My lack of familiarity with Boston led me to a late arrival at the club,
Avalon. It's one of many on Lansdowne Street's club row. Musicians entered clubs carrying instruments as I passed them. The radio WFNX van is parked outside Avalon. As I entered the club, it doesn't take me long to figure out that I've missed most of "Black Lab," the opening act. The doors only opened about an hour ago. They don't do things up here the way they do in Connecticut. There the warm up band would barely be getting started.

Avalon is a fairly large club. The lighting is dark and subdued, and a haze of smoke filters the red and purple lights. Standing room surrounds the stage area, with a few steps up along the perimeter of the room, where there are tables and the bars. There is a small bar at the entrance to the stage area on the right. Farther along the same wall is a larger semi-circular bar. College age people dominate the crowd. It's packed so tight it's impossible to get near the stage. I walked around the edge of the crowd trying to get to a spot where I could see. The crowd itself was individually fairly quiet, though collectively the din it created was deafening.

"Black Lab" is a good band. The first two songs I hear them play are heavy and loud. They don't sound like I expect them to from listening to them on the radio. The lead singer introduces their next song, a cover tune of DEVO's "Girl U Want" from the 1980 album "Freedom of Choice." The song really rocks while maintaining a "Devo" inspired mechanistic beat.  They played one more song before leaving the stage.

Roadies cleared the stage in preparation for "Our Lady Peace," and the crowd is somewhat restless, moving away from the stage to buy drinks and have conversation. A lot of them were there just to see "Our Lady Peace." I stood toward the back of the club, wondering how I'd manage to get through this crowd for pictures. Finally the lights began to dim. Pushing my way along the edge I moved toward the stage, and as I get closer I realize Avalon's set up is much like a stadium. They have an area in front of the stage barred off for two bouncers and photographers. I pushed my way through to the area's entrance, gaining admission from the bouncer on my side of the stage.

Suddenly the lights came up and the band members of "Our Lady Peace" hit the stage one at a time. Raine Maida and the band jumped right into "Automatic Flowers." It sounded better live than on the album! The crowd at my back was really into this. I could hear their screams as the band took off with an older song, "Birdman." I don't know this one, but I liked it live. Posters of the ventriloquist dummy flanked the stage. Mirror images, they faced each other and the barely visible "Our Lady Peace" logo between them.

The hit "Superman's Dead" was next. Maida's vocal was better live than on the CD, and you could tell he was really into it. Toward the end of the song, the band got softer and Maida spoke to the crowd about concerts and singing while watching his favorite bands when he was younger. He feels that's an important part of attending a show. Then it was back into the song, this time with crowd participation.

A song called "Naveed" was next. The song went instrumental as a video screen descended from the ceiling behind the band. The screen filled with what seemed to be movie out takes. The film degenerated into an old man's monologue, and I can't really hear much of what he's saying. A whip crack and static intermittently interrupted the film, and the effect was intentionally unsettling. Finally it faded entirely into fuzz. Maida spoke of angels before finally breaking back into the song.

Screeching guitars opened the next song.  Flashing white lights and crashing drums melted into the vocal and melody of "Car Crash." It's actually a bit softer than some of their other songs. Maida introduced the next song, explaining that it was about the day they shut the carnival down when he was a kid.  The soft, ethereal guitar of  "Carnival" began, and Maida sang "It's OK, it's all right," while spotlights illuminated the two ventriloquist dummies. This is my favorite song from their new album, "Clumsy," because it really gives an uneasy feeling of being off balance, just as a carnival should. The eerie synthesizer part at the end set a carnival-like mood in the Avalon, and combined with the tightly packed crowd, the effect was mesmerizing.

"Let You Down" is one of the songs I like the least from the album, but the intro live was fierce. Siren-like guitar and a spacey lead combine to create a new mood. Mike Turner leaned deeply over his guitar, playing intensely. "Hello Oskar" was next, and it's not one of their better songs. For me this was the low point of the concert.

After the song ended, and Maida asked "Is everybody OK?" he introduced the next song, "4 AM," explaining that it's a song about reading his soul and his brain, but most importantly reading his heart. It's one of their softer songs, using only guitar and vocal at the beginning. People moved away from the bars to listen, and it's very effective live. The song built louder, reaching a major climax. They followed it up with the song "Shaking" that also follows "4 AM" on the album.

The notes from the next song barely started when the guy behind me screamed, "This is the best song!" It's not one that I know, so I turned to ask him what it is. I'm not sure I'd call "Starseed" their best song, but it certainly was a crowd pleaser. Amid the feedback of the finish, Maida said "Good Night" into his mike. The band began to leave the stage, but this crowd is hungry for more. The stamping and clapping were incredible, vibrating the floor beneath my feet. I found myself adding to the general chaos and noise.

Finally, "Our Lady Peace" returned to the stage, launching into their big hit, "Clumsy." A few people began to crowd surf, twisting and turning as they were passed hand to hand above the audience. I moved from one side of the crowd to the other to get the full effect of the energy here, and see the stage from different angles. The crowd is really into this! Maida looks into the crowd and says that they've been to Boston four or five times, but this was the first time they really felt like they have a home there. The crowd cheered loudly in response. He announced the last song, saying that it was about life after death. It started off soft, but built to a cacophonous roar. I could feel the screaming metal leaching it's way through my ear plugs. I've never heard this song before, but it's really intense, perfect as a finale. The show ended with Maida's "Thank you. Good night. Thank you."