The first band of the evening was the local band Sam The Living (Dylan Greenhough). Their music was a mix of 70's rock and folk. I had never heard them before but thought they were alright. Playing a 45 minute set, started strong but after about a half hour found myself getting bored, overall though not too bad.
Next up was Altameda who are on the road in support of their fourth album and latest release Crazy Blue. Their new album which came out just weeks before their show here. An album I was really looking forward to hearing, and was not disappointed. Like their 2022 album Born Losers, it is an album that grows on you with every listen, I absolutely love it! What I do find very odd about the last two albums is that nowhere on the album does it mention the band members names or who wrote the songs, makes no sense to me. Anyways, a little about the show.
This would be my 15th time seeing Altameda live. What was different about this show was that they performed as a duo, just lead singer/guitarist Troy Snaterse and Erik Grice who is usually on drums both playing acoustic guitars for this show. When Troy and Erik moved to Toronto in 2020 the rest of the band stayed in Edmonton. So quite often they only perform as a duo, but every show in Edmonton is always full band. The bass player had broke his foot prior to the Edmonton show so they only performed as a duo, which was cool to see. I had seen the as a duo once before back in 2019 when they did a free in-store performance at Blackbyrd Myoozik.
Their set on this night was about an hour long with all the songs performed on this evening being from their last two albums only. Which was cool by me as I love both albums. They played a half dozen songs from Crazy Blue including the album title song as well as "Body Spray", "Alexander", "Life Is A Desert" and "Stuck In Your Ways", at least I believe those are the ones they did, I could be wrong, after all the show was a few weeks ago now. There was also songs from Born Losers, again, I believe they played "Neon (And That's Why)", "Everybodys Got To Bleed", "Nightmare Town". They even through in a cover of the Big Star song "Thirteen". I loved the harmonies between Troy and Erik, don't always get that as strong when Erik is on drums and with the full band, but this show it really stood out. Just an awesome set by Altameda. Canada's Simon and Garfunkel.
Headlining the evening was Vancouver's Yukon Blonde who are on the road touring for their latest release Friendship & Rock 'N' Roll which came out in late September, not only are the promoting the new album but also celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band. This would be my second time seeing Yukon Blonde live, the last time being in December 2012 when they played a free in-store show at Permanent Records here in Edmonton.
While I don't know their tunes all that well, the band played a solid show with the crowd dancing and singing along. I did listen to their latest release prior to the show and think it is a damn good record. I'll be honest and admit I did spend a good portion of their set at the back of the venue chatting it up with Troy and Erik of Altameda.
What I did see and hear of Yukon Blonde's set it was rocking with the band looking to have a lot of fun up on stage. The band took turns sharing lead vocals on some songs, all were strong on vocals and their instruments. I wish I could tell you more of what songs they played and such, but I can't. For the encore Troy and Erik of Altameda joined Yukon Blonde for a great version of the T Rex song "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" a great ending to a very fun night. Good times!!!
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