A Piece Of Canadian Rock History, As Rheostatics Play Final Show

I can't back it up with statistics, but there's a good chance that I've seen The Rheostatics more than any other band over the past 20 years. When the group were firing on all cylinders, there were few better. But there was also a period in the late '90s and early this decade when I rarely went to their shows because their choice of material and performances had become a bit too arty and proggy for my tastes.

But they seemed to swing back around over the past five years and, while their shows could still occasionally be hit and miss, their batting average rivaled their early days when they were the Albert Pujols of the Canadian indie rock scene.

So it was strange last week, when I witnessed the Rheos' final two shows — a Thursday night gig at the Horseshoe Tavern, where they've staged marathon 10 consecutive night residencies over the last several years, and Friday at a sold-out Massey Hall.

While I'd like to say that their final performance was their best ever, singer/guitarist Martin Tielli was suffering from a severe voice problem that he's consulting doctors about, and it looked and sounded painful when he belted out his numbers. But he pushed as hard as possible, not wanting to disappoint diehard fans who had travelled from across Canada and the U.S. to witness this piece of history.

Luckily, guitarist Dave Bidini and bassist Tim Vesely also sing, and one of the most interesting things about the band has always been their egalitarian sharing of songs and vocal duties. And while I was disappointed not to hear "Introducing Happiness" or "The Ballad Of Wendel Clark" (or anything else from their 1987 Greatest Hits debut, for that matter) as I did at the Horseshoe the previous night, they didn't leave much else behind during their eclectic three-and-a-half-hour show.

When The Lowest Of The Low guitarist Steve Stanley and 102.1 The Edge announcer Dave Bookman came out to give the band an eloquent and amusing musical introduction written by Bookie, all that was missing from a Midi Ogres reunion was former Pigfarm member John DesLauriers and Bidini sliding in behind the drum kit. But that mid-'90s band only played a handful of gigs and released one single, while the Rheos have an extensive 13-album catalogue to draw from. And draw from it, they did.

The proceedings opened, just as they did on the group's 1997 Double Live album, with the sprawling "Saskatchewan." The band then showcased their "original new wave rock" with "Me And Stupid,' before Vesely's "Bad Time To Be Poor" (which next to "Claire," which was played in the encore, was probably the closest the group had to a radio hit) offered something for the less hardcore fans in the audience. Though by the requests, compliments and farewell wishes that kept being yelled out, it didn't seem like there were too many of them in attendance.

Bidini sang "When Winter Comes," which name-checks The Band, and he also made a Levon Helm reference during one of the many between-song banter sessions, which was fitting since this show sort of had the aura of The Last Waltz — except instead of appearances by Neil Young and Van Morrison, former Rheos drummers Dave Clark and Don Kerr, former Bourbon Tabernacle Choir member Chris Brown and keyboardist Ford Pier (who was onstage for much of the show) were the special guests.

Other highlights of the two-hour main set included "King Of The Past," "Aliens (Christmas 1988)," "Shaved Head" and "My First Rock Concert," which featured actors playing Bidini, two cops and Joe Jackson to act out an incident relayed in the lyrics.

After a five-minute standing ovation, the band returned and lit into Whale Music's first two songs, "Self Serve Gas Station" and "California Dreamline," before the aforementioned "Claire." Bidini gave a sarcastic dedication to Prime Minister Stephen Harper before launching into an impassioned, almost Crazy Horse-like, version of "Horses," which came complete with a Talking Heads' "Crosseyed And Painless" interlude. Just as frenzied was the take on "RDA (Rock Death America)," which led into Bidini and Pier going to the front of the stage to play percussion on, and then wrestle over, a pair of goalie pads. Tielli sang "Dope Fiends And Boozehounds" next, before saying "See you soon" as the group received another standing ovation.

The crowd enthusiasm was enough to draw the band out again, and they all sat with their legs hanging over the front of the stage to sing their homespun concert staple, "Legal Age Life At Variety Store," with Bidini playing acoustic guitar and the audience singing heartily along. The Rheos then hopped off the stage and walked down the centre aisle to the middle of the historic venue and, as they sung "Record Body Count," a handful of acrobatic followers formed an impromptu human pyramid beside them.

It was clear that neither the audience nor the band wanted to leave, as numerous heartfelt "thank yous" were dealt out during a third thunderous standing ovation. But the house lights came on, and that was it — the end of an era. It was great to see a group who I've seen in relatively small clubs for years get that kind of response from a few thousand people, and I started feeling simultaneous tingles of pride, excitement and remorse, so I can only imagine the gamut of emotions that the band must have been experiencing.

I went to the Horseshoe afterward to see Pointed Sticks, a Vancouver power-pop band who recently reformed for a handful of shows 26 years after breaking up. They were tight and looked like they were having a great time. So even though all The Rheostatics members will be well into their sixties or even seventies, I'm pencilling in a 2033 return date for one geriatric concert blowout.