The Watchmen Return to Ottawa

The Watchmen were one of my favourite bands in the 90s. Near the peak of their fame, I saw them perform at Barrymore’s when it still hosted live music. It was so long ago a new young band called Weeping Tile opened for them. Weeping Tile of course was Sarah Harmer‘s band before she went solo.

Unfortunately, the Winnipeg band went on hiatus a few years later and I never saw them again. For the past three years or so, they’ve been playing occasional shows in either Winnipeg or Toronto but no dates in Ottawa. I almost made the trip to Toronto for one of them but the timing didn’t quite work out.

I was ecstatic when they announced the Ottawa date and bought my tickets immediately. It was so great to see them perform live again. The band retained all their magic on stage. Although Mavericks is smaller than Barrymore’s, it was nice to be able to be even closer to the band as they performed. They filled up the club and it appeared that many of their old fans came out to see them once again. The crowd was very enthusiastic, one perhaps a little too much so. All in all it was a great night, but I hope I don’t have to wait 18 years for their next performance.