Last night, for the third time in 15 years, I saw the Rural Alberta Advantage live. For the second time in a row, Lindsay missed them play because she was sick. Luckily I was meeting Shannon & Warren there, for their first time seeing the RAA. (On the way out we bumped into Mike & Heather too.)

Speaking of first times: how had I never seen a show at History before? What an great venue. Big space, excellent sightlines, fantastic sound, lots of bar & bathroom capacity, even a seated mezzanine area that looks pretty enticing.

Anyway, the concert: fantastic. They’re always good, but this was top-notch. The first time I saw them live they were just starting out, playing in a tiny venue (Lee’s Palace), and you were really immersed in that energy. Last night, in front of 10x as many people, it still felt that way. Maybe it’s because they were back in their hometown. Whatever it was, it worked. Lots of stuff from the new album, but plenty of old favourites like “Tornado ’87” and “Frank, AB”…all the Alberta disaster singalong songs, really.

The setlist:

• CANDU
• Bad Luck Again
• Don’t Haunt This Place
• 3 Sisters
• Four Night Rider
• Tornado ’87
• Vulcan, AB
• AB Bride
• Drain the Blood
• Stamp
• North Star (Nils solo)
• Don’t Wake Up
• White Lights
• Plague Dogs
• Edmonton
• Frank, AB
• Brother
• Terrified
• —ENCORE—
• In the Summertime
• Alright
• Conductors
• The Dethbridge in Lethbridge