September 29, 2001 - The Lyric, Kitchener, ON Posted By Mouse Thank god for Big Wreck. Seeing them last night in Kitchener was the bright spot in my week. There's nothing like one of their shows to boost your happiness quotient. So, needless to say, I was dying to get to the bar, get myself a drink, find Bender, grab a great place to watch from and wait for the magic. I found a place to park right nearby, passed Ian on the sidewalk and said hi, got to the bar and there was no line up. So far so good. After having my I.D. checked (yay!) getting my hand stamped and getting a wristband (that was put on so tightly I thought my hand would go numb!) I finally made my way in. The bar itself was pretty cool. It looked like an old theatre that had been turned into a bar. I like those kind of places. And, it was packed, which was nice for the guys. However, I have a few gripes about the bar. They had the slowest bartenders in the world. They were all young girls so scantily clad they had to cross their arms over themselves when they bent over to make sure that nothing would fall out. Don't they realize that it's hard to move fast and do their job when they have to worry about what they're wearing? Fewer customers served = less tips. I felt like telling them they'd probably do just as well or better if they'd been wearing jeans and a tank top. Secondly, I hate all ages events. You couldn't move 3 feet without someone checking for the incredibly tight blue wristband that entitled you to try and get service from the incredibly slow bar. We weren't even allowed to take drinks onto the floor in front of the stage! However, I had a good view from the steps where I was standing so I was pacified on that point. ANYway .. Joydrop was the second band (I was late getting there and missed the first one, Copyright). I've seen them 3 times now and this was by far their best showing. Their drummer is really fun to watch. I was a little distracted during their show 'cause I was looking for Bender. This bar was big, and packed, and I couldn't find him anywhere. After Joydrop, I snuck down to get a look at the setlist. It was exactly the same as the London show – which meant I was going to get to hear West Virginia again! here's the list Inhale Look What I Found That Song West Virginia Knee Deep Breakthrough Under The Lighthouse Mistake Undersold Blown Wide Open Ladylike Head In The Girl The Oaf Immigrant Song So, while I was waiting for BW, I wandered around the bar for a bit looking for Bender, then I tried to get a drink, got too frustrated waiting so I just went back to steps where I'd been standing. As soon as they stepped out on the stage I knew they were ready to put on a great show. here are just some random notes about the show - Look What I Found was so so so good. That one always stands out when they play it. - for the first few songs, Ian didn't say much, the songs just kind of flowed into one another – actually, he didn't say much all night – the only thing I really remember him saying was that they had a new CD out and that it's "really fucking good ..I think" - it was nice to see that Brian's and Dave's vocals were a little higher in the mix – I could actually hear Brian most of the time! – it was neat to see and hear the 3 of them all singing together during Mistake - to be perfectly honest – I think Ian sang better than ever last night. It was my 14th BW show and I was completely blown away by his vocals – especially in Knee Deep, I literally got a shiver up my spine - the crowd was really into them and I think they really fed off that – and it was nice to see that sometimes, like after Breakthrough and Mistake, there was real genuine applause, not just drunken screaming. - I have to say that I think that Undersold is a near-perfect rock song - Patrick (I believe that's who it was – I've seen him come out during for this song twice before) came out and played Ian's guitar during Immigrant Song – Brian and Patrick looked like they were having a hoot! – it was great, but I have to say Ian looks naked up on stage without a guitar - Forrest was so funny, flipping his sticks way, way up and then trying to catch them then, later, catching shit for smoking from a power-tripping security guy ummmm, what else – I can't think of anything – I should write these the night of – I can never remember it all the next day – that's probably enough for now.