Random general comments:
The Canadian tour was much better than the US tour, even if it had the same crappy ensemble numbers, at least we were spared the women rapping and the horrid "Rainy Days" crap. Also it was a really good jump night - not a single fall and only a few doubled jumps - very impressive! The Toronto audience was also ovation happy as I think just about everything but the group numbers got a partial if not a full standing ovation :)

Opening: "Black Betty" and "Lady Marmalade"
It was interesting to see how this came off in Canada considering that there was a major shortage of women. As a result when they pair off at some points there are two men with one woman and at other times the two 'extra' men are dancing by themselves while the ladies rotate between the men. Todd is partnered with Kristi, and while Todd may be a fantastic skater, he just doesn't have the 'feel' for that kind of movement/dancing required. Brian danced a bit with Shae-Lynn, but he was often the solo male out there. For the ladies group bit, Shae was definitely the high point - the costume looks great on her and you can tell that she's one of those skaters who put a lot of effort into internalizing the group numbers.

Orser, Browning, Yagudin - "Tango"
This is one group number that has totally changed from the US version. Instead of it being man/woman partnered Tango, the number is just the three men doing footwork. Costumes were black pinstripe pants, black turtleneck and suspenders. It was really cool to watch the men working together. Oddly it was Browning who looked a little out of place in the number, but only I think because Brian and Alexei have been working together a lot for their short duet at Skate the nation and so their timing and unision are a bit more in sync. I think they also have a very similar movement of style that differs from Kurt which makes it a bit more obvious that Kurt moves in a different fashion. However, I really would have liked to see them add Todd to this number. It's not like they were limited by the number of women in the show - there easily could have been 4 men doing the tango out there.

Eldredge -"Lord of the Rings"
Todd starts off the first of the solo's with the IF version of this program. Todd's jumps were all on and the 3axel and 3loop were really amazing! Spot on. I was down on the ice just off from the corner and it was right where he takes that long running edge to the lutz and seeing that thing come flying toward you is rather breathtaking. It's not a perfect program for a show like this, but it's very powerful and shows off his skating well. The long spiral is of course a favorite move of mine and it's got a nice featured part in this program :)

Bourne & Kraatz - "Michael Jackson Medley"
This is a modified version of their free dance and they basically cut out most of that wretched slow section in the middle and as a result it's a very high energy show program and it works really well! The costumes also just completely dazzingly under show lighting - they really sparkle! The program went over really well and it definitely makes a better show program than free skate.

Browning - "Guitar"
The nice part for me tonight was that I was seeing this program from a completly different angle than I've seen it before so it was cool to watch. Kurt was also having a great jump night - I think he hit just about everything in both programs, with maybe only one singled axel. There was a really nice 3loop in this program which was nice to see. I think this is one of the better versions of this program that I've seen since the Gotta Dance show.

Yamaguchi - "Gold"
Sorry folks, but this program just doesn't do it for me. It was nice once, but I've now seen it I think 5 times live and it just sort of bores me. GFB program. Her 3lutz was right into my corner though and that was pretty impressive to see.

Meno & Sand - "It Takes Chair To Tango"
Again, a program that wears a bit thin after you've seen it a number of times. I still think it would be funny if she was wearing slippers instead of skates. Jenni really is just adorabale in this number though :)

Brasseur & Eisler - "Never Tear Us Apart"
Ok, once you get past the fact that these have to be the uglist costumes on the planet (Lloyd in sparky black t-shirt with pants that are mottled red and black; Isabelle in sparkly red dress - the problem is none of the parts seem to match) the program is really a great piece of music for them. There were also some really nice pairs moves which he haven't seen in a while - pairs back spiral and pairs camel spin. Nice carry lift and usual adagio moves from them. Lloyd has also lost some of his bulkier muscles and looks really trim and fit.

Yagudin - "Overcome"
It seems that Yags has ditched the blue/black costume he was using for some of the STN shows and has done back to one of the black turtlenecks. The program, while great was not one of the best performances of it. Alexei seemed a little tired, and as a result popped the 3axel to a double. Nice effort though.

Orser, Browning, Sand - "Vanity Tango"
Hmmm, another program that suffered a bit on the Canadian version. They've just got the wrong men doing this number with Kurt. I love Brian, but you get the feeling that he's struggling a bit with trying to keep that table under control - he's just not that big of a guy to move that thing around. Then there's Todd Sand who's just a little too stiff for this number. Supposedly he's already had some back problems flipping through the table and moving around - not a good thing. It all just came across as a little too forced, but still reasonably well.

Ensemble - "Can-Can" and "Because We Can"
It was a weak effort for both parts of these numbers and they just didn't hold together. It starts with all the women out doing a little bit and these really bad unision can-can parts and it just wasn't working well. The men (Eisler, Browning, Kraatz, Sand) come out for the can-can number, and it's actually pretty amusing. However neither Eisler nor Kraatz had fishnets on and Kraatz was missing his corset entirely. The hysterical part was that Eisler had his corset upside down and around his waist, so it laced up over the front of his hips so to speak

Ruh - "Hurting Each Other"
*blech* If they're only going to give her one number couldn't they give her something with a little more *ooph*? Gorgeous spins though.

Meno & Sand - "First Time Ever"
Normally I'm not a M&S fan, but this is just such an amazing program for them, that I love it just about every time I see it and this was no exception. The lifts were really just so pretty.

Orser, Browning, Yamguchi, Ruh - "Oh Yeah"
Now, this isn't liek some wonderful piece but it is a fun little 2 minute filler number. Tonight Ruh chose a scratchspin for her final flashlight number. Very cool.

Brasseur & Eisler - "She Ain't Pretty"
Ahh, Lloyd just has some much fun performing in drag that there's just no way not to enjoy this number. They've got a bit more of the comic timing down since I saw it two weeks ago in COI. The reverse death spiral is really just a hoot.

Eldredge - "Your Song"
This is one of Todd's better solo numbers and it really draws the crowd in. Sitting on ice for this program you really get a feel for just how fast Todd is moving across the ice - he's flying! He doubled the 3axel but otherwise the program was right on. He also had just an ear to ear smile the entire program and it looked like he was just having the time of his life skating out there, and that just made you enjoy the program all the move.

Bourne & Kraatz - "Sadness"
This was such a highlight of the COI show that I was really happy to see it again here. The hydroblading moves just flow one into another and it's jsut so effective. The solo move by Viktor as he spins down the ice is, forgive me, but "way-cool" :)

Orser - "SOmewhere In Time"
Ahhhh, the basics of skaing at it's best! The new costume is really effective. The whole costume has a nice vintage sort of cut to it. It's a pale creme shirt with tie around the neck and both pants and vest are a medium tan. The vest also has white/clear sparkles on it, and the spats on the boots are now a darker tan color which is much nicer. The program is just really effective and shows the history of skating well. The open axel crossovers into double axel is just very effective, same with the blackflip-2toe combo. Such a beautiful program!

Yamaguchi - "Trust"
The girl can definitely dance, but the program seems to be a bit too heavy on the arm flailing dancing and not enough on the skating.

Yagudin - "Winter"
Winter again was one that was just a little more off than I'm used to seeing - he just must be really tired at the moment. But even tired, Winter is just such a great program that it's always great to see. His combo was completely the other end of the ice from me, but it looked like a big 3toe-3toe. Alexei's footwork was of course right on. (As an amusing side-note: during the finale at one point Kurt mimics exactly Alexei's footwork from "Winter")

Browning - "Elevation"
This is a number that is just so high energy that it's amazing how Kurt can keep it up for the whole routine, but somehow he does. Lots of great footwork in this program and again all the jumps were just right on. ANd of course that fantastic Kurt charisma just grabs the audience right from the first beat!

Finale: "Carpenter's Medley"
The finale is totally reworked from the US version with lots of new concepts. The humorous flirtation number is now done with Kristi and Alexei and it works really well. Alexei definitely has the stage presence and charm to pull it off. It had a different feel than the Steven/Kat bit on the US tour, but I don't know which was really better - they were both adorable. Todd's taken over the "Top of the World" segement that was Ilia's and his part is pretty filled with 3toes happening all over the place. The rest of the men are doing things on the ice, but because Todd goes the opposite way it worked to highlight him individually. I was a little disappointed in Brian's part as he never really got his own mini-solo but instead was performing to Shae-Lynn. It wasn't bad, but I'd have preffered him getting to do his own thing. Kurt's "Solitaire" section is also still a real treat - the opening skid spiral is just breathtaking. However the long forward spiral has been replaced with another ina bauer. The section that was originally the 3 women is now Braasseur & Eisler, Meno & Sand and Bourne & Kraatz and it hearken's back to the days when SOI used to carry 3-4 dance and pair teams. At times you've got them all doing the same thing and others's it's variations on the same kind of move - it was really great!

Reception Notes:
Luckily I made it into the reception this year and it was so nice to be able to spend some time with both Todd and Brian - can't complain about getting to chat with my two favorite skaters :) Brian also gave some hints about his schedule for the next season (right now he's pretty sure he'll be doing Kurt's Gotta Dance and the Ray Charles tribute - plus a few others but he's not positive what). When I mentioned the show to Kurt he was adorable in how enthused he was to be doing it again and that's he's really hoping the Tragically Hip will come through :) This was my first time to speak with Shae & Vic and both were very sweet and friendly to chat with. Same goes for Brassuer, Eisler, Meno, Sand and Yagudin - all were their usual nice selves to talk with so that made it all the more fun. :)