In 1976, upon graduating from High School in Edmonton, Alberta, I faced the major decision of where I would pursue a post secondary education. While that decision is generally driven by the choice of studies and quality of institution, for me, a very large factor was a desire to get to a larger city that had the concert market to attract the big rock acts of the era. Ultimately I headed off to Toronto to attend Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and found myself a bachelor apartment just a few blocks from Maple Leaf Gardens. The decision to head to Toronto was soon rewarded with the announcement of an upcoming concert by “The Who”. I managed to score a ticket to what turned out to be an historic event, the last show of the last tour with the original four members of The Who. The group was in fine form, and I can still remember to my astonishment watching Pete Townsend smash his guitar and throw the remnants into the audience after the last song.
1976 to 1979 turned out to be a very rich period for live music in Toronto, and I was fortunate enough to have attended the majority of big shows. Two concerts are particularly noteworthy and are etched in my memory. In 1978, Bruce Springsteen was touring to support the recently released “Darkness on the Edge of Town” album.
After standing in line for hours, I managed to get two tickets to the concert at Maple Leaf Gardens. Springsteen, although far from reaching his peak in popularity, was becoming one of the top acts of the day and I soon found out why. The concert was a 3 hour plus powerhouse show with an energy level that I expect I will never experience again. I still have the ticket stub from that night 30 years ago, and I remember at the time the $9.00 ticket price stretched my financial resources to the limit.
Perhaps the more historic event was the Keith Richards C.N.I.B. benefit concert played in Oshawa, Ontario on April 22nd, 1979. That show resulted from the arrest of Keith Richards for the possession of heroin during the illustrious 1977 trip to Toronto when Maggie Trudeau made international headlines by spending her 6th wedding anniversary with the Stones! In an act of enlightened justice, rather than throwing Keith in jail, the presiding judge ordered him to play a benefit concert for the blind.
When the resulting concerts were finally announced, I managed to get two floor tickets, again by standing in line the majority of a night. Two concerts were to be played at Oshawa’s Civic Auditorium which had a capacity of about 4,500 people. The excitement surrounding these shows was intense, and I watched the limo arrival of Keith Richards at the back of the auditorium with “bottle in hand”. For an opening number, Keith
took to the stage with an acoustic guitar, sat on a stool, and started strumming the opening riffs to a song that I knew I recognized but didn’t expect. In the following moments, Mick Jagger joined him on the stage, placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder, and the two performed an amazing rendition of “Prodigal Son” from the classic album “Beggar’s Banquet”. Bedlam then erupted when the remainder of the Stones joined the two bad boys on stage, playing a concert in this perfect venue that I will never forget.
Exactly 30 years following the 1978 Bruce Springsteen concert, I will be taking my 12 year old son to General Motors place on Monday evening to hear and experience “The Boss”.
The tickets were slightly more expensive this time around, but then again E-Bay is much more convenient than lining up all night in the cold. We also intend to check out Martin Scorcese’s “Shine a Light” in the coming weeks, taking in The Stones on the big screen. Much has changed through the years, but the music remains timeless, much as can be proven by my sons menu of songs on his I-Pod Nano.
March 29, 2008
