The Headstones celebrate 25 years of Picture of Health

Twenty-Five years ago The Headstones released their debut album Picture of Health, heralding the arrival of one of the great Canadian rock bands of the 90s. They quickly made a name for themselves with an intense live show and exhaustive touring of Canada. This album remained so important to their repertoire that even, twenty-five years and nine albums later, it still makes up a significant chunk of their current shows’ playlists. This tour, however, gave the band an opportunity to play the album in its entirety. Of course, there was a nod to nostalgic for their longtime fans to hear some music they have not experienced live in quite some time. However, it also gave the newer fan the opportunity to experience what it was like to see the band during that time period, or as close as possible anyway.

Vocalist Hugh Dillon was a little more reflective than usual, and definitely not in the mood for the constant distraction of cell phones which he asked the audience to put away. He took to sharing stories all the way from their beginnings to today, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. One of the latter being his account of waking up in the hospital after an overdose; even then he thanked the junkies for bringing him to the hospital instead of leaving him to die. He also shared the story of how a bunch of wonderful guys from Kingston helped straighten him out and set the band on the right path. Those boys, of course, became The Tragically Hip.

As for the performance, they were all in fine form. Even though the Bronson Centre is a theatre and not a bar, he traversed the entire venue; walking through the pit area, both sides of the floor and even though the balcony getting close to all of the fans for at least part of the show. It was an incredible night of rock n roll, and I am looking forward to the 25th Anniversary of Teeth & Tissue.