Our Lady Peace concert cut short by storm

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/08/2016 (3537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINNEDOSA — Rockin’ The Fields went out with a bang on Sunday night, although Mother Nature delivered the final number instead of headliner Our Lady Peace.

The Toronto band was held to three songs before lightning cut their set short.

But despite the quick ending, Rockin’ The Fields vice-president Brian Wenham said the weekend chalks up as a success.

He figures attendance to be between 4,500-5,000, which is more than the year previous.

Wenham said the decision to pull OLP off the stage was made by their band manager and the sound technicians who had “million-dollar equipment to protect.”

“It was quite the light show out here,” he said.

The band’s Instagram account posted a message: “We are so sorry the show had to be stopped but the safety of the fans, the event staff, bands, our crew and lastly ourselves comes first. … Hope to see you all again soon.”

“We want everybody to have a good time but we have to try and keep everyone safe here too,” added Wenham.

After the storm passed, organizers reopened the Heritage Co-op Second Stage, where Rock Candy finished off the 2016 edition of the festival.

On Friday night, headliner 54-40 received mixed reviews from the Rockin’ the Field crowd, but Loverboy’s dance-along, bra-flinging performance was no disappointment to Minnedosa’s festival-goers on Saturday.

The Manitoba Credit Union main stage started Saturday with Kelowna-based The Grapes of Wrath. Fighting the curse of an early 7 p.m. slot and the backdrop of a still-high sun, their crowd was small and well behaved.

Most then allowed themselves to be herded to the venue’s second stage, drawn by the raucous sound of Brandon’s own Tremendous Dynamite. However, the outdoor concert didn’t truly start until the introduction of Sloan, a rock quartet from Halifax.

The sun finally a peachy haze after a 28 C day, the babes of the seventies — and who appeared to be their children — crawled from crowded campgrounds.

Many were waiting for Loverboy to take the stage so when the “Turn Me Loose” singers did, it was to a cheering crowd.

The band started their set with “Notorious” and lead singer Mike Reno worked the audience members closest to him, strutting back and forth on the stage.

Loverboy rolled easily from one song to the next, only pausing briefly to announce the real start of their show when what looked like a bra was flung on stage.

Reno carried the women’s top by a single strap before hanging it on the drum set platform and mockingly bowed down to it.

Few in the audience remained sitting and the large majority danced or sung along at the bottom of the natural amphitheatre.

Strategically or not, Loverboy said goodnight at 12 a.m., 15 minutes before the band was scheduled to end.

The audience quickly became rowdy, but it was with success they chanted “One more song, one more song.” 

Returning to the stage one final time — with a “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” rendition that lasted nine minutes thanks to Paul Dean on guitar — Loverboy closed their show.

Despite being among the youngest in the crowd at 18, Newdale’s Rudy Pedersen thought Loverboy did “a heck of a job.”

“It’s going great… hands are up, arms are in the air,” Pedersen said.

Wenham said tickets are already on sale for next year.

“We hope that everyone else comes back for next year – hopefully we can get even better acts,” he said.

“Thank you to everyone that came out.”

» aantoneshyn@brandonsun.com, with files from Tom Bateman

» Twitter: @AAntoneshyn