My buddy Buzzard and I attended the Kathleen Edwards and Altameda show at the Winspear Centre last week. The main reason we went to this show was because of Altameda, a band we have both seen many times, but will always support as they are an awesome band and great guys as well.
We got to the venue early as we didn't want to miss Altameda and we wanted to get a few beers and sometimes the line ups for drinks at this venue is a nightmare. But because we were their fairly early there was no line ups for drinks and as we entered, the staff asked us where our seats were. We had tickets in the upper deck of the venue. They offered us upgraded seats on the floor, and hard copy tickets at that, which is rare these days, so of course we accepted. So obviously the show was far from sold out. We grabbed a couple of beers and went to our new seats. They were good seats but we were in the middle of the aisle and as per usual the guy in front of me had a big head blocking my view. Thanks for the upgraded seats but we decided to go to our original seats. By the time the show started I would say the venue was half full, so about 900 people would be my guess.
Altameda hit the stage precisely at 8pm. This would be my 16th time seeing them in concert and my third time seeing them perform as a duo. That being lead singer-songwriter and guitarist Troy Snaterse and Erik Grice on vocals and guitar as well. When they play as a full band, Erik is on drums and vocals. Originally from Edmonton Troy and Erik are now based in Toronto, so they perform as dup quite often out east. To see these two perform as a duo in a venue like the Winspear Centre was a treat with the awesome acoustics in the venue. Both are vert talented on guitar and their harmonies are so damn good.
The duo opened their 40 minute set with a brand new song that had just been released that day, a song called "Tracing" which was a song recorded during their Crazy Blue album recording. Troy and Erik's set on this night consisted of songs only from their last two albums 2025's Crazy Blue and 2022's Born Losers. Which was fine by me as I love both albums. Some of the songs played were, the title song "Crazy Blue", "Stuck In Your Ways", "Faint Of Heart" and "Sweet Laredo" all from said album. One surprise was they didn't play "Body Spray" from that album. And from Born Losers they played "Neon (And That's Why)", "Everybody's Gotta Bleed", "Dead Man's Suit" and there were others but I can't exactly recall all that was played. Their set was awesome, I just wish they had played longer. Hopefully one day they will headline the Winspear Centre.
Headlining the evening was Canadian artist Kathleen Edwards. This would be my 5th time seeing her in concert. I've never been a huge fan, but have to say every time I see her perform I enjoy her music that much more. She's got a great voice and is also a great songwriter. Her latest release Billionaire was actually produced by Jason Isbell. She has made some inroads across the border with her Americana sound.
Some of the songs I recognized in her hour and half long set were "Little Red Ranger", "Say Goodbye, Tell No One" and "When The Truth Comes Out" from her Billionaire album. I've listened to that album a few times before the show. It's quite good. A couple other titles I knew were "Six O'clock News" and "Hockey Skates" from her Voyageur album. I found Kathleen to be very engaging with her audience, telling some great stories. Her band is kick ass too!
To close out the night, for her encore, she brought out Troy and Erik of Altameda to do an awesome version of Neil Young's "Powderfinger", that was super cool. A great night of music. Good times!!!
T-shirt.
