When I was in my early teens, my mother decided she needed to educate me on legendary musicians and bought me Uriah Heep’s Live January 1973 album, and it was eye-opening. Never in my wildest dreams I ever imagined I would ever see them live, but to my amazement the band announced their tour a few months back, which also included two Ottawa dates.

The band was originally formed in 1969 in London, England and over the course of their impressive career, have released 25 studio albums, eighteen live albums and 39 compilation albums, and by the 1980’s had gained a cult status especially in the UK and the US.

Uriah Heep at The Brass Monkey. Photo by Laura Collins.

Uriah Heep has seen multiple member changes, the only original member being guitarist Mick Box. The band has played with the current lineup since 2013, and the band’s Canadian singer Bernie Shaw has fronted the band since 1986.

You could feel the anticipation walking into The Brass Monkey on Tuesday night as the band was set to get on stage within the matter of minutes. The set started with Gypsy, Look at Yourself and Shadow of Grief, and the electric energy in the room was undeniable.

Uriah Heep at The Brass Monkey. Photo by Laura Collins.

Shaw chatted up the crowd in between songs, and the adoring crowd in front of the stage was taking it all in. He mentioned he would have never thought they would still be playing the songs from the 1970’s still in 2018, and received warmhearted laughter from the audience.

The band was still rocking like in their hay day and it is easy to see why they sold out two back to back shows in Ottawa’s west end.

Lady in Black finished the main set and got the people singing on top of their lungs. The band returned on stage for an encore, and the song choice was the obvious Easy Living’ as there would have not been a show without the band’s biggest hit.

The Brass Monkey released an additional sixty tickets yesterday for tonight’s show, which are available to purchase in person at the venue.

Event page can be found here.

Tuesday night setlist:

  1. Gypsy
  2. Look at Yourself
  3. Shadow of Grief
  4. Stealin’
  5. The Law
  6. Sunrise
  7. Magician’s Birthday
  8. One Minute
  9. Between Two Worlds
  10. July Morning
  11. Lady in Black
  12. Encore: Easy Livin’

 

By Laura Collins