54-40 shows flair for storytelling at memorable acoustic show
The Easter long weekend might have been to blame, or perhaps it was the Matthew Good-Our Lady Peace concert for 3,000 fans at Prospera Place on Friday night.
The 54-40 acoustic concert at Kelowna Community Theatre on Saturday night deserved a soldout house, at least more than the 600-plus who certainly got their money’s worth from the legendary pop/rock band from the Lower Mainland.
Singer/guitarist/co-founder Neil Osborne, guitarist Dave Genn, bassist and co-founder Brad Merritt and drummer Matt Johnson took the stage a few minutes late at 7:43 p.m. and didn’t walk off until three hours later at 10:45 p.m.
The length of the show wasn’t because of the 35-minute break between two sets or stretching the 19 songs on the setlist, but endless stories from Osborne drawn from the past 37 years of the band’s musical history.
You knew it was going to be an off-beat evening with the introduction - a short ‘Welcome 54-40 (to the stage)’ video featuring numerous well-known Canadians using that phrase including Rick Mercer (Rick Mercer Report), Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo), Jann Arden, Rob Baker (Tragically Hip), Brent Butt (Corner Gas), Ron McLean (Hockey Night in Canada), Dan Ackroyd, and John Dunsworth and Patrick Roach (Trailer Park Boys).
Osborne walked on stage by himself and explained to laughter that he wanted to outline “a real estate opportunity.” As for his bandmates, “it’s only a 90-second walk from the hotel and these guys aren’t here. So I’ll start.”
After launching into One Day In Your Life, he was joined by Genn on melodica (mouth piano) and afterward by Merritt and Johnson. “Welcome. You missed a really good song,” chided Osborne.
The History Unplugged Tour is an extension of 2016’s greatest hits album La Difference: A History Unplugged recorded in White Rock, explained Osborne. “La Difference is ‘the difference’ in French I’m pretty sure,” he joked.
The album features 10 unplugged tracks that were reimagined and re-recorded by the band with the use of additional instrumentation.
“These are acoustic versions of rock songs you haven’t heard yet,” Osborne explained, a white lie since most of the setlist was the most cherished songs from the band’s 24 albums including all 10 tracks from La Difference.
The decision to go acoustic meant you could hear every nuance in Osborne’s vocals and his duets with Genn. No earplugs necessary.
Merritt did cheat at one point subtly grabbing his electric bass for a song or two.
Osborne had a story for virtually every break between songs, even joking at one point: “There we go: two in a row. That’s unusual.”
He was the consummate comedian, even when promoting his new publication, Table For One. “I wrote a book. A pamphlet. It’s a survival manual for any band, any family, any workplace,” he explained and is based on what he has learned from 37 years with his bandmates.
Reading from it, Osborne said there are two situations: fun and funny. “When things are going well, it’s fun. When things aren’t going well, it’s funny.”
He based his song Lost and Lazy on an overheard discussion between his mother and father. His mother was concerned he was lost and lazy but when Osborne investigated, “I found out it was hereditary.”
When he introduced Crossing The Canyon (as his father faced death from cancer), Merritt and Johnson walked off the stage.
“They’re tired,” explained Osborne, adding: “There’s only one bathroom.” However, he also revealed his tender side, his eyes filling with tears and wiping his nose as he touchingly sang: “And the day is long/And the bridge is gone/And the river has washed away/The road I’m on/Only road I know.”
One of the funniest stories was about speed demon Merritt who was driving back from Los Angeles and was pulled over by California Highway Patrol. When he revealed there was an arrest warrant for unpaid speeding tickets, he and Osborne switched seats, Osborne even pulling on Merritt’s hat. When the traffic cop saw band posters in the van, he said Osborne looked tired and should let Merritt drive.
A close runnerup was the story of Osborne and his wife vacationing in Maui five years ago and deciding to go to a karaoke bar with the usual ‘professional’ karaoke crowd in attendance during Happy Hour.
When Osborne found I Go Blind (a hit for Hootie and the Blowfish) on the karaoke list, he joked: “I’m pretty sure I know this one. I wrote it (with Merritt, Phil Comparelli and Darryl Neudorf).” The reaction from the karaoke crowd: “Nothing.”
Osborne claims: “I did an OK version.” And he demonstrated the bar crowd doing a slow clap, clap, clap. “My wife and her friend were dying laughing.”
When cruising southern California in a 1962 bus which broke down, band members went joyriding in all-terrain vehicles until “cops, all these cops” show up. “You guys just crossed into Mexico 25 times,” said one police officer. “They just shook their heads,” said Osborne.
When the band played The Borderline underground club in London, Osborne wanted one of the distinctive black shirts with orange club logo that were only available to staff. So he tried to get a waitress’s shirt and had to backtrack when she thought he was interested in something else.
She eventually agreed to exchange it for a band T-shirt, plus “I want you to write me a song.” Osborne agreed, saying: “I’ve worked for less” and he wrote the song Lucy (you’re the one alright).
When he returned home and his wife heard the story, “it was my turn to wash the floor on Sunday. And I found half the shirt in the bottom of the (wash) bucket.”
Osborne claimed he has numerous other stories. From the enthusiastic response, Kelowna can’t wait for a return acoustic engagement.