Tom Cochrane and Red Rider White Hot in Kingston | Grand Theatre

 

I caught Tom Cochrane and Red Rider March 23^rd at the Grand Theatre in Kingston on their Mad Mad World Tour and believe it or not, it was the first time for me. Red rider is one of those bands that were a pretty big part of the soundtrack of my teen years. Songs like “Big League”,”Life is a Highway” and “Lunatic Fringe” were staples in most Canadian record Collections. Tom is on par with the best of Canadian songwriters, observing and writing about the very things that make us all Canadian.

Tom is a 7 time Juno award winner,  recipient of the Order Of Canada, the Order Of Manitoba, is a member on the Canadian walk of fame and was also inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2003. There are several other honours that have been bestowed upon him, both for music and also his humanitarian efforts.

This tour consists of two sets by Red Rider with no opening act, so be prepared to hear all your favourites. The first set featured some of the more laid back or serious tunes like “Big League”, “Good Times”, “Sinking Like a Sunset” and “Boy Inside The Man”. Near the beginning of the set, Tom was joined by Paul Langlois of the Tragically Hip for the anthem “Big League”, a fan favorite.

After a short break, the band returned to the stage and ROCKED! This set contained many of the big songs we all knew like “White Hot”, “Boy Inside The Man” and “Life Is A Highway”. The whole concert was very enthusiastically received by the audience but the second set had people standing, dancing and singing to many of their favourites. Red Rider is currently made up of founding member Ken Greer on keyboards, guitar and steel guitar, Jeff Jones on bass and Davide Direnzo on drums. Like many bands, Red Rider has had some lineup changes over the years, but the current lineup has been together since 2006 when Davide Direnzo joined on drums.  They are an extremely tight and cohesive unite and it was obvious they love playing together.

There are bands from the 70s and 80s still touring and Tom Cochrane and Red Rider are one of the Canadian greats. Tom, at 64 years old is still hitting the high notes with ease, still sports his signature lock of hair over his eyes and leaves no doubt about why he is a true Canadian treasure. Red Rider leaves you with a good feeling, their music evokes lots of good memories and that makes it great music.

Check out Tom’s website for lots more information and merchandise