By Steve Newton
Larry Anschell has come through yet again for music lovers who enjoy hearing great bands in concert.
The head of Turtle Recording Studios–who has previously supplied Ear of Newt with archival live recordings of Rik Emmett, Kick Axe, Jeff Healey, Pat Travers, and Paul Rodgers (with guitarist Neal Schon)–recently sent me audio of a concert that Vancouver pop-rock icons Odds played after the release of their 1991 debut album, Neopolitan.
Producer/engineer Anschell–who captured the show with the Turtle Mobile Recording Truck–says he’s “pretty damn sure” that this gig took place at the Town Pump, although he’s not positive about the date. We do know that the Odds lineup at the time featured singer-guitarists Craig Northey and Steven Drake, bassist Doug Elliott, and drummer Paul Brennan.
Because Odds only had one album out at the time, they played pretty well the whole damn thing. The only song off the 13-track Neopolitan that didn’t make the setlist was the one-minute and 45-second ditty, “Are You Listening?”.
To make up time they also threw in covers by Love, the Trashmen, and–as you might expect from a quirky combo like Odds–Engelbert Humperdinck.
Hilariously, because it was being recorded for a live broadcast, the word “fucking” gets bleeped out six times during the fourth song, “Wendy Under the Stars”.
(If anyone can help identify the second-to-last selection, please let me know in the comments.)
Setlist:
1. “Evolution Time” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
2. “Eternal Ecstasy” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
3. “Family Tree” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
4. “Wendy Under the Stars” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
5. “Spanish Eyes” (song by Engelbert Humperdinck, 1968).
6. “Big White Wall” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
7. “King of the Heap” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
8. “My Little Red Book” (song by Love, 1966).
9. “Trees” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
10. “Domesticated Blind” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
11. “Truth or Dare” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
12. “Surfin’ Bird” (song by the Trashmen, 1963).
13. “No Warning” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
14. “Love is the Subject” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
15. unidentified song
16. “Horsehead Nebula” (from Neopolitan, 1991).
Have a listen:
Hardcore Odds fans should note that the band is scheduled to play Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom on February 20, 2026, with guests Strippers Union–featuring Craig Northey and guitarist Rob Baker from the Tragically Hip–and you can find tickets here.
To hear the full audio of my interviews with Craig Northey from 2003 and 2021 subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 600 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with musicians since 1982.
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