For a concert to be good, you must have three things as you leave; ringing ears, sore feet and a parched throat. Luckily for me, I had all of the above in my possession last night after seeing the Sam Roberts Band live. I’ve always been a huge fan of Sam, partially because of his self-deprecating lyrics, and partially because of his guitar. Both were in full force at the show; he made us chant ‘I think my life / Is passing me by’, while making us wish that we had a real guitar instead of the air versions we were rocking out on. And there’s something about Sam’s songs that make him so good to chant to; a combination of a beat that has a perfect head-bobbing frequency, and lyrics that are wordy and anthemic. The words have a regularity to them that makes it easy to relate to him, to put ourselves in his place, but still have this old rock and roll feel to them. This perfect combination was displayed again and again, when we sang to ‘Hard Road’ (There ain’t no road / That ain’t a hard road to travel on’), and ‘Where Have All The Good People Gone?’ (‘Bangkok to Babylon / Where have all the good people gone?’).
The band played a great mix of his classics, songs like ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ and ‘An American Draft Dodger in Thunder Bay’, and tracks from the latest album like ‘Without A Map’ (my sore throat came primarily from screaming ‘I’m without a map / I’m walking into a trap’ repeatedly. Being someone who is easily impressed by sparkly things, the brilliant coordinated lights sealed the deal for me. During Sam’s gorgeous solo ballads (‘Uprising Down Under’ being my favourite), the beams of light focused on him, making him look like the Holy Spirit of Sad Love Songs. During the intense rock songs though, the lights went as crazy as the audience, creating a feeling of instant trippy-ness. And then, every concert-goers worse nightmare, the show began to wind down. Sam and the band made it a bit easier for us though; the last half hour was more like a jam session than a song. What originally was ‘Mystified, Heavy’ (I know it was only dream / Delicate was dragonfly wing’) transformed into a sine wave of guitar, bass, drums, and tenor saxophone. Coordinated with the lights, I actually lost track of time. The only thing I remember from that last half hour was giggling at the bassist, who had actually doubled over while playing.
Lastly, I’m not one to complain, but what about ‘No Sleep’ Sam? Way to disappoint the fans.
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