Our Lady Peace: 30 Years of Canadian Alternative Rock Legendry

Mar 96 min read

By: Jay Broderick

Oshawa, ON - For hard music fans, the 1980s were unmistakably (and unarguably) the greatest decade for music. As the decade rolled over into the 1990s, Seattle's grunge scene took the world by storm, and I quickly found myself listening to this style of music all the time. My Alternative Rock phase in my mid-20s, took over and it was the genre I found myself intrenched in, through my 30s, and into my 40s. Blink-182, Jane's Addiction, and the Stone Temple Pilots ruled my musical tastes. Canada was also churning our some amazing bands like I Mother Earth, The Trews, and Big Wreck were the kings of Canadian radio.

One band however, seemed to lead the way, Toronto's own Our Lady Peace. The band was formed in 1992 and led by frontman Raine Maida ever since its inception. In 1994, OLP (as fans fondly refer) released their debut album Naveed which was an immediate smash. The album has gone quadruple platinum, and set the band on a trajectory they never thought possible.

That was 30 years ago, and the band is currently touring to celebrate its anniversary. The tour kicked off on February 19th in Calgary, AB and will have seen them play 15 dates across the country. On March 5th, the tour rolled through Oshawa's Tribute Communities Centre, and LoudTO was there to help celebrate.

Wintersleep

Opening the show was Halifax's alternative rockers Wintersleep. Formed in 2001, the band has seen a few reiterations, but the core of the group, vocalist/guitarist Paul Murphy, guitarist Tim D'eon, and drummer Loel Campbell have been around since the beginning. The band may have had their ultimate live performance memory in 2005 when they opened up for Pearl Jam in St. John's, Newfoundland. That is of course until their call to support OLP's 30th Anniversary Tour... <wink><wink>

Wintersleep's slower tempo'd style of alternative rock hits great as the band plays their set. Covering their 2 biggest songs "Weighty Ghost" and their closer "Amerika", which you will definitely know if you are a fan of this style of music, but perhaps unfamiliar with the name of this band, Wintersleep sounds great, and is a perfect way to celebrate Canadian Alternative Rock. There aren't a lot of fans here to start the show. Something I will never understand.

Collective Soul

One of my favourite bands to come out of this 1990s genre of rock was Stockbridge, Georgia's Collective Soul. I played the band's music a lot and I have fond memories of my daughter singing "Shine" in the car when she was about 3 or 4 years old. I had a CD Discman with an adapter for the vehicle. It was constantly spinning in my 1990 Chrysler Daytona. Man, cutting edge!

Collective Soul are great friends with Our Lady Peace, and after tonight's headliner toured with Collective Soul multiple times in the 90s, Collective Soul shares the favour, and plays a supporting role on this tour. As the lights go down signaling the start of the set, drummer Johnny Rabb heads out behind his kit, stands, and motions his arms for the fans to "come on". The rest of the band joins, and they start into "Mother's Love", the lead track from their newest album, 2024's Here to Eternity. Lead singer Ed Roland is very animated running back and forth across the stage, arms moving, and even performing tai chi type movements. His yellow suit is shining under the lights, and the groove is on.

The aforementioned "Shine" comes up 4th on the band's setlist. The crowd all stand up on their feet for not only a favourite of my daughter, but a clear favourite of the crowd. Halfway through the song, Ed Roland tells of the band's early days, playing in their basement in 1994, and they then break into an Aerosmith song "Livin' on the Edge" jam. As they transition back into "Shine" the band stops, and the crowd sings to close it out. These types of moments always gives me chills.

In a bit of an unfortunate moment, Ed Roland tells the crowd that they come from Georgia, and talks about the current rift between Canada and the United States right now. The fans in Oshawa open up into a blast of "boos" but Roland quickly reels them in. "No, no, no! This is a rock concert, not a hockey game. The Americans on this stage love you guys!" Well done Ed! And Canada, we're better than this. The current trade war with our neighbours is not Collective Soul's fault. Yes, we need to push back from a political stance, but let's make sure we are pushing back on the right people.

The band sounded great, there is a ton of interaction with the crowd, and most importantly, the crowd stays on their feet for most of the show. This is a tough feat to accomplish here in Oshawa. I have seen metal shows here like Judas Priest, Motorhead and Megadeth where people are unbelievably sitting. Way to go Collective Soul!

Our Lady Peace

Raine Maid, live at Tribute Communities Centre. Photo By: Jay Broderick

After a ton of empty seats for the start of the show, the house is packed by the time the lights drop for tonight's headliners. A video montage showing the last 30 years of OLP's career plays on the screens at the back of the stage. The band heads out to their places, and the crowd erupts. Even more so, when the introduction to "Superman's Dead" blasts through the venue.

Lead Singer Raine Maida brings out the megaphone for "One Man Army" and as they transition into "Innocent" and "Is Anybody Home", it's one hit song after the other. Man, the library of music that Our Lady Peace has in their litany is pretty mind boggling. There is no wonder they are among Canada's elite. And the crowd is showing their adoration as they are loud, cheering and singing. So much so, that Maida acknowledges saying "Man, we need to come back here more often!" As I look around the venue during the track "Life", the whole place is on their feet. Even the stands surrounding the floors. Amazing!! It makes a concert a thousand times better!

As with Collective Soul, there is a ton of interaction with the crowd, and stories from Maida. He shares one about his teenage self. Kicked out of school, and living with his father. He shares that his girlfriend at the time (who he also tells is in the crowd tonight), and he, went to an awards show and he said the music sucked! They were on the verge of leaving until the last band came on, and his life changed. He knew at that moment that he was going to be a professional musician, and he thanked Suzy. The band? The Tragically Hip. Our Lady Peace honours them by playing a cover of "Locked in the Trunk of a Car". Boy, did they nail it hard! Man, they sound great. The lighting is superb. Now THIS is a rock concert!!!

Steve Mazur performs live in Oshawa. Photo By: Jay Broderick

OLP plays a couple of the band's newest tracks, because Raine doesn't love looking back, but it's the familiar music that has the crown in a frenzy. For "Somewhere Out There", Maida, with guitar in hand and guitarist Steve Mazur alone start the intro. It sounds absolutely brilliant, but it's the song's guitar solo that actually leaves me a little speechless. My eyes and ears open wider as Mazur gives a superb performance. I never really took a ton of notice at this man's abilities. A completely new respect was born.

For the band's encore, frontman Raine Maida walks down the aisle on the floors and heads to the back of the arena where a piano sits awaiting his arrival. Before he plays, he graciously thanks the crowd for their support over the past 30 years, and takes an opportunity to discuss an event that happened a few weeks ago with his wife Chantal Kreviazuk. In her rendition of the Canadian National anthem during the finals of the 4 Nations Cup between Canada and the Untied States, she changed some of the lyrics, and came under some scrutiny. "It wasn't a protest" the OLP singer states. "We love our American Neighbours. But Canada is not for sale!" The fans let out a raucous roar, and Maida plays a solo for "Not Enough", and then into a "4am" solo. That is until the halfway point when he rejoins the band on stage for the song's conclusion. "Automatic Flowers" and "Starseed" close out a superb celebration of 30 years of Our Lady Peace.

Set List

Superman's Dead

One Man Army

Innocent

Is Anybody Home?

Life

If This Is It (Tour debut)

Sound the Alarm

Locked in the Trunk of a Car (The Tragically Hip cover)

Whatever

I Wanna Be Your Drug

In Repair