OLP brings cozy show to 'Peg

By ROBERT WILLIAMS
Winnipeg Sun

OUR LADY PEACE
West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg
Friday, December 8, 2000
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Arena rockers Our Lady Peace got back to their roots Friday bringing a stripped-down version of their show to the cozy confines of the West End Cultural Centre.

A packed house of more than 300 contest winners, enthusiastic fan club members and people who stood outside for up to four hours in -27C temperatures got up close and personal with the Toronto-based band which last played the Winnipeg Stadium as part of its own Summersault Festival.

"We decided to do this small tour for you guys, our fans," lead singer Raine Maida told the screaming audience, which included his wife, Winnipeg songstress Chantal Kreviazuk, and her family.

A super-charged, bass heavy sound system and several huge rotating lights let the crowd know they weren't in for just another club show.

Concept album

OLP dedicated the first third of the concert to songs from their forthcoming concept album Spiritual Machines, which is based on The Age of Spiritual Machines, a 1999 bestseller by Boston author Ray Kurzweil.

The book predicts the merging of machines and computers by end of the 21st century, something already occurring with surgical procedures involving the replacement of an increasing number of body parts, such as eyes, knees and inner ears, guitarist Mike Turner said at a post-show press conference.

''If you keep going, at what point do you find, I've had more of me replaced than I've kept,'' he said.

''If you want to live longer its probably a very happy book.''

The band admits it embraces technology and uses it to their advantage, recording every show and putting songs up on their Web site. OLP also encourages people to download its music through Web sites like Napster.

''In my crazy, optimistic eyes, all technology can do is facilitate good ideas,'' said guitarist Mike Turner at a post-show press conference.

The radio-friendly songs off the new album were greeted warmly by the crowd, but the energy level shot up when the band turned to its back catalogue with the ninth song of the night, Julia, from their debut album Naveed.

Maybe because they've been playing arenas so long, or perhaps because the new material is too bleak, the band -- with the exception of adrenaline-charged bass player Duncan Coutts -- seemed to be going through the motions early in its show, looking detached and, at times, disinterested.

However, as the all-ages crowd warmed up to the material the band seemed to draw on their vibes and came alive as they went through hits Superman's Dead, Naveed, Clumsy and Starseed. Maida didn't even have to sing to the song 4 a.m. as the audience took over vocal duties for the whole tune.

Lennon tribute

The band also honoured the anniversary of John Lennon's death with a heartfelt cover of Imagine.

OLP will be back in the spring or summer, but will not host another Summersault festival, because the concept seems to be tapped out, Maida said.

"We just had all these bands and thought it was worth doing," he said of last summer's event, which featured the Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters.

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