'We're really excited': Our Lady Peace's frontman Raine Maida ready to rock Mosaic Stadium with new songs
'Everyone is the salt of the earth there,' says Maida, reflecting on time spent in Sask.
The frontman for Our Lady Peace says to open Regina's new Mosaic Stadium is "pretty special."
Raine Maida is excited about his band performing the venue's inaugural concert on Saturday along with Bryan Adams and Johnny Reid.
- Bryan Adams will perform first concert at new Mosaic Stadium
-
Here's what you need to know about Regina Rocks at the new Mosaic
"We've opened up arenas before, but to open up a brand new stadium, that's pretty special," said Maida.
Although the stadium will have a draw of its own as the new home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, this show will be even more special for fans of Our Lady Peace. Along with the classics from the 1990s, the band will be playing some fresh material.
We always look on Saskatchewan and Regina especially fondly.- Raine Maida
"We're going to play a couple new songs that we're really excited about and it's been a while since we put out any new material," said Maida.
A few of those new tunes will have elements from some of Our Lady Peace's older songs, but others will involve some experimentation, especially with rhythm.
"As artists you try to push yourself so you don't want to fall back on old habits too often," Maida said. "We let ourselves do that for half the record, and the other half feels like it's trying to push that creative element."
New material aside, you will see a confident group on stage. That's one of the biggest changes from Our Lady Peace's shows 20 years ago, said Maida.
"I feel much more at ease on stage and confident and more excited just to go and play music now and not worry about the little things," he said.
"Back then, there's so much stuff going on on the periphery. It's hard to just really be in the moment. And I think now, as a band, when we are on stage, [we're] just completely 110 per cent in the moment, which is an amazing place to be."
Our Lady Peace is no stranger to prairie stages.
"We always look on Saskatchewan and Regina especially fondly," said Maida. "Everyone is the salt of the earth there ... it's a great province."
The concert is serving as a second test for the new stadium. It follows the October test event where the University of Regina Rams played the University of Saskatchewan Huskies before 16,500 fans.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
