmy Chauveau and how tight they are as a band, a clean sound that sounds like a veteran band that has been grinding for decades much like their counterparts on this tour. Reason #3 their message. If you haven’t had a chance to check out their music, please do. So many of their songs have such a positive, optimistic outlook and they are a great representation of what music should be about which brings me to my final point, Music heals. Before the band took the stage I noticed two little girls at the side of the stage wearing Ascot Royals t-shirts and I thought to myself now that is just plain adorable. As the bands third song approached Jimmy paused for a moment to tell a story about a little girl named Kristen who through a friend of a friend the band found out that she was in a bad way and she was in Sick Kids Hospital and through her recovery she began to relate to their song “Best Is Yet To Come”. The band met Kristen on her first day of rehab and Saturday night that strong and brave little girl walked out on stage in her Ascot Royals t-shirt in front of thousands and stood along side Jimmy to sing “Best Is Yet To Come”. In a world where we so often take things for granted we were reminded of how true strength, courage, love, and music can truly heal.

The arena began to fill as Matt Good was ready to hit the stage next. With a career as long and successful as Matt Good this co-headliner and his band wasted no time in getting the crowd fired up for Our Lady Peace. There are just so many songs from this incredible artist that stand out in an unforgettable way. Matt Good is arguably one of the best song writers hands down and yes I’m aware thats a very bold statement but I’d like to see someone try and persuade me otherwise. The set featured songs from his latest album “Something Like a Storm” as well as all of our favourites from the past decades.

Our Lady Peace didn’t waste any time when they came to the stage blowing the roof off Budweiser Gardens with their second track of the night ‘Superman’s Dead’. The sound of the crowd belting out the ‘why-e-i-e-i’s’ echoed throughout the area almost drowning out Raine Maida which came as no surprise and I was absolutely one of those people as well and they didn’t stop there. They quickly went into “Innocent” and I swear just about every single person in attendance went nuts. As the night went on the band treated the crowd to an acoustic set that just proved how iconic and timeless their songs truly are before exploding into “One Man Army”. The highlight of the night as I’m sure many in attendance would agree was Matt Good walking out on stage to join forces for an encore performance of “Hello Time Bomb”.

I can honestly say this was one of my favourite shows in quite some time. The raw intensity and love for music and change in the world is something that all of these bands on this tour promote and who can argue with that. Another amazing night of music in London and a huge thank you to Ascot Royals, Matt Good & Our Lady Peace for leaving every ounce of yourselves onstage for a show we won’t soon forget!

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