For the second time in a week I was back at the Danforth Music Hall last Thursday, this time for the Rural Alberta Advantage. Like Mogwai earlier in the week, I’d seen them before at a much smaller venue (also Lee’s Palace), and it was impressive to see them now selling out this much larger venue. On back to back nights, no less.

So, no more Amy Cole, but the rest was the same: high energy from Nils Edenloff, absolutely outstanding drumming by Paul Banwatt (it’s safe to say he’s one of my favourite drummers right now), and the typical RAA barnburner of a show. If you haven’t seen them live, and experienced hundreds of people singing along to the voice of a lover buried under a rockslide, you need to. With the retirement of The Tragically Hip (side note: they dedicated “Stamp” to Gord Downie) and the semi-retirement of The Rheostatics, I stand by my contention that The RAA is the most Canadian bank working today.

Setlist:

1. White Lights
2. Muscle Relaxants
3. Don’t Haunt This Place
4. Bad Luck Again
5. Tornado ’87
6. Vulcan, AB
7. Our Love…
8. Brother
9. Runners in the Night
10. Beacon Hill
11. Four Night Rider
12. Alright
13. Stamp
14. Edmonton
15. Frank, AB
16. In the Summertime
17. Wild Grin
18. Terrified

Encore:

1. The Build
2. Dead / Alive
3. Drain the Blood
4. The Dethbridge in Lethbridge

.:.

Cover photo from X929