Swankilicous Sam Roberts'

Artist: Sam Roberts Band

Date: Saturday, June 13, 2015

Venue: Jackson Triggs Winery Amphitheatre (19+)

City: Niagara-On-The-Lake

Price: $80.00

Seats: General Admission

Genre: Canadian Rock

Overview:

The Sam Roberts Band (SRB) does not disappoint. I have seen SRB five times now in different venues all over ON and NY and each show is truly amazing rock and roll. This show was no different.

The weather was perfect. It was a warm and sunny summer night without too much humidity. Perfect for sundresses, sandals and dancing the night away.

This was a sold-out show…I was lucky to get tickets as he played three nights and they were all sold out.

I went with my lovely girlfriend Christina, who was nice enough to drive and put up with my shenanigans.

NOTE: This post will be short and sweet. I drank a few glasses of a lovely white Riesling (after drinking a few cans of cheap American beer) in the parking lot and spent a great deal of the night being a complete dipshit.

How I got turned on:

The first time I “saw” the Sam Roberts Band was in Wiarton Ontario at a Tragically Hip concert. It was a girls’ weekend up north and we spent the better half of the night trying to get into the beer tent and the rest of the night trying not to leave it. At one point we sold a beer for $20.00. Nevertheless, I have been a faithful Sam supporter ever since.

Vibe:

This was a pretty cohesive crowd, mostly couples in their 30s and 40s. With these types of expensive tickets you get a solid crowd who are devoted to the music and artist. Everyone stood up and danced and sang for every single song.

Venue:

I love outdoor venues in the summer and this was a beautiful vineyard amphitheater nestled in a little valley with rows and rows of grapevines behind us.

The winery itself reminded me a huge open-concept airplane hangar. I expected the winery to be an old, shady brick façade with earth tones and bad grapevine stencils in the bathrooms. It was completely modern, soaring and airy. From what I remember, the indoor bathrooms were elegant and appointed.

It was interesting concept for seating. There are rows of seats that line the slopes and they write your name on a sticker and you go and place your sticker on the chair where you want to sit. That way you can get up and sample the wine, explore the grounds and still come back to your same seat. That was a brilliant idea.

They had lovely little seating areas with outdoor couches and chairs on the brink of the vineyard where you could sit and sip a glass and take in the warm and sunny summer night.

The sound was good. We were seated in the front row, stage left, right in front of the speakers. Normally sitting in front of the speakers would be a bit overwhelming but after killing nearly a whole bottle of wine my hearing really didn’t matter.

Highlights:

The best moment of the night was taking a selfie with Sam himself after the show. He came down into the front row to shake hands, meet fans and take pictures. I kept trying to think of something smart and striking to say to capture his unfaltering attention, and all I could mutter was “say hi to Nugent for me”. He simply looked at me surprised and said “alright, I will”. Awful… just awful…. (NOTE: David Nugent is the lead guitarist and my favourite member of the band.)

He played all my favourite songs…Let It In, Golden Hour, Brother Down, Fixed To Ruin, Them Kids, We’re All in this together….it was really all I could have asked for. It was an ideal SRB set list on a perfect summer evening.

Lowlights:

I was a dipshit. Luckily I made friends with the lady beside me because I think I had to use her as a crutch a few times. Also, security didn’t let me back stage…apparently that is frowned upon!

In addition, he didn’t play anything from the new EP “Counting the Days”. I really like a tune off that EP called “Durban Days.”

One other tiny note of contention, we weren’t allowed to stand at the back of the venue behind the seats. Not sure, why, we weren’t blocking the movement of people or anyone’s view.

Tips/Notes:

If you go, get there early to get a seat in the middle. There are no bad seats, but we likely could have gotten closer to the middle. We had no trouble having a few pints sitting in the car in the parking lot. They likely don’t expect the wine-drinking crowd to be tail-gating.

They also have a small sampling of food trucks in case you get hungry.

Also, if you need to use the loo, go up to the main winery. There are port-a-potties available, but, the main winery isn’t far.

Outfit:

I was totally dolled up for this event. The weather was perfect and the venue was swanky, so I opted for a strapless black sundress. It had a beautiful crochet pattern overlay that showed a little leg and was stunning in the evening sunset. I opted for my hair down and one hippie braid for fun. I must have received about 10 compliments on that dress, so I must wear it again before the summer fades out.