By Alexa Thorp
Residents looking to fill the void left by the NHL lockout can find some comfort in the city’s diverse fall concert lineup.
“I’m not missing hockey,” says Ian Boyd, co-owner of Compact Music. “I’d prefer to go see a band in a second than go see a hockey game.”
Venues have been adding new concerts weekly since the beginning of September.
The Tragically Hip will be at the Civic Centre on Nov. 28 for their third show in less than six months, while Matthew Good scheduled his third show of the year at the Captial Music Hall on Oct. 25.
“It’s a very exciting time for Ottawa. Now we’ve got venues for all capacities, from Zaphod’s to clubs for independent artists, to DJs, to the Rainbow for blues,” Boyd explains.
Many bands used to skip Ottawa in favour of dates in Toronto and Montreal.
This year many bands are playing in Ottawa as well as other bigger Canadian cities. R.E.M. is one band making their first-ever stop in Ottawa at the Civic Centre on Nov. 11. The band has concerts scheduled in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, as well.
It’s hard to say exactly why more bands are stopping in Ottawa or why there are more concerts this year. Murielle Varhellyi, Barrymore’s Music Hall’s talent buyer, says that it has to do with the opening of the Capital City Music Hall.
“We haven’t had a decent-sized venue in Ottawa in years,” she explains.
Varhellyi says that before the Capital City Music Hall opened, there was no middle-ground between the smaller venues like Barrymore’s and the larger venues like the Civic Centre.
Now that Ottawa has a mid-sized club, the bigger-name bands are playing here and fans don’t need to travel to other cities to get their music fix.
Centretown resident Rob Leger is one of many Ottawa residents forced to travel to Toronto and Montreal for big-name concerts.
His fall concert plans include R.E.M., the Tragically Hip, and the American jamband ‘.moe’ performing at the Capital City Music Hall on Nov. 10.
Leger’s fall concerts are all in Ottawa.
“The music is great,” he says happily. “There’s always a show going on. You can always find some great music.”
Even though the city’s getting more attention from the music industry, music fans shouldn’t expect a sudden wave of announcements for concerts at the Corel Centre.
“NHL commissioner Gary Bettman advised all teams they are free to release building dates up to 30 days into the future beginning on Sept. 15 and continuing each day until further notification,” said Ottawa Senators General Manager Roy Mlakar in a press release.
According to Corel Centre spokesperson Tim Pattyson, the rest of the NHL games beyond the 30-day window are still booked at the Corel Centre. But at the same time, Pattyson says that the arena is constantly looking to book more concerts.
The Corel Centre does have a couple of concerts this fall, including a recently announced Beastie Boys show on Nov. 10. The rest of Ottawa’s busy concert calendar is booked for downtown venues such as Barrymore’s.
Barrymore’s spokesman Matt Lambert says that several concerts in the coming weeks are sold out or nearly sold out. Australia’s rising star and one-man band Xavier Rudd played to a sold-out house Sept. 30.
“This is the busiest time of the year,” says Lambert. “It’s picking up as the touring bands start their fall tours.”