The Rogers Center or the Skydome as it was initially known used to be a part of the Toronto Skyline. Multiple high rises along the waterfront have changed that skyline now, so its visible only as chunks between the buildings, and completely hidden from sight from the East.. So no more will we see the graceful lines of the CN tower supplemented by the curves of the Skydome. Needless to say, to rename it to the Roger's Center even makes the romance go out of one of the most innovative stadium designs in the world. Enough said. Let's get on with the concert.
So Rupali and I had tickets to the Eagles concert today. May I mention that this is my first concert in a long while? and the first in an arena, so .. it was a new experience. Rupali got them last minutes - so of course, our tickets were way up in the rafters.Nothing like staring up at Darius Tucker from Hootie and the Blowfish from six feet away and singing every song along with him. No, this time we would have to look at the singers across the length of a football stadium and then some. But regardless. We were here to see the Eagles. The warm up group was the Dixie Chicks. And the warm up group for the Dixie Chicks was a band called JD and the Straight Shots. They took the stage at six.
JD and the Straight Shot has a front man named JD (d-oh!!) the lead singer. His voice is best suited to the bluesy numbers rather than country rock. The fast numbers were not that good, and he sometimes got a little pitchy (as Randy Jackson would say) or as Anu Malik (Indian Idol judge) would say 'Sur se bahut hat gaye' which basically means - you were singing off-key! There is one number though that stood out - 'Slow motion in reverse' - I might even download it! That being said, JD comes across as folksy, humorous and down-to-earth. They finished their set and left.
Next to us were a couple, Paula and Allan from Hamilton, ON. She was a nurse and funny. Perhaps the beer they'd been drinking had something to do with it. But she was nice and, did I mention, funny?
And speaking of shots. There was this guy that was actually smoking a joint in the row in front of us. We all pounced on him like - Dude - Put it out!! it was making me cough. I did my best I'm allergic to smoke thing. So what IS it with drugs and rock concerts. Seriously? Paula tried to convince me that marijuana was probably more beneficial than alcohol. Her rationale - alcohol sometimes makes mean and obnoxious drunks. Mary Jane? Never. Nobody gets mean on pot. Hmmmm....
Fifteen minutes later the lights went down and the Dixie Chicks came on. Fabulous - just fabulous. Talk about true girl power. Natalie's very cropped brunette hair style definitely brings out her best features - she doesn't look as pudgy any more. She looks sexy! Martie and Emily looked awesome. The thing is - these girls didn't waste time chatting with the crowd, instead they wowed them with some of their best songs. One after another after another. Landslide, Ready to Run, Shut up and Sing, Wide open Spaces (which they opened with), and of course I'm not ready to Make Nice. At which point, the crowd went wild - the Canadians appreciate subtlety like that (sez me tongue-in-cheek). But I digress. The show was so entertaining, just watching them interact, my eyes were glued more to the stage than to the big TV screens, and lemme tell you this - they were tiny on that stage from where I was sitting. Yet I had to keep watching them . The power of a live show.
They finished their 45-minute set and left. 15 minutes later, the stage was set for the Eagles. They opened with a number that involved a lot of spots going straight up to the ceiling, and they sang something a Capella. I have no idea what it was. Why? Because the crowd was screaming and so was I and nobody was LISTENING! That's why. Needless to say from that point, it just got better and better. Songs I'd forgotten, and songs I'd known and loved. Of course they sang Hotel California. The beauty of it was - they move the instrumental arrangements around and they move the rhythm section around. But they did not move the main melody at all - so everybody gets to sing it - exactly as they've heard it a few thousand times before. And they did not mess with one of the most recognized guitar sections of all times, nor do they mess around with Don Henley's drums - everybody HAS to clap to that beat.. I didn't want or need to see anything any more... But I stayed for the rest of the set. And iI was glad I did. It was rock/country rock at its best from the masters. I think one of the things that I will never forget is this one small segment with Joe Walsh where he held the note on the guitar string with his left hand, while he lowered the note by releasing the tension on the 6th string with his right hand! It was SICKKKKK! It was almost 11 pm then, and I decided that we needed to go. They were doing their encore set, now. Two songs were done (one of them brought back memories from a certain concert when we were in the 8th Std (grade)). And the spot came on Don Henley on a dark stage as he crooned 'Desperado' ... I sat down. I didn't leave. How could I ? I got goose bumps and nearly cried. It was just amazing. My heart was truly full and satisfied. To see these gurus live.. for an Indian from a little town in India? Un-f***ing-believable. Sorry I am not listing the songs here, as that would be a spoiler for friends who have tickets to the show in their hometown.
But the Rogers Center - such a letdown. If you have seen the dome, you know that it opens like grapefruit or onion sections. Each section slides into the next - three on one side and one on the other - on giant rollers along the side. This is the only stadium in the world that is designed to open up that way. How do I know it? I've watched it open many times from the 16th or 17th floors of the RBC offices, which are right next to it. Unfortunately, that also means that there is a veritable network of metal in the rafters. The belly of the dome is fully covered by this 'lattice work' of metal. And in the lower decibels, the bass bounces off them. And in the higher decibels, they vibrate. Every time anyone went above a certain pitch- the audio started getting garbled - it was getting thrown at us from multiple points with no dampening.
Long story short - the acoustics are TERRIBLE.
Moral: NEVER GO FOR A CONCERT AT THE SKYDOME/ROGERS CENTER .... EVER!!
Unless of course, its Tina Turner or Pink Floyd or .. oh who am I kidding? I will probably land up there the next time there is one performer coming that I know I may never have the chance to see live again.
Which reminds me - I'd better book those Paul MacCartney tickets now.
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