I took in the Echo & the Bunnymen concert in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at the Canadian National Exposition grounds on the evening of Tuesday, October 20th. I previously knew nothing about the band other than that they were a well regarded new wave band from the eighties out of England - with a very cool name. Part of the reason I decided to attend is that the Queen Elizabeth Theatre is an intimate 1000 or so seat theater located just a very short commuter train ride away from me.
The doors were to open at 7:00 PM - and they did, but just the external doors and we were left standing in the lobby until 8:00 PM, which I found more than a bit annoying. A table was set up where fans could buy some nicely designed t-shirts of the band but there really was little to do but mill about. Event staff did eventually come around with a plate or two of sushi hor d'oevres to mollify the crowd.
The theater looked sold out. Echo & the Bunnymen proceeded to play - but basically in the dark with just a few coloured spotlights for illumination. It was actually quite difficult to make out the keyboard player in the dark back there. They sounded like a very reasonable tight band and I found myself relaxing and just listening to the music after a few minutes. The problem though was that I didn't recognize a single number that they played. I really should have bought their greatest hits compilation prior to the concert because that's evidently what they played. The lead singer, Ian McCulloch , really didn't put on any kind of a show - and neither did the rest of the fellows. Ian just stood there and sang but evidently he's lost part of his vocal range although this wasn't apparent to me since I wasn't familiar with any of their material. They played for about an hour and then broke for an intermission.
For the second set they brought out a ten to fifteen (you couldn't count them in the dark back there) piece chamber orchestra with strings and woodwinds together with a conductor. Echo & the Bunnymen then proceeded to perform their critically acclaimed "Ocean Wind" album. All in all, I found it quite pleasant and relaxing, a bit too relaxing since I found myself dozing off prior to the end of the show. Hey, we felines are like that!
The audience seemed happy with the show and continued to hoot and holler until the band came out for an encore. Two more songs and it was over.
Overall I left positively disposed to picking up this greatest hits compilation:
I actually should have bought the compilation a week prior to the concert so that I could have familiarized myself with the band's material. I'll avoid making that mistake for the Cranberries who are scheduled to play at the Queen Elizabeth Theater later this month.
Echo & the Bunnymen - in concert! 
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