TORONTO: There is a not to be missed spectacular odyssey of Canadian music being performed at the Princess of Wales Theatre on King Street in downtown Toronto until Aug 23, 2015.
Paul Anka, The Guess Who, Steppenwolf, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion and more are all showcased in this stunning stage show.
This extraordinary production, Oh Canada, What a Feeling!, set against a backdrop of historical and musical footage is an unforgettable concert of songs starting from the 50s.
The evening started with Canada’s national anthem with everybody standing in reverence. Following that patriotic moment, the band broke into Paul Anka’s ‘Diana’ putting a smile on everyone’s lips.
Then came ‘I did it my way’ originally written by Canadian Paul Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra. There was also some historical footage on Percy Faith’s theme from ‘A Summer Place’, a movie that was very popular in India starring new heartthrob Troy Donahue.
Following that came The Guess Who’s “ Shakin’ all over” and “American Woman” before the band slammed into worldwide favourite “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf, a song covered by many bands in Mumbai.
The remarkable band continued with songs from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (with Kit Johnson imitating Neil Young’s voice uncannily), Joni Mitchell, The Band and Celine Dion, all the while intercalating with historical narration and movie and video clips, before blowing the crowd away with April Wine’s “I like to rock” to end the first act.
After a 20 minute intermission, the musicians came back with Gordon Lightfoot following his songs with a brief story on Hank Snow, who mentored no less than the King himself-Elvis Presley! Then came covers of Rush, K.D. Lane and Bryan Adam’s all time global favourite “Summer of 69”, an exceptionally popular number in India, continuing with Tom Cohrane’s immortal hit “Live is a highway” and Trooper’s “We’re here for a good time”.
Amidst all the above was the crooner Amy Bishop’s stupendous rendition of Leonard Cohen’s all time favourite “Hallelujah”. The audience couldn’t stop applauding!
Of course, the musical journey would not be complete without Crowbar’s song that reflects the name of the stage musical “Oh what a feeling (what a rush)”.
For the grand finale, the amazing line-up of musicians brought the house down with Neil Young’s bold proclamation “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World!”
Come out to witness this intense, electric and phenomenal musical expedition, share the memories and feel the pride that unites this amazing country, Canada, from coast to coast!
