Chataeu Champlain

Introduction

While not as well known in collector’s circles as the Los Angeles or New York shows, this show is well worth picking up if you are interested in a quality Unplugged show.

Background

This was the 18^th of the 20 Unplugged North American dates that they played on the Convention tour in 1995. On July 26/95, the band played an acoustic set at the Music Plus Studios in Montreal (similar to that of a French MTV).

Video Specifics

The show was tripod shot from the back of the room. The filmer does a good job of zooming in and out but tends to get a little enamored with a bit too many closeups. Also, when the camera zooms in, the screen seems to be pixilated, which lowers the video quality. There are a few video cuts but by judging by the setlist, I don’t see anything that is obviously missing.

The Show

Comin’ Home- the viewer immediately sees a closeup of Gene’s face. The filmer then pans out to show the rest of the band. Paul nails the vocals. Prior to the next song, Paul says “ anytime today ’’. Eric seemed to be confused as to which song was next.

C’mon and Love Me- Instead of the album line “The lights are out and I can feel you, baby, with my hand ’’, Paul substitutes “ Your legs are out and I can feel you, baby, with my hand ’’. The audience sings the title of the song during the chorus.

Plaster Caster- Good vocals by Gene and a song that got better as the Convention tour progressed. Prior to the next song Paul leaned over to Gene and then he leaned over to Bruce and said something to each. A possible setlist change ?

Sure Know Something- the first big audience response of the show. Eric battles a problem mic but Paul and Bruce do a good job.

Nothin’ to Lose- I’m so use to hearing this song sung by Peter, it’s odd to hear Eric sing it. Eric does a good job but it just isn’t the same without Peter’s gravelly voice.

World Without Heroes- Gene asks “ do you want to hear something from the Elder ? ’’. The response isn’t overwhelming . The filmer uses a closeup on Gene for most of this song, which results in average video quality (see my comments in the “ Video Specifics ’’ section above).

Do You Love Me ?- the audience sings the spoken word intro. A standard version.

Domino- Gene is clowning around at the start of this song with model-esque poses. The acoustic version of this song works a lot better then the arena version, which tended to drown out the vocals. Gene makes hand gestures to “ help the audience ’’ during the spoken word ending.

Shandi- good Paul vocals highlight this version. It is too bad this song was never played on any North American tours.

Love Her All I Can- the audience sings more of it then Paul who only seems to know the chorus. The song is aborted after about 2 verses. There is a short cut in the video before Paul introduces the next song like this, “ as long as we are doing stuff from this period, lets do…’’

Black Diamond- Towards the end of the song around where Bruce’s solo takes place, Gene moves aside so someone at the “ Gene side of the room ’’ can take a picture of Eric singing. A decent version.

Let’s Put the X in Sex- Paul’s vocals are near screeching at points during this song. It is no wonder this was never done live during any of the arena tours.

Callin’ Dr. Love- the audience sings most, if not all, of the song. Gene and Paul only sing the chorus.

God of Thunder- a brief hillbilly version that was commonly done on this tour. Gene adds some great lyrics; “ when I was a little boy growing up in Sudbury, I didn’t have many girlfriends but I sure knew those farm animals ’’ J

Got to Choose- a well played version of this classic. Gene encourages the crowd to clap, their clapping quickly fades.

Spit- the audience sings most of this song while Gene made hand gestures on stage for most of the song, tossing in an occasional lyric or two. Paul totally forgot his vocal part in the song and just mouths some words thus getting a laugh from the audience.

Hard Luck Woman- one of the best songs on the Convention setlist and this version is no exception.

I- the audience sings most of the song and Gene, surprisingly, sings some of the words as well. Gene does a brief Elvis version (complete with stereotypical overly deep voice) at the end of the song. There is a short cut in the video prior to the next song.

Take Me- the song starts off with a false start but quickly begins again. The filmer spends a lot of time on Gene throughout this song. There is a brief film cut prior to the next song.

Christine Sixteen- the crowd sings the first part of the song. Not the best version.

Every time I Look at You- good vocals by Paul are ruined by guitar feedback throughout the song.

See You Tonight- a false start but the song gets back on track, highlighted by some surprisingly good vocals by Gene.

Love Theme- a very brief attempt at this “ classic ’’.

Rock Bottom- with the guitar intro by Paul and Bruce, Gene and Eric get up and jokingly leave the stage. Paul encourages them to come back. A quality version of this song is then played.

Almost Human- Gene remembers the first part of the song then can’t remember the rest. The song is then aborted.

I Was Made For Lovin’ You- this song begins with the usual guitar intro but is aborted by the band just before the lyrics would normally begin.

Eric leads in a version of a Jewish song that I can’t spell. Gene then sings part of a Hungarian song (presumably in Hungarian !). At the end of the song, Gene adds “ when you wanna get laid in Hungary, that is what you sing ’’ J

Goin’ Blind- another nice vocal outing by Gene. There is a video cut prior to the next song.

I Still Love You- without the guitar feedback, this song is much better then Every time I Look at You.

Heaven’s on Fire- the audience singing begins. A guy sings the first part of the song and does it rather well (including the opening). A woman sings the second part of the song and is not so great.

Million to One- an audience member yells out a request for this song. They song is quickly aborted after the first few notes.

Lick It Up- two guys sing this song. The first guy’s vocals sound like a cat being strangled while the second guy’s vocals are at least passable.

I Love It Loud- everyone in the audience sings this.

Love Gun- a guy in the crowd says he has been waiting 20 years to sing with the band. His vocals are a bit screechy but not god-awful. Paul gives him a thumb-up at the end of the song.

Deuce- an audience member does a nice version of this classic, complete with a scream (Yeah.....) at the end that would make Roger Daltrey proud.

Rock and Roll All Nite- the audience stands as does the band.

Overall

I found this tape to be very enjoyable with enough good versions of rare songs (or at least attempts in some cases) and enough goofing around by the band to make the show entertaining. Overall, an 8.5 out of 10.