Blue Rodeo At Place Des Arts

We're a little bit backed up on getting my concert photographs up here on The Old Blog.  I suppose we will catch up at some point, but this would be a good time to remind you that my concert photographs can be seen in a much more timely manner by visiting V13Media, which you can do by following the link.  If you'd like an even more direct route to my photographs, you can visit my personal page over there but using the following link.  If you’re going to do something, do it in style.  That’s exactly what we did this past weekend.  Blue Rodeo brought their 40^th Anniversary Tour to Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, part of the world renowned Place des Arts complex.  The world famous concert hall was the appropriate setting one of Canada’s most famous bands.  Blue Rodeo was warmly greeted by the Montreal faithful and immediately began the show with “How Long”, from 1989’s Diamond Mine album.  How long in deed.  Blue Rodeo are another band on an anniversary tour.  They joked about how hard it is to believe that forty years have passed in the blink of an eye.  Tell me about it.  The fabulous trip that Blue Rodeo was leading us on continued down memory lane with “Rose-Coloured Glasses” and “New Morning Sun”.  Greg Keelor then dedicated the following song, “God And Country” to a certain President who resides south of the border.  His sentiments weren’t very kind, but judging by the cheer he received, they were very much shared.  “Side of the Road” featured a blistering guitar solo by Jimmy Bowskill who was simply awesome all night.  Jim Cuddy shared a story about a ride from Toronto to New York with his father before “Finger Lakes” and was his usual awesome self all evening.  The man’s voice is one of the most loved in the Country.  On this night he added a few French words into his repertoire to make the locals even happier than they already were.  A short intermission set to the tune of the Pink Panther allowed for a slight stage rearrangement.  The band all came together for a 5-man acoustic jam.  Blue Rodeo were also joined on stage by Kendel Carson, on loan from opening act Adam Baldwin, for the song “Bulletproof”.  A quick memory about “all of the shitty shows we’ve played before getting here” led in to “What Am I Doing Here”.  During the song, the seated crowd finally rose to their feet, much to the chagrin of the Place Des Arts staff who tried to get everyone back in their seat afterwards.  Their efforts proved futile as the entire floor, and most of the balcony rose as one as the intro to “5 Days in May” rang out.  Faced with defeat, some of them did the only thing that was left to do.  They began to sway to the music and had a good time as well.  I, for one, don't blame them at all.  The very generous 22 song trek through 40 years of music came to an end with “Try” and “Lost Together”.  It was an amazing evening of great music in one of the best venues in the World.  I certainly can’t think of what would have been a better way to begin my musical year.  All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using various different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths.  Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of Blue Rodeo as they performed on the Place Des Arts stage.

If you would like to find out more about Blue Rodeo and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  A big thank you goes out to Blue Rodeo's management group at Starfish Entertainment, Evenko and Christopher Gonda at V13 Media for getting me a pass to photograph the show.  As always, it is very much appreciated.  This leg of Blue Rodeo’s 40^th Anniversary tour has wrapped up, but they are sure to be back on the road again soon.  Don’t you dare miss it when they play in a city near you.

Moist At Théâtre Beanfield

We're a little bit backed up on getting my concert photographs up here on The Old Blog.  I suppose we will catch up at some point, but this would be a good time to remind you that my concert photographs can be seen in a much more timely manner by visiting V13Media, which you can do by following the link.  If you'd like an even more direct route to my photographs, you can visit my personal page over there but using the following link.  The weather outside was frightful, but the music was so delightful.  There was nowhere else we’d rather go, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.  Montreal had just been blanketed with about 20 centimeters of snow, but this wasn’t going to stop the faithful.  Someone in the Moist camp obviously has a sense of humour as “Let It Snow” was played over the house PA just before the band hit the stage.  My funny bone was indeed tickled, I chuckled.  For the last few years now, the Théâtre Beanfield has been home to my final concert of the year.  The trend continued once more in 2025.  It housed a sold-out show by Moist, who were making their first appearance in the city since 2019.  Moist, and singer David Usher, have a huge following in the city.  Their fans turned out en masse despite the snow storm that was raging outside.  After “Let It Snow” came to an end, Moist hit the stage and immediately got the crowd roaring with “Ophelia”.  Another big hit from the Creature album followed as the band played “Tangerine” before DavidUsher thanked the crowd for coming out in such miserable weather.  I’m pretty sure it would have taken much more snow than what we got to have kept these diehards at home.  You could close your eyes and be immediately transported back to 1996.  The night of great hits continued with “Silver” as the band was really beginning to roll.  A couple of David Usher solo songs were throw in to the mix before Moist melted almost brought the walls down with the triple threat of “Push”, “Breathe” and “Ressurection”.  The band returned for an encore which included the very apropos “St. Lawrence River”, though we didn’t need to wait for morning to come for winter to arrive.  It was already here.  With the concert now over, we finally said goodnight and headed back out in to the storm.  Holding the memories of Moist tight, so our trip back home would be warm.  All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using various different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths.  Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of Moist as they performed on the Théâtre Beanfield stage.

If you would like to find out more about Moist and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  If you would like to see the photographs that I took of Kandle, who performed earlier that evening, you can do so by following the link.  A big thank you goes out to Moist's management team at Kharma Management, Evenko and Christopher Gonda at V13 Media for getting me a pass to photograph the concert.  As always, it is very much appreciated.  Moist are one of those great Canadian bands that just continue to put on great shows.  Don't you dare miss it when they perform in a town near you.