It鈥檚 been 42 years since 54鈥�40 made their debut at the Smilin鈥� Buddha Cabaret in Vancouver, but this west coast band can still rock any house.

Prior to the first of two shows on Oct. 20 and 21, co-founder Neil Osborne (rhythm guitar/lead vocals) promised the set list would feature a variety of tunes.

鈥淲e鈥檒l play all the songs that have been on the radio over the years,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l play a couple of new songs. We always like to do two or three deep tracks from albums because we like them. So that鈥檚 kind of it, say 10, 12 radio songs plus a couple of new songs, a couple of deep tracks, maybe a cover here and there.鈥�

They did not disappoint, playing pretty much the entire catalogue of singles from their MuchMusic debut 鈥淏aby Ran鈥� (1986) to their breakout hit 鈥淥cean Pearl鈥� (1994).

A nod to the new album, now scheduled for release on Nov. 3, came in the first set with a song called 鈥淥ptions.鈥� Introducing the song, Osborne told the Friday crowd the band was only going to do two songs from West Coast Band because he himself knows what it鈥檚 like to go to a concert (Elton John in his case) wanting to hear all your favourites and not so much unfamiliar tracks.

鈥淪o, maybe this is a good time for you to go to the bathroom,鈥� he quipped.

Osborne also paid tribute to the origin of the band鈥檚 name, which comes from an American political slogan from the 1840s referencing the expansionist intention of the United States to take over B.C. to the border of Russian Alaska at 54 degrees, 40 minutes latitude. That is just north of Prince Rupert, he explained, at 54 degrees, 30.5 minutes.

鈥淭onight we鈥檙e not 54鈥�40, we鈥檙e 54鈥�30.5,鈥� he said.

They saved the title track 鈥淲est Coast Band鈥� for the encore, followed by 鈥淚 Go Blind,鈥� which was a 1980s single for the band, but made famous by Hootie and the Blowfish in 1996.

As for other bands鈥� songs, they didn鈥檛 so much 鈥渃over鈥� them as seamlessly weave them into their own songs, paying homage to The Tragically Hip (鈥淏low at High Dough鈥�), Creedence Clearwater Revival (鈥淗ave You Ever Seen the Rain鈥�) and The Clash (鈥淪hould I Stay or Should I Go鈥�).

Despite the formal setting of the Lester Centre, some of the audience could not stay in their seats turning the space between the front row and the stage into an impromptu dance floor creating a club-type atmosphere that seemed to really please the band.

鈥淚鈥檓 really glad they did that,鈥� said Chris Armstrong, Lester Centre manager.

While the band is not a stranger to the Northwest having played in Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers and Gingolx over the years, this was their first time in Prince Rupert.

鈥淚t鈥檚 beautiful,鈥� said the other founding member Brad Merritt (bass). 鈥淚t鈥檚 like where we live (Lower Mainland) except less spoiled, in every sense.鈥�

Rupertites also got first crack at buying a CD version of the new album. Although still awaiting its formal launch, the band had copies available for the first time, along with other merchandise before and after the show.

Osborne and Merrit said they are not usually the kind of people who look back, always moving forward, but that kind of changed in 2020.

鈥淚鈥檒l just say we had some downtime for a couple of years,鈥� Osborne said.

During the pandemic, they started reminiscing about their storied past via Zoom, which turned into lyrics and music that they passed around electronically.

鈥淪o then it鈥檚 like, yeah, let鈥檚 do this,鈥� Osborne said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 tell the story about the band for once.鈥�

The aforementioned 鈥淥ptions鈥� for example, is a story about meeting up with Blue Rodeo during a gig in Regina. Osborne said he told Blue Rodeo singer Greg Keelor that at that point he didn鈥檛 think he could do anything else but be in a band.

Keelor replied, 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to know your options are behind you,鈥� which led to the chorus of the song.

All the songs on the new release are stories about the band and its members and span a wide variety of styles, which is appropriate to the band鈥檚 history.

For example, 鈥淲est Coast Band鈥� is reminiscent of the post-punk sensibilities that characterized their formative years on the Vancouver scene, while 鈥淥ptions鈥� harkens more to their more alt-rock offerings of the 1990s.

Osborne said he didn鈥檛 think that was so much intentional as organic.

鈥淲e bring a lot of experience and a catalogue of, I don鈥檛 know, 15 albums or something like that,鈥� he explained. 鈥淎nd the process is always different; the songs kind of go where they felt like they should go. That鈥檚 what happens.鈥�