It’s not unusual for me to to do retro-active posts, however it is unusual for me to start a post, save it, and then completely forget to go back to it. On August 14th, I went to see the Progressive Nation tour at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. This concert ended up being more of an after thought for me really (for what it’s worth I also bought the tickets before writing this blog post). I was originally planning on seeing Chickenfoot on the 4th, but when I went to buy tickets, I saw that PizzaPizza and Ticketmaster were running a promotion for dirt cheap tickets to various concerts. The Progressive Nation tour was one of them! How could I turn down $20 tickets for a 5 hour concert? So one concert ended up becoming two concerts. Actually, my mom ended up visiting in that same time period, and so we went to see the Moody Blues. So two concerts ended up becoming three concerts.
So Chickenfoot first… well… this was kind of an unfortunate series of events. I was going to see them with Jeff Wagner from SESI but, for reasons that I cannot seem to find, the date ended up being bumped from the 4th to the 5th. We never really gave much thought to this as we had plenty of warning, however as the date approached we realized that Jeff was flying to New Orleans for Siggraph on the 5th! As much as I wanted to see Chickenfoot, it just seemed like the tickets were pricey enough that it wasn’t worth going on my own. I had just moved into a new apartment, and had lots of stuff to keep spending money on, so I refunded the tickets. I ended up using my portion of the money, as well as a wedding gift certificate from Tristan on a new tv stand (to go with our new tv). So I may have missed out on this concert, but I did end up with some furniture that needed to be purchased without having to take any extra money out of my bank account.
Well… the Moody Blues certainly didn’t earn their name by being exciting on stage. I saw them on the 12th at the Molson Amphitheatre… and it was kind of a bittersweet experience. The Moody Blues are excellent musicians, who are spot on when they play. Justin can really belt out the lyrics, and if you close your eyes you can really get into the music. Based on what I’ve watched on Youtube, and my dad’s dvd collection, the band has never had much stage presence, and this concert was no different. If you’re a fan of their music, and have never been to a concert then by all means: go see them! If you’ve been to concerts before though, keep in mind that they have little stage presence. No opening band, and they take an intermission partway through. The audience is a different breed as well. While I didn’t get much enjoyment out of the concert, it was interesting to see the crowd of 50 somethings getting into it by mildly patting their knees in time to the music and starting up conversations with the strangers next to them.
I’ve seen Dream Theater twice already in the past, and so I was content to just get the cheapest tickets despite the fact that they were in the back of the Amphitheatre. It ended up being a a very hot day, and the event started at 6pm… I don’t get off work until 6:30 and work in the opposite end of town but tried to leave a bit early for the concert. When I arrived at the Amphitheatre, I decided that what with the heat and all, I may as well get myself an ice cream from the Baskin Robbins that is at Ontario Place. Frustratingly, security would not let me take the cone with me to the venue so I was even later arriving to the concert as I stood outside the gates eating my dessert. Unfortunately I ended up sitting down just as the opening band was finishing. It was still pretty early, and so I figured that I had just caught the end of the first band, but at least I would be able to see the other three. Dream Theater is the only band of the four that I was actually familiar with, so when the next band began, I had no idea who it was I was listening to. I was stunned at how good the guitar work was, but certainly felt that the rest of the band was a little lack-luster. I remember commenting to Andrea that “This band could get a lot more popular if they found a better singer.” I didn’t realize at the time that this was Zappa Plays Zappa that I was listening to.
Dream Theater’s set began, and the music was good. The audience began singing… but well… there was a distinct cheap feeling to the seats that we were in (see the top of the two images to the left). The people around me were… well, slobs would be a flattering description. One guy in front of me was drunk out of his trees and was kicked out after throwing his beer bottle about 15 feet into the air. Music was good… couldn’t really see the band, audience around me was a bit lack lustre… but hey… what do you expect for the cheapest tickets? Guess I’ve learned my lesson… definitely no tickets cheaper than mid-range for me in the future. But wait! There’s more! About halfway through Dream Theater’s set, these two guys approached Andrea and I. “Hey” they say, “we’ve got to take off early. Here, have our tickets. They’re way better; enjoy the rest of the concert.” We were instantly upgraded from being at the back to the amphitheatre, to being at the front of the amphitheatre. The only time I’ve been closer to the stage is at the Opera House for Symphony X, where there are no seats. Let’s just say that not only was the visual show better now that we could see the band, but the audience was COMPLETELY different. They were so much more into it. Except of course for the guy who was passed out drunk next to me. I’m assuming he was a Zappa fan.