If Metallica is not your thing, then maybe seeing some great Canadian Hard Rock suits you better. The Great Canadian Casino was host to three classic acts that we have enjoyed over decades.

In fact, I was talking to some of the audience members during the show and they were all excited because they may have seen one or two of these acts in the past but not all three.

It felt a little bit like “Elbows up” as the nearly sold-out show felt very patriotic this evening with a crowd standing proud for every band.

Even though BTO did sneak in the Guess Who song, “American Woman”, it truly felt like a new song of solidarity as we sang- Bye Bye American Woman.

Headpins

First up was the Headpins. This is a band that brought a grittier side to Rock and Roll in the early 1980’s. They were originally led by Darby Mills; the band has gone through a few singers since. Kat Lawrence who recently made her return to the Headpins came on strong and hard.

This band now goes back 45 years and consists of Kat Lawrence, Ab Bryant, Bernie Aubin, Tony Dellacroce and Alfie Galpin.

You could instantly tell these guys were having fun, because usually when an opening act goes on stage the audience is usually about a third filled up. It seemed everybody wanted to be there from the beginning. The Headpins did not disappoint with their swagger and rock moves; they really wanted to give Toronto a great evening out!

What I enjoyed about this version of the Headpins was Kat Lawrence. If there was ever a person to fill Darby Mills kinky boots, this is the woman for the part. Her vocals were spot on and could really carry the raunchy and strenuous power that Darby Mills produced all those years ago. She is a perfect match for this band.

With strong songs like, “Feel my body “and “Just one more time”, the audience was really feeling it. The final song was perfect played out as Kat played with her audience and if they would like it, they turned it up. Then that banshee- like scream came ripping out of her and the Band really did “Turn it up” `

Just as a side note, being a Headpins fan for years, the day of this show was also a dark day for the band. It was 33 years ago that we lost Brian “Too Loud” McLeod”, the original guitarist for the Headpins. Knowing Brian, he is still rocking in Heaven knowing his band is still performing his music live!

Here are today’s Headpins:

April Wine

When April Wine opens with “Oowatanite”, it’s going be tough to keep that kind of pace through the show. Don’t worry, with all the hits April Wine has, they will find a way.

Second song in and they do, “Could have been a lady”. They are staying strong and rocking loud! Even the crowd was keeping up with the loudness as they were absolutely excited to see this band go on, with Brian Greenway leading the charge.  We just lost Myles Goodwyn almost a year and a half ago. In my mind, that was the end of this band. Well like veteran rockers, I am sure Myles is jamming with Brian McLeod and feeling proud the music is still relevant today.

Third song in and they decided to “Say Hello” and as quickly as they did that, they let us know that they still Rock, with, “I like to Rock”.

This was going to be a “Greatest hits” set list and no one was complaining.  The dancing ladies in the crowd showed no disapproval of this show. They even did “Enough is Enough”, but it is never enough at a show like this one.

They paid tribute to Myles by bringing one of his guitars on tour with them. It was one that he played certain hit songs with. They finally went into one of their great ballads, “Just between you and me” and just as they were rapping up, I had to yell out do “Sign of the Gypsy Queen”. I know I am just the photographer in the pit, but I got really caught up in the show. And yes, they did that song and then moved into one I never heard them do live before, “Bad side of the Moon”. It turned into a very fine singing and dance party at that point.

They finally rolled one up at the end with “Roller”.  We may be getting older, but the music is still being performed live, and I am all for that!

Here is Today’s April Wine:

BTO

This version of BTO consists of Randy Bachman, his son Tal Bachman, Brent Howard, Lance LaPointe and Koko Bachman, who is Tal Bachman’s wife on drums.

I have not seen BTO in years and was looking forward to what they were going to play. I must admit, I was very surprised by the set list.

It was a mix of BTO songs, Guess Who Songs, classic rock songs and even Tal Bachman’s hits back in 1999, “She’s so high”.

The opener was “Take it like a Man” and quickly slipped into “Give me your money please”. This was a gift to true fans of the band. Another gift that I even forgot about was a Fred Turner classic, “Not Fragile”. It was so heavy, even Metallica would agree to that one. Brent Howard did an absolutely amazing job filling in for Fred Turner’s contribution to this band’s success over the years.

The band cooled us down with their jazz inspired song “Blue Collar”, only to get us fired up again and hit the road with the hard rocker, “Four Wheel Drive”.  What made the show extra special was looking at all the old footage of BTO back in the 1970’s when they were at full power hitting the road hard and steamrolling audiences everywhere.

Even though our 81-year-old legend Randy Bachman sat down for this show, his fingers did not slow down one bit. This guy can still produce excellent guitar riffs and solos. He still has Rock and Roll in his soul (and fingers).

The band did get around recreating some classic Guess Who songs. Reliving these songs live, really fulfilled the audience. Maybe this was for anyone who hadn’t seen the Guess Who before. After the show, I did not meet anyone like that. They all spoke about some encounter with the Guess Who, Randy and Burton together or some other configuration over the years. This is a band that a nation has truly seen over 6 decades.

The songs they played were, These Eyes, Laughing, Undun, No Sugar Tonight, No Time.

The real moment came when Randy finally sat and spoke with us as audience. He almost petitioned the audience to really work on just loving yourself. When you are filled with that kind of love, you have the power to go out into the world and give it to others. He continued that momentum with his song, “Looking out for #1”. It was a very heartfelt moment as you got to watch home movies of Randy’s family and fun moment with the band.

At one point Lance handed Randy a drumstick and he proceeded to do a very cool solo with it. Remember Led Zeppelin with the Bow?

When Randy was done, he threw the stick out into the audience and an excited woman made a beeline for it. She ended up sliding on her ass to get it, but she got it.  That is true rock commitment even for us aging rockers!

The big songs came, and the audience was coerced to the front of the stage. Remember when we didn’t care and ran there. Well now we are old and obedient, so we have to be invited. It didn’t really matter because it was a full-on party with his big songs like, “Ain’t seen nothing yet”, “Roll down the Highway” and “Hey You”. The fun did not stop there. The band went into a medley of classic Rock songs that we all grew up with like, “All right now” Bad Company, “Rock N Me” Steve Miller”, “Shook me all night long”, AC/DC, “Honky Tonk Woman”, and “No Satisfaction”, Rolling Stones”, “Bang a Gong”, T-Rex. And Old-time rock and roll”, Bob Seger.

At the end of the day Randy Bachman loves playing Rock and Roll, so to end the evening with this medley of songs was as much for him as it was for us.

In Canada we call this a perfect Hard Rock Hat Trick!

Here is Today’s BTO: