If I had to sum up the concert in one word, it'd be WOW! Two words? HOLY $@&$!

My fifth time seeing Collective Soul in concert was, without question, the best concert I've ever seen or that I ever expect to see. It was, by all accounts, a Perfect Day.

When I got out of class around 2:30 in the afternoon, I called Jason and he told me he was hanging out behind the venue, waiting for the band. I met him there and we killed time for a while, chatting and listening to the roadies and security guys chat. We said hello to the guys from Zuckerbaby and watched their roadies unload the equipment, and we basically just waited. For the first hour and a half or so it was just Jason and I; a few more people came by a bit later.

Around 4:30, a van pulled up and Ed and Ross emerged. At that point there were six of us backstage, and the guys were more than happy to say hello to everyone. I got my Blender cover signed by Ed and took pictures with Ed and Ross. In the meantime, Jason talked tech with Ross and got answers to most of the top 10 Generate questions. There was one question Ross was unsure about and he told Jason he'd get back to him. We also told him that we'd be standing right in front of him, so he should toss us a pick. Ross said sure, no problem.

After chatting for a few minutes, the guys needed to go inside so we went around front. There was already a small lineup outside the door - amazing, cause the doors weren't scheduled to open for over two hours. We took our place in line and waited. Around dinnertime, Jason picked up takeout from McDonald's while I held our spot in line, and we ate it sitting on the sidewalk. How's that for dedication?

Jason's friend Mairi showed up just after six, and we all waited anxiously for the doors to open, which they did just before seven. We ran inside and made a beeline for "our spot", right in front of Ross. We secured it and rotated holding it while we checked the coats. It was amazing how fast the venue filled up, and how crowded the front became. We were all squished in like sardines, trying to hold our spaces and gain another inch or two.

Zuckerbaby was the opening band. I thought they were pretty good, as far as opening bands go. They seemed talented enough, however, their show lacked energy. This was even more evident in contrast to Collective Soul. Anyway, they played for about 45 minutes and received some applause but not much enthusiasm.

Finally . . . the main event! The guys from Collective Soul came out to strobe lights and ear-splitting screaming, and launched into the opening notes of Where The River Flows.

I loved their clothes. Ed was wearing a t-shirt that said "Army" in glitter letters. Will had these cool star-shaped sunglasses. Dean was wearing tight jeans with rhinestones, a sleeveless shirt, and a burgundy leather jacket. Ross had on a cool patterned shirt. And Shane's hat is just cool beyond comparison. Needless to say, they all looked great! Most of the girls couldn't stop drooling over Dean. Oh yeah, and the black light made for some interesting lighting effects.

I'd heard some complaints about the sound on this tour, but they must have ironed out the wrinkles because everything sounded perfect last night. After WTRF, Ed greeted the band in French, then apologized for not speaking it better. Nobody cared. Hell, he could have been talking Swahili and everyone would have been just as excited. The second song was Gel, which completely rocked. At the line "glitter to so mundane", Ed pointed at himself on "glitter" and then at Ross on "mundane". Ed humour . . . gotta love it! Precious Declaration followed, with a spotlight on Shane's drums. Then the band launched into Compliment, a highlight of the show because it sounded great. Even though it was never a single, everyone in the crowd was singing along anyway. There is no way to describe the crowd except by saying that it was incredibly energetic.

I had a camera for before and after the show but I hadn't brought it inside and I was glad. Taking pictures would have detracted from the moment, and wow, what a moment. What an hour-and-three quarters-long moment! During the set I was able to achieve that rare state where nothing - not my midterm the next morning, not my work, not any other stuff in my life - mattered except being there. Letting go like that is next to impossible but when it happens . . . wow!

Anyway, back to the show. During Boast, Ed forgot the lyrics to the chorus. The first time it happened he looked over our way and had this goofy "oh no" look on his face. Then he gave up and just kept singing "yeah you got to" over and over again. Good ol' Ed. It didn't detract from the show, though; if anything, it added to it. The best part was seeing how well-known Blender already was to the crowd. Almost everyone was singing along.

The World I Know followed- the slowed-down version as usual. I didn't see many lighters but everyone had their hands up in the air, waving them back and forth. Skin was great live; Ed had everyone echo the "Hey"s and the crowd was more than happy to oblige. Goodnight Good Guy was a nice reminder of the early days of CS, and it rocked as usual. Smashing Young Man was the only song that didn't sound perfect; it seemed to be a bit off-key. The crowd didn't care, though, judging by the singing along.

Ed came out on his own, saying "this is a favourite song of mine", and began the opening notes to She Said. Except, he forgot the first two lines, singing the second verse instead. We couldn't stop laughing, it was so funny. The song was great though; Ross did these cool guitar effects for the solo. It sounded a lot like the version on Dosage. Then She Said flowed into Mother, the Pink Floyd cover. Ed sang most of it on the stage by himself, with low lighting. Then, just before the solo, the other guys got into position, and at the exact moment it started, the lights came on, spotlighting Ross. He played it amazingly and the crowd really got into every note. What a moment!

The guys played Prick- er- Vent (to me it'll always be known as Prick) and even though it's not my favourite on the CD, it kicked azz live! The speed at which Ross's fingers moved during the solo seemed superhuman. Even the security guards liked the song; they were laughing during the solo.

Before the show, Jason had asked the guys if they were going to play Highway to Hell and they said "we'll see". Well, when Ed came up to the mic and said "we did this the other night and we're going to try it again for you", we flipped out! Jason screamed out "Thank You" so loudly everyone heard. The song rocked and Ed had the crowd sing the chorus, which we were very happy to do. Then, we could tell by the tuning that the next song was gonna be Blame, and Jason, who'd been air-guitaring like crazy all night, to the point where even the band noticed him, got extremely excited and started jumping up and down screaming "Blame! Blame! Blame!" It did not disappoint. That song is so incredible in concert!

December was played the same way as they did on the Cranberries tour, with the sped-up ending. Finally, Heavy blinded the crowd with the strobe lights, but everyone went nuts. Ed thanked the crowd and they left the stage. As they were leaving, Ross looked for Jason and tossed a pic directly at him.

No-one was willing to let them go, though. We all knew the encore was coming but nobody took it for granted. Instead, there was screaming, cheering, clapping, foot-stamping, banging on the barrier, anything and everything to show Collective Soul how grateful we were for such a great show. When they reappeared, we practically took the roof off the place.

The first song of the encore was Run, which sounded cool with both Will and Ross singing backup vocals. Then, they played the opening sample loop for Why Pt. 2. Ed had introduced the song but he really didn't need to. Everyone sang along enthusiastically, increasingly aware that the perfect evening was almost over. After the song, the screaming was so loud, Ed could hardly get a word in. When he did, he thanked the crowd for being so great, and then said "I promise, if ever we do a live album, we'll record it here in Montreal". Well, you can imagine the effect that had on the crowd.

Ed introduced Shine as a gospel tune. No matter how many times I hear it in concert, it never fails to amaze me. Everyone was jumping around like crazy during the solo and we needed no invitation to sing along. Afterwards, they thanked the crowd again, tossed out a bunch of stuff (I caught a pic), and left.

That was supposed to be it, but even though we all knew Shine is the last song, nobody was willing to let go. A repeat of the foot-stamping, banging, and screaming that was even louder than the first time brought on the miracle: a second encore! The guys reappeared and launched into Simple. I couldn't believe it! I'd never heard of a show that didn't end with Shine. Ed went all out during Simple, even faking passing out in the middle on stage and then getting up with a little wink and a wave. For a song they didn't even intend on doing, it sure rocked!

After Simple it really was over and we filed out, stopping to buy t-shirts. I hadn't intended to spend money on a shirt, but after that show I needed to commemorate it. We went to Burger King to get something quick to eat, then Sam, Marie, and Mairi left. Me, Jason, and his brother returned to the venue and went around back to wait for the band by the tourbus. Security lamely tried to convince us not to but even they didn't bother being serious about it. In fact we had fun chatting with one of the security guys.

It didn't take long before Ed emerged. There was a sizable crowd but he was the perfect southern gentleman, gracious and promising to get to everyone. It never ceases to amaze me how down-to-earth the guys are, even after all their success. While we were trying to take a picture, the camera wasn't wound and Jason let out a "Tabarnac!", and then everyone laughed except Ed who didn't know what it meant, so we taught him the word. He signed my ticket stub and chatted with everyone for a bit. I don't remember everything he said, unfortunately, but he was extremely nice about answering everyone's questions. One guy asked about the Kanji symbol and wanted Ed's permission to get it as a tattoo. Ed said that's actually where he first saw the symbol; he was in London and someone was getting it as a tattoo and he thought it was cool. After chatting for a while, Ed went into the tourbus (or, as he calls it, "home"), assuring us all that the rest of the band would be out eventually.

Ross came out next. More autographs, more pictures. The first thing he did was went straight up to Jason to answer the question about Happiness that he'd promised to get back to him on. Jason also asked him to visit Generate and he said he'd try. I asked Ross about an address where people could send fanmail, and he said that was a good idea and he'd try to arrange to put one on the new official website. A bunch of us complimented Ross on his singing on Dandy Life and told him to keep it up. He replied that he's been writing a lot, and maybe some of the material will be on the next album. Ross signed my Blender cover and my ticket stub.

In past shows I'd gotten to talk to Ed and Ross but never to the others. So we decided to wait around a bit longer. We killed time by chatting with other fans and with the security guy. Jason was almost ready to give up and leave when I told him to wait 5 more minutes, cause I had a feeling they'd be out soon. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Will emerged. He was tired but generously spent time talking to the fans, signing autographs, and posing for photos. Shane came out a few minutes later, and he talked drum-talk with Jason's brother a bit. He also admitted to being a pizza-freak, saying that "if you knew me, you'd know that I can't live without pizza" and explaining that prior to CS he worked in a pizza parlour. Dean followed Shane out not long afterwards. I got pictures and autographs from everyone.

The concert was easily the most incredible experience I've ever had. Even not counting getting to chat with the guys before and after the show, the concert itself was amazing. The energy level of both the band and the crowd was beyond comparison. And so, I had my perfect day.