Veteran Canadian rockers Odds made a long overdue return to Victoria for the kick-off party of the Highland Games. In years past, this show has generally been reserved for Spirit of the West. Unfortunately, that’s just not going to happen anymore, due to health issues with various members of the band. We will happily take fellow Vancouver natives Odds as their replacements, though.
You might expect Dawn Patrol to open up for Odds, but instead we were treated to one of Victoria’s best kept secrets, Electric Timber Co. Mike Roma and his all-star band have been the house band for various bars, Brewery & The Beast, and many events around town. It was a rare treat to see them in a nightclub setting.
Their blues-rock sounds were the perfect way to warm up the crowd for the evening. With the addition of Foxglove’s Renn Madeleine Bibeau’s sultry voice, a healthy dose of keys, and Mike Roma’s stage presence, this is a band that should be playing every festival this summer.
Over the last few years, Odds have returned to the Canadian music scene in a new and exciting ways. Performing on CP’s Holiday Train and becoming the house band for both the Vancouver Canucks and the Canadian Hockey House during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
They also created an interactive theatre performance piece with help from their Kids in the Hall friends which acted as a retrospective of their career. This would go on to inspire and help create the travelling piece called Trans-Canada Highwaymen. It features Odds‘ Craig Northey, Steven Page of The Barenaked Ladies, Chris Murphy of Sloan, and Moe Berg of Pursuit of Happiness. Together, they perform a set consisting of each others’ four biggest songs while sharing stories and exploits of their respective careers. This is something we at Rocktographers hope finds its way down the Trans Canada and on a ferry to our sleepy little town.
Craig Northey, Pat Stewart, Doug Elliot, and Murray Atkinson rocked out for a solid hour and a half to the kilt-wearing crowd without showing any sign of fatigue. Their set spanned their entire 30-year career with a healthy dose of the hits that made them household names over that time.
It was hard not to sing along to Truth Untold, Someone Wh0’s Cool, Eat My Brain, Nothing Beautiful, It Falls Apart, and of course Heterosexual Man. There really were too many to songs we all knew and loved. A huge cheer came from the audience when the band launched into My Happy Place which used in the insanely popular Canadian television show Corner Gas.
By the time Odds had rolled through their encore they’d been on stage for nearly two hours. A powerful statement to their stamina and thirty year career. Something that you just don’t see these days in the rock and roll world. If you get a chance to see these legendary Canadian musicians, we recommend you do it. You’ll certainly get your money’s worth of nostalgia and entertainment.
