CALGARY - Maybe it's an age thing, but it seems to me, the older you get the more you want the weekends to be about comfort and familiarity. Excitement on a Saturday night is something you'd gladly give up for old friends and relaxing rapport. Which is why last night's Saddledome show by Canadian music veterans Blue Rodeo was such an entertaining way to spend the evening. Again.

Having seen them easily a dozen times over the years, in various settings, in various incarnations, you'd think a certain malaise would set in.

And you'd also think yet another visit from Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, and Co. would hold all the appeal of a MASH rerun -- not a Frank Burns, Trapper John, Henry Blake episode, mind you, more a Charles Winchester, B.J. Hunnicut, Sherman Potter era show. But no, not even kind of.

The two things Blue Rodeo are is consistent and consistently good.

That hasn't changed over the course of the country-rock act's 20 years on this nation's musical landscape. They showed that during a solid and sensational set that mixed up the old with the new.

From Til I Am Myself Again from 1990's Casino, to the healthy dose of new material, such as Rena and the title cut from the T.O. band's latest CD Are You Ready, Blue Rodeo established early on in the show that it was the same band old-timers and newcomers have fallen in love with over the years.

They accomplished that by sounding contemporary, yet traditional, making the unestablished songs sit confidently with the tried and true FM radio staples.

The group -- featuring the core of songwriters Cuddy and Keelor -- kept the energy level respectably high, even during a brief acoustic set that had them seated.

Any other act may have unintentionally mellowed a Saturday night audience with that mid-stream strumming. But they've been around long enough to know how to play those quiet, contemplative moments, even in a barn like the 'Dome, sounding intimate in a setting that at a minimum, could even make the Queen feel detached and disconnected.

And, even though the banter was kept at a minimum, they sounded and seemed like those old friends you plan the weekend around.

Blue Rodeo were comfortable and familiar -- in a way that makes any ol' Saturday night something to remember.

East coast alt-country jam band Matt Mays and El Torpedo trekked into the 'Dome some much needed small-town bar scuzz, with an opening set that packed an incredible amount of beer-stained sincerity.

They weren't out of their element in the 'Dome in front of 4,500 people -- they brought their element with them.

And consequently, the quintet put on a disheveled Pilsner-swilling set, that was as enjoyable as it was admirable.

As an introduction -- and I'm sure it was for most of Blue Rodeo's audience -- I don't think 45 minutes was anywhere near enough of Matt Mays.

- - -

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

We want to know how you feel about Blue Rodeo's show last night. Log on to www.calgarysun.com