AT EDGEFEST, MOLSON PARK BARRIE 06/28/97
This pic is from Tom Go here
It all started on Sunday June 30th, 1996. I wasn’t really a fan of the
Tea Party but I did like them. The only song I knew well was "The
Bazaar", I had heard others such as "Fire In The Head" and "Sister
Awake" but didn’t really know them. That day was the first concert I
had ever been to, it was Edgefest 96 and the Tea Party was headlining.
I fell in love with them that night and I bought "The Edges of Twilight"
the next day.
Well now it was Saturday June 28th, 1997 and I was once again at
Edgefest. It seemed as though the Tea Party were never going to get on
stage, especially after the 2 hour line up to get into the first ever sold out
concert at Molson Park.
By the time the Tea Party was getting on stage the crowd was
getting annoyed with the extra long break between bands and many
were throwing plastic bottles towards the stage but once the intro for
"The Bazaar" began everything felt right and my body was tingling with
excitement. After "The Bazaar" was finished Jeff Martin spoke "Ladies
and gentlemen we’re back, its been a long time since we’ve been able to
play for you. Last year, remember last year here, remember the moon,
remember all that stuff. We’re going to beat that vibe this time … This
song that the best radio station in the world, CFNY, debuted first.
Ladies and gentlemen this is Temptation."
Now I had heard "Temptation" on the radio before but nothing
could prepare me for what I was about to encounter. Just hearing that
song put me back in the same situation as the previous year, and as I
did then, I bought the new album the next day.
When "Temptation" was over a steady, familiar drum beat began,
"The River", I said to myself. As usual Jeff asked the audience if they
"would like some more?", during the solo. When "The River" was done
Jeff spoke again, "Groovin’ , you liking it?, its all right?. Beautiful, beau-
ti-ful. … This is a new one, very moody, very vibey, so follow us on this
one. This is Psychopomp.
He was right, it was "very moody". It didn’t have the same effect
on me that "Temptation" did but I was still impressed. Once again Jeff
spoke, "That was called Psychopomp… I’ll give you some advice, buy the
new album, spark up a joint and put some head phones on, it works,
works very well. Now shall we play something old? I will oblige you, I
will oblige you.
"Fire in the Head" was absolutely amazing, the audience was into
it right from the beginning. Jeff’s voice seemed mystical and "god" like,
almost as if was singing from the clouds, well I guess you had to be there
or you could trade for a copy of my tape, hint, hint, wink, wink. The rest
of the song was as I said above absolutely amazing. When it was over
Jeff spoke again, "Now that was beautiful, thats chaos man, thats good
… This next song, the title track of our new record, this songs going to
put you in a different space. I promise you that, I promise you that.
Are you guys ready for this?
I thought "Transmission" was excellent and then Jeff screamed
TRANS-MI-SSION and the chills were back. Now it was time for Jeff to
speak again, but this time he had an explanation for the next song. "All
right, now this next song, I got to explain this one to you, this is uh the
last one we’re going to play off Transmission for you tonight and uh, the
intention behind this song people is this, the oppression of women, of the
female spirit, in this world is still one of the most cruel things thats
going on in humanity right now. Sisters, I’m talking to you sisters. So
this song, this next song, we wrote this song as an apology to all the
females on behalf of all the males for the bullshit you’ve always put up
with. So I hope you accept this apology, this is called Release".
Right from the beginning it sounded like an apology and lines
such as "don’t want to hurt you" or "I want you to be free" showed just
how sorry they were for everything that we’ve done to women. Jeff
spoke again. "Thank you very much. Is this what I think it is? I need a
set list man. So hopefully we’ve uh, attempted anyways, to lead you all
into Temptation, its now our responsibility to "Save you" all now, huh."
It began, a song that most of the audience had loved, including me,
since they first heard it. Jeff’s voice just echoed for the beginning lyrics.
During the solo he threw in some lyrics from a song called "The Maker",
which was really cool. After that they left the stage.
The voice came back. "Oh, yeah there’s a song we forgot to play". At
first I figured it would be "Sister Awake" but then they started with "Winter
Solstice" which confused me, I didn’t know the song by name at that moment
and I couldn’t understand why they would close the show with it. I soon
realized that they had started into "Sister Awake" and all my questions no
longer needed to be answered. The first verse was done on an acoustic but
then Jeff put it away and started on the bongos, when he had had his fun
with them he picked up an electric and the song continued. It was a
beautiful version and I only wished that it wasn’t the end, but since Our
Lady Peace was headlining this years show my wish would not be granted
and as Jeff Martin said "Thank you very much, thank you, you’re
wonderful.", Jeff Burrows threw his drum sticks to the thousands of fans
below them.
To this point in time it will be remembered as my favorite concert but
then again I’ve only been to 3 (all of which were festivals so there are plenty
of bands to choose from) but I have a feeling that this will change on August
2nd when "Another Roadside Attraction" comes here, or until the next Tea
Party concert I see.
SET LIST:
The Bazaar
Temptation
The River
Psychopomp
Fire In The Head
Transmission
Release
Save Me
Sister Awake