Party like it’s 1992
Canadian rock legend Tom Cochrane performed a two-hour show for a sold-out crowd at Prospera Place in Kelowna on Friday night. Cochrane is performing more than 20 shows across the country to promote the deluxe edition of his landmark album Mad, Mad World, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
We’ve all heard the ultimatum: ‘It’s my way or the highway.’ For Canadian rock legend Tom Cochrane, it’s ‘My way on the highway.’
His career-defining single, Life Is A Highway, was the climax of a 13-song initial set that included every song from his landmark album, Mad, Mad World, during a solid two-hour performance at Prospera Place in Kelowna on Friday night.
It’s not a coincidence for his 20-plus concerts on a crossCanada tour that his deluxe edition reissue of Mad, Mad World on its 25th anniversary is now in stores and at streaming services via Universal Music Canada.
The remastered two-CD set includes the previously-unreleased original demo recording of Love Is A Highway and a 1992 concert performance from Chicago, which features key tracks from the album alongside Red Rider classics.
On-stage with his reunited Red Rider bandmates from 1978-90 — Kenny Greer (formerly with Ocean and the original bassist for Rush) and Jeff Jones, the 2,000plus fans at Prospera’s half-concert-bowl cheered and sang along with the hit singles No Regrets, Washed Away and Sinking Like A Sunset.
“It’s so good to be back in Kelowna. I’ve never had a bad time here,” Cochrane said to cheers. The artist who emerged from Lynn Lake, Man., more than four decades ago with guitar in hand and harmonica in pocket, is still riding that highway.
Following those Mad, Mad World songs, Cochrane briefly walked off stage for an instrumental by his bandmates, but returned for Red Rider and personal hits Tunnel, Human Race, Big League, Lunatic Fringe and White Hot. The mandatory encore then sent fans into the stratosphere with Good Times and Boy Inside the Man, from the 1998 Victory Day album.
Tom Cochrane and Red Rider broke up in early 1990 after the band’s sixth album and Cochrane went on to a successful solo career.
Mad, Mad World remains among the top-selling albums in Canadian music history, achieving rare diamond-certified status.
Life Is A Highway reigned at No. 1 for six weeks in Canada, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and went on to become recognized the world over.
After opener Meghan Patrick’s half-hour set, a 15-piece video screen behind the stage aired a documentary on Cochrane’s humanitarian efforts with World Vision Canada, from first traveling to Africa with the organization in 1989 to visiting Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon in 2016.
He has also worked with War Child, Waterkeeper Alliance, Amnesty International, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Make Poverty History, World Animal Protection, The United Way and Tree Canada, spearheaded the Canada for Asia initiative, entertained Canadian troops in Afghanistan, and raised money for Parkinson’s research.
Patrick, who toured with Dwight Yoakam last year, performed her first top 10 single and first duet (with Joe Nichols), Still Lovin’ You, in addition to other songs from her 2016 debut album, Grit and Grace. Patrick was nominated for Songwriter of the Year with co-writer Chad Kroeger at the 2016 Canadian Country Music Association Awards for her Prospera Place finale, Bow Chicka Wow Wow.
However, it was challenging not to think of her as a caricature since she was wearing skintight black jeans (appropriately ripped at the knees), a black blouse with black metal rings, black cowboy boots adorned with black studs, a golden eagle necklace, a net vest with long fringes from shoulder to the floor and was playing a black electric guitar while brushing aside her long blond hair. She stepped on those long fringes several times and she laughed as they became entangled with Cochrane’s guitar when they briefly used the same microphone on No Regrets.