The night before Halloween at The Pageant in St. Louis turned out to be something I didn't expect....enjoyable.  I went to see Our Lady Peace perform for the first time in St. Louis in over 4 years and went with an open mind, but had reservations as well.  I love seeing a show at the Pageant.  There is an intimate feeling between the performers and the crowd just based on the fact that no matter where you are in the building you have a good "seat". 

In all honesty, I had heard of Our Lady Peace, but couldn't for the life of me think of any song they had played in the last few years.  With that in mind I felt as though I would be able to either enjoy the night or absolutely loathe it.  It's not that I couldn't see a band live that I didn't know and not appreciate what was happening around me, it's just that most people go and see bands that they are familiar with at the very least.

I got there around 8:15 and the first of the two opening bands was performing.  A band called Autovein from St. Louis, loved their sound so I felt like the night was heading in the proper direction.  Next up was a band from Chicago called Company of Thieves. Since it was the night before Halloween they were all dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz with Dorothy as the lead singer of course .  I enjoyed their sound as well, so I was feeling even better about checking out Our Lady Peace after seeing the two opening bands perform.

As it was getting closer to 10:00 I had a feeling that my mind would be made up in the next few minutes how I was going to remember seeing my first Our Lady Peace show and the band didn't disappoint.  Opening up with "Monkey Brains" from their newest album was a great way to open the show, and the graphics boards behind the band were a nice touch for the audience.  It only took 4 songs before I knew a tune, "Clumsy", and from there the night progressed very well. The energy in the crowd also continued to pick up as the show progressed making for a very pleasurable concert going experience. With a vast catalog to pull from, the band went through the 80 minute set with ease with a great ebb and flow to the night. Old favorites and cuts off the new record formed a nice and pleasing blend. 

At the beginning of the show, lead singer Raine Maida stated that it had been over 4 years since OLP had played in St. Louis and that the last time they were here is was a "dark time for the band". He and the band promised to make up for that night.  Those are big words coming from the voice of the band to his fans, but one thing is for certain, he gave at least one guy his best and I thoroughly enjoyed my night at the Pageant on Friday evening. Go check out Our Lady Peace if you get a chance, you will enjoy it. You can also pick up the brand new album from the band titled “Burn Burn” in stores now.


Our Lady Peace - 10/30/09 The Pageant - St. Louis, MO

1. Monkey Brains
2. Superman's Dead
3. Innocent
4. Clumsy
5. Paper Moon
6. Escape Artist
7. Is Anybody Home?
8. Somewhere Out There
9. Bring Back the Sun
10. One Man Army
11. Naveed
12. All You Did Was Save My Life
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13. 4 am
14. Automatic Flowers
15. In Repair
16. Starseed