George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Massey Hall, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Alastair Greene and George Thorogood and the Destroyers tonight at Massey Hall. What a show!

Alastair Greene opened for George Thorogood and the Destroyers tonight at Massey Hall. Until today I’d never heard of him but after listening to his latest album on Spotify this morning and seeing him tonight, I’m a fan!

“Barry Manilow: The Last Toronto Concert”, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

A friend had tickets to Barry Manilow: The Last Toronto Concert … at the last minute she couldn't go so offered me the tickets. I was downtown volunteering so scampered to the concert ... I missed the opening act and maybe 10 minutes of Barry.

Manilow’s voice is surprisingly still fairly strong (he’s 81). He told stories and jokes and the packed arena loved him!

At the Copa ... Copa Cabana

Bye Barry!

“The Charm Offensive with Jim Jefferies and Jimmy Carr”, Scotiabank Area, Toronto, ON

Gord and I attended The Charm Offensive with Jim Jefferies and Jimmy Carr at the Scotiabank Area. The attendance was apparently about 12,000. 

Amos Gill opened ... he was funny and I'd see him again. They were strict about taking pictures so I just took a picture of Amos to show the set-up. 

We’ve seen Jim Jefferies a few times and would see him again. He’s funny and offensive at times but not overly so. 

Jimmy Carr was very offensive and crossed the line too many times and I wouldn’t see him again. I know he’s a comic but there’s nothing funny about domestic violence, gang rape, pedophilia, etc. 

Platinum Blonde and Billy Idol, ScotiaBank Area, Toronto, ON

It's been a while since Gord and I have been to a major concert. A few months ago I saw that Billy Idol was coming to town. I was a big fan of his back in the day and was going to get a ticket (they were priced fairly reasonably). Surprising Gord said he wanted to go too (he was into country music by the time Billy Idol came along) so we got tickets ... and the concert was tonight. It was fun to be out with thousands of fans singing and dancing. The vibe was exciting!

Here we are before the concert.

Canadian '80s band Platinum Blonde opened right at 8pm and played until 8:50pm. I wasn't a huge fan of theirs but liked a lot of their songs. The late Kenny MacLean had been in the band and was the entertainment for a couple of the Christmas parties with the company Gord worked for a few years ago. I volunteered for NXNE last spring and one of my shifts was at a bar owned by lead singer Mark Holmes.

Jeff Lynne's ELO, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

When I heard a couple months ago that ELO was coming to town, I thought it would be a good concert to see.  I loved ELO back in the day (and still do!).  But then I kind of forgot about it.

Last month I found their 2017 Wembley concert on TV and watched it ... and loved it!  That inspired me to buy a ticket for tonight's concert.

Gord doesn't really know who they are and as it turns out, he's out of town this weekend starting tonight anyway, so I bought a ticket.  My seat was awesome ... I was one section to the left of the stage in the second row in the third seat.

Dhani Harrison, George Harrison's son, was the opening act.  Though I didn't know any of his songs, he was good.

At 9:15pm, Jeff Lynne and ELO came on.  Whoohoo!  Not surprising, it was an older crowd and everyone knew all the words to the songs!

Celeste Barber, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON

This evening Gord and I had tickets to see Australian actress and comedian Celeste Barber at the Danforth Music Hall.

You could buy autographed copies of her book for $40 in the lobby.  I'd read it last month and enjoyed it.

I follow her on Instagram and think she's a hoot!

The show started 15 minutes late.  Celeste told funny stories and showed pictures from her Instagram account.

Though I enjoyed the show, I was surprised that it was only an hour.  The audience, mostly women, gave her a standing ovation.

John Prine, Sony Centre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw John Prine this evening at the Sony Centre.

Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter who has been around since the early 1970s. I've been a big fan since the 1980s and have seen him a few times in concert.

Langhorne Slim opened for  him ... I wanted a teeshirt, though, and the line-up was quite long so we only caught the end of his last song.

Prine came out at 9pm and played for almost two hours to a packed house! He sang mostly songs from his latest album, Tree of Forgiveness, along with some of his older songs which the audience knew and sang along with.  His four band mates left him for a while and he sang some songs by himself and told some stories.

It was a fabulous concert.  Alas, he didn't sing Illegal Smile or Please Don't Bury Me.

Shania Now Tour, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

Shania Twain is on tour.  Last summer we bought tickets for tonight's concert.

Gord's a big country fan and I like some of it.  We both like her music, though Gord has been a fan longer and likes her more than I do.  We saw her in concert about 15 years ago.

The concert was at the Scotiabank Arena (until this week it was the Air Canada Centre).

The concert was supposed to start at 7:30pm.  Bastian Baker opened for her.  We only saw his last song as we got there late (about 8:10pm) ... the service at the restaurant where we had supper beforehand took longer than we'd expected.

Here are Gord and I during the intermission.

Lady Gaga Joanne World Tour, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON

Lady Gaga played two nights in Toronto, last night and tonight ... and Gord and I were there tonight.

You could buy souvenir teeshirts, etc.

Our seats were in section 323.  This looking down at the floor before the concert started as people were coming in.

Here are me and Gord.

The concert was supposed to start at 8:30pm ... the 10 minute countdown started about 9:05pm.

The special effects and light show were fabulous!

Bruno Mars: 24K Magic World Tour, Air Canada Centre (ACC), Toronto, ON

My pal, Shawna, lived in Toronto for many years and moved back home to Regina, SK, about five years ago.  She comes to Toronto a couple times a year for a visit.  She's back this week and she and I went to the Bruna Mars: 24K Magic World Tour concert tonight.

Before the concert, Gord, Shawna and I had supper at the Wheat Sheaf.  Shawna loves their wings and it's a tradition to have a supper there.

Gord and I
Shawna

There was lots of Bruno swag for sale at the ACC ... teeshirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, posters, etc.

Here are Shawna and I in our seats before the show started.

Shawna and I

DJ Irskdiddy opened the show at about 8pm with a 30 minute set.

Waiting for Bruno ...