There are a number of awesome free events going on around the GVRD, which I sadly haven't taken full advantage of yet. That's on the to-do list though. Tonight was the much-anticipated free Our Lady Peace concert at Richmond O-Zone which is a huge outdoor venue (Minoru Park?) with nightly shows and things. Had been looking forward to the concert, but almost couldn't make it due to my parents leaving to go play golf and leaving me stranded at home. Thankfully they got back in time and I ran out to catch a bus to the SkyTrain. The bus driver was quite amusing and talked to us the entire time about all sorts of things, and even had a little trivia thing when we got closer to Bridgeport station.



Managed to get to O-Zone by about 7:30 or so. The line up to get in through the entrance closest to Richmond Centre was insanely long, but just as I got there, a couple volunteers (I think?) on bikes started directing people at the end of the line to another entrance down the street. It was a much faster line, and going through security was just...walking through since I didn't have a bag. There wasn't anything happening on-stage since they were in the middle of a break for the medal ceremony for Christine Nesbitt and Patrick Chan's free-skate program, which they showed on the two big screens beside the stage. Friends had gotten seats on the bleachers, which was better than the giant mosh and crowd in front of the stage.

The Arkells started playing at 8:30. Not familiar with this band so I don't have much to say about them. They were decent, though. The crowds were clearly waiting for OLP though.



By the time 9:45 rolled around, almost the entire field was packed with people. OLP played most of their good old songs and a couple I couldn't really recognize. It didn't sound like they played too many from their new album, which I have yet to listen to. They did play Innocent, Is Anybody Home?, Somewhere Out There, and 4 am (the ones I could recognize and remember). Another interesting one was a cover of MGMT's Kids and mentioning something about some sign he saw about Vancouver being a nuclear-free city? Iunno.



By the end, we were all getting ridiculously cold. Next time, will have to remember to wear another layer underneath jeans. Getting out of the venue was horrible, too. People shoving and pretty much squished together like sardines... Guess people were cold too and really wanted to go home. Oh well. It was a good show nonetheless and I'm glad I didn't skip out like I'd been thinking of doing earlier in the day.

Besides, who could say no to free? =)