Almost exactly a year after their show with Limblifter, Odds have returned to the Commodore, bringing another fun opening act with them!

This year, they were joined by Strippers Union, who hit the stage with the lead singer proclaiming how honoured they were to be opening for a very prestigious act like Odds. That lead singer, of course, being Craig Northey, as the supergroup was a collaboration between him and Rob Baker from The Tragically Hip, with Simon Kendall from Doug & the Slugs and other members of Odds rounding out the band.

Kicking off with “Invitation” from their 2021 double album, The Undertaking, their set sounded exactly like you would hope from the combination of Odds & the Hip. Rob ripped on guitar through songs like the haunting “Nothing Can Bring You Back” and “Bullet-Proof White Limo”, which he also took over lead vocals for. And Odds catchiness was on full display with songs like “Give Up and Go Away”, from their debut album Local 518.

They wrapped up the set with the incendiary “Shake It Off (Walking With The King of Funk)”, with Craig mentioning it was their first time playing in quite some time, but hopefully not the last. And after the brief set, I would love to see them again soon.

After a break, it was time for Odds as Craig Northey, Doug Elliott, Murray Atkinson, and Kurt Dahle took the stage, launching into an immediate singalong to “It Falls Apart”. Their set weaved through their entire catalogue, going as far back as their first album Neopolitan with the energetic “Love Is the Subject”, up to “Staring at a Blank Page” from their most recent Crash the Time Machine.

Throughout the night they bubbled with energy, joking with the crowd & teasing each other, giving away ‘industry secrets’ like the requirements for all 90s music videos before going into “King of the Heap” (the video hitting every one). And that energy poured off stage through songs like the classic “Make You Mad”, the Who-esque “Write It in Lightning”, and the deceptively dark “Nothing Beautiful”.

Unfortunately, Murray wasn’t able to sing for the show, so his usual songs were shared; Craig took over “Eat My Brain”, and Atkinson split vocal duties with Doug for a rare appearance of one of my favourite of theirs, “Heterosexual Man” — before the song, Northey joked they had to retire it for a while because somehow people weren’t getting the satire.

After Elliott took lead vocals on “Truth Untold “, Craig announced they would be inviting up a fan who posted a cover of the next song on their Instagram... only for Vancouver blues legend Colin James to hit the stage and close out the main set with the eternally catchy “Someone Who’s Cool”.

Odds made the crowd work for the encore, but they were back out with Rob Baker & Simon Kendall to play their tribute to Gord Downie, “Walk Among the Stars” as another special guest crept on stage to join in on the chorus, Craig’s Trans-Canada Highwaymen bandmate Steven Page!

Page got the crowd to give it up for the band and introduced his attempt at writing an Odds song, launching into the Barenaked Ladies hit “It’s All Been Done” and following it with one of my favourite BNL tunes, “Old Apartment” with the Commodore singing along in excitement. As the song wrapped up, they segued into the chorus of “Hey Jude” for a big finish to the night, everyone on stage celebrating.

Near the end of the set, the band teased they were trying to make this an annual thing, with ‘Odds Feb Fest’ bringing out special guests and surprises every year. And if these last two shows are any indication, I’ll definitely be back next year.

Odds setlist
It Falls Apart
Make You Mad
Satisfied
Write It in Lightning
Staring at a Blank Page
King of the Heap
Nothing Beautiful
Anything You Want
Eat My Brain
He Thinks He Owns You
Not a Lot Goin’ On
Radios of Heaven
Car Crash Love
Heterosexual Man
Love Is the Subject
Truth Untold
Someone Who’s Cool
(encore)
Walk Among the Stars
It’s All Been Done [Barenaked Ladies Cover]
Old Apartment [Barenaked Ladies Cover]

Strippers Union setlist
We Are the Underworld
Nothing Can Bring You Back
High
Bulletproof White Limo
Making Strange
Give Up & Go Away
Shake It Off (Walking With the King of Funk)