Our Lady Peace

with The Doves and The Tender Idols

On The Bricks Concert Series, Centennial Park, Atlanta, GA • June 22, 2001

Andrea Thompson

My faith in free concerts has been renewed. I’ve never been much of a fan of city events; parking is a bitch, everyone’s drunk and on their way to a fight or throwing up, scorching temperatures, not to mention the smell of urine and vomit that usually forces you to leave. However, the Our Lady Peace show (part of 99X’s On The Bricks concert series at Centennial Park) was a far cry from that. Security was great, some of the 20,000-some-odd fans were drinking but nowhere close to unruly, and amazingly enough, everyone seemed to know where the portolets were located.

“ti”

It has stormed violently every Friday since this series started, and this Friday was no exception. Thankfully, though, the storm blew in early, and then blew right out of town, leaving the night air sweet, balmy, and wonderfully summer Southern. The sun was just fading when the opening band, The Tender Idols, took the stage. The Tender Idols are a Britpop band that thankfully enough doesn’t rely on memories of their favorites to get the job done. Original and fresh, they churned out some great rhythms and grinding power pop. Deep, unquestionable roots in the English sound from days past brought up to speed with a new flare of talent and undeniable fervor.

I didn’t think much of The Doves. They were droning, repetitive, and definitely not my bag. I meant to take a few photos, but couldn’t face the 100-foot journey to the stage. There was no way I wanted to be up close and personal with that racket.

“olp1”

Our Lady Peace was a completely different game. This band is what makes A&R guys drool over the thought of the money they could make. Lead singer Raine Maida’s voice is harsh on the pop numbers, and a little whiny on the bridges, but overall, it’s more unique than anything going. The wall of fans knew every song by heart, and gave back every ounce of love OLP put out. Maida pushed his range in, out, and over the top, driving everyone in the crowd into a growing state of madness. This band was built to do this job, and commanded the stage like 20-year veterans.

Any band that gets as much pop radio airplay as this one usually has to do at least some mandatory sucking, but they don’t. They’ve found a way to embody the worst of heartache, the sweetest of love, and the anger that follows love gone wrong. The ballads were as good as or better than the fast tunes, and they made the transition without any noticeable effort. Fans got every thing they came for, and everyone walked away humming their favorites.

“olp2”

All in all, it was a great time had by all. Can’t wait for the next one! ◼