Events

[ROCK] Winners of seven Juno awards, including five for Group of the Year, Canadian superstars Blue Rodeo were unknowns when they played the Erie County Fair in the late 1980s. A dispiriting show following an exhausting high school Battle of the Bands competition inspired their world-weary classic “What Am I Doing Here,” with its lyrics “On this useless night…/I stand in front of this ferris wheel…/And all the drunks just stumble by/And mumble their abuse.” Fortunately they didn’t hold the experience against WNY, as barely a summer has gone by in the past two decades in which they haven’t played here. Seamlessly integrating country and psychedelic rock a la The Byrds and The Band, Blue Rodeo was formed by high school friends Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, who remain the core of what is now a seven-piece ensemble that includes former Wilco multi-instrumentalist Bob Egan. In 2010 Keelor, traditionally the band’s intense lead guitarist, began experiencing hearing problems that nearly ended his touring days. But with the addition of guitarist Colin Cripps, the band has been able to find new strengths. With 30 years of hits behind them, Blue Rodeo is at the point of being unable to play all the songs that everyone wants to hear (after seeing them ten times I’m still hoping for a live performance of “Side of the Road.”) But you can count on them ceding the vocals of “Hasn’t Hit Me Yet” to the audience for what is always one of the most exhilarating moments of summer concertgoing. Opening the show this Tuesday, June 21 at Artpark is Etobicoke singer-songwriter Basia Bulat.