1997 was an epic year. The Simpsons was named the longest-running prime-time animated series, Steve Jobs returned to Apple and Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer to ever win the Masters. In Canada, fans of award-winning The Tea Party were celebrating the release of the band’s fourth studio album, Transmission.
Meghan Patrick to join Kip Moore on Ontario dates
Although we’ve known about the Kip Moore dates in Ontario for a while now it was announced this morning that Meghan Patrick would be joining Kip and Jon Pardi for these dates.
Steel Panther Slip into London Music Hall
When California glam rockers, “Steel Panther”, announced their latest tour with a stop in London Ontario, I knew this was a show we could not miss to review. This venue is one of our favorite venues to catch shows at, here in London, ON. The London Music Hall was set to play host to the throwback, 80’s glam rock days. While parking the car nearby, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a lot more neon spandex-wearing men in downtown London than on a normal Monday night.
The night kicked off with a few local acts tearing up the stage and getting the spandex clad fans riled up for the show to start. Toronto rockers, “Diemondz”, got the crowd firing on all cylinders with their metal sound and great stage show. If you can catch them, you should, the put on one heck of a show.
Then it was time! The hair, the make-up, the spandex, and the profanity were about to begin. “Steel Panther”, graced the stage and the place went into overdrive! By far, one of the loudest and craziest fan bases I have ever seen at a show in the London Music Hall.
Steel Panther rock the London Music Hall – Photo: Bill Woodcock
If you don’t know who Steel Panther is, they are well known in the rock circle for their exaggerated stage show, profane lyrics and the humorous tones to their show. It’s more than just a rock show, it’s a comedy act all wrapped up into one. With audience participation, in the form of screaming, yelling, and throwing of undergarments, it was clear I wasn’t in my normal element of country music in London, ON. With that being said, it’s a show everyone, (well maybe not everyone), should take in once in their life. If you’re looking to catch them, they are going to be at the Sound Academy in Toronto on November, 29th, 2016. Tickets are on sale for that show but get them quick! It’s almost guaranteed to sell out.
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Steel Panther rock the London Music Hall – Photo: Bill Woodcock
Steel Panther rock the London Music Hall – Photo: Bill Woodcock
Steel Panther rock the London Music Hall – Photo: Bill Woodcock
Steel Panther rock the London Music Hall – Photo: Bill Woodcock
Steel Panther rock the London Music Hall – Photo: Bill Woodcock
Sloan strikes One Chord to Another in London
Canadian alternative rock icons from the 90’s, Sloan, made a stop in London on May 10th on their,”One Chord to Another”, tour. The tour is promoting their recently released box set that includes all the hits of that past 25 years. London Music Hall played host to this awesome night of music and those in the club got what they came for – Sloan, and lots of it.
Collective Soul Shines bright in London ON
London’s premier live music club, the London Music Hall, was rocking to the sounds of the mid 1990’s on Monday night with alternative rockers Collective Soul. The Georgia based band brought it’s, “See What You Started by Continuing Tour”, to town.
The Trews Strip It Down In London ON
East coast rockers, The Trews, are wrapping up a coast to coast acoustic tour which has seen them play various venues across the country. Saturday night the tour made its stop in London, ON, at the London Music Hall. Now, let me start by saying, I love this venue; amazing sound, amazing lighting and not really a bad spot to sit or stand in the place. London is lucky to have this world-class venue and it seems more and more acts are signing up to play there.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews brought a powerful show, and any one of the capacity crowd who were there, will likely tell you that it was an amazing night. From the moment they hit the stage, with a thunderous roar from the crowd, they were rocking. As a guy who has covered a lot of country music events lately, it was a refreshing change of pace. Having been a big The Trews fan for many years, I was excited to see how a stripped down acoustic set would be. Not only was I impressed, but I would go out and say this show likely made my top 5 all time concerts, and I have been to a few over the years.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
They opened the show with, “The Power of Positive Drinking”, and the hits just kept rolling from there. Highlights of the show, for me, included all their classics with a different sound to them being done acoustically. “Hope and Ruin”, “Yearning”, “Poor Ol Broken Hearted Me”, all had the crowd singing along so loud, that at times you could hear them overpowering the amazing sound system of the London Music Hall.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
One part of the show that gave me goosebumps was when they took a few minutes to explain the story behind their fan favorite, “Highway of Heroes”, and then played it. This song has become an iconic song in Canada, and particularly Ontario, where the Highway of Heroes saw a lot of soldiers make their final journeys home from serving our country overseas. This particular song truly affected me, as they performed it, letting the crowd sing the chorus a few times. I don’t think there was a single person in the place that didn’t belt out the words. It truly honors our fallen heroes and will for many generations to come.
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
@thetrews what an amazing night! @londonmusichall @FM96Rocks @SoundCheckBlg @strutent #highwayofheros #thankyou pic.twitter.com/0T53dKp0v8
— Bill Woodcock (@BillWoodcock) March 13, 2016
After being on the stage for the best part of two and a half hours, they finally gave the crowd the word that the show was ending. Someone yelled out and asked if they could do it again tomorrow, to which they replied, “sure!”. The Trews left the stage but the crowd wasn’t done yet. They chanted and cheered for a few minutes and the boys of The Trews came back out and gave a solid acapella performance of, “Ish and Mag”, to start what would be a two song encore. To wrap up the show it was time for, “Not Ready to Go”, which, judging by their reaction, the crowd was not ready to go! All amazing things must come to an end, however, and we can hope The Trews make their way back to the London area soon.
Bill Woodcock – @BillWoodcock
MORE PHOTOS…
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
The Trews perform to a sold out crowd at The London Music Hall – photo: Bill Woodcock
Ontario – A Hot Bed for Country Music Festivals in 2016
Ok so I think we can officially say that Ontario has quickly become a HOT BED for Country Music Festivals for 2016 in Canada. Seriously its unreal… With nearly 13.8 Million people in Ontario and lets say you take 3% of that population that are ticket buying country music fans. You are looking at just over 380,000 people are looking to buy tickets into an event this summer. The big question is, which one or two are they going to be spending their hard earned cash on?
The Wild Ones Tour Rocks London…
This past Friday night Kip Moore’s Wild Ones Tour rolled into London, Ontario for a the 1st of 2 Sold Out nights in Canada. Now Kip had already had a very successful western Canadian swing with numerous sold out shows put on by Canada’s #1 promoter Invictus Entertainment. Friday was no different.
