By: Michael Drukarsh
North York, Canada - Why is it that someone can follow a sports team across multiple seasons and never really worry that the players are constantly changing and the line up from year to year is rarely the same, but if just one member of a favourite band leaves, the band is forever tarnished and now sucks? If you are one of those people then it's possible that you missed out on a fantastic festival put on by Boom 97.3.
Boomstock, held Saturday August 24, 2024 at Sobey's Stadium was a trip down memory lane with five incredible bands, one of which has roots that go all the way back to 1965. With that type of pedigree it's to be expected that not every original member of every band would still be on stage. In fact, three of the bands, Chilliwack, UB40, and BTO actually had father and son in the band.
The festivities started with Montreal’s The Box. It’s always tough for an opening band at a festival concert. Not only are they playing in daylight which takes away the dramatic effects of the stage lights, but they are often playing to a smaller crowd as many arrive later in the show to catch the headliners. All this was true for The Box but it didn’t stop them from getting the crowd off their seats with such 80’s new wave hits as “Closer Together”, “L’Affaire Dumoutier” and of course, arguably their biggest hit, “Ordinary People” which had those lucky enough to be there early get the party started with a fantastic sing along.
Next up, Sweet. While the entire Boomstock lineup brought the sound, only Sweet brought the look as well! Taking the stage in denim, leather and studs, Sweet were definitely the heaviest band on the bill and in my opinion the best. From the opening riff of “Action”, the crowd were on their feet and never sat back down. The band did everything they could to keep the energy high and the crowd ate it up! A short but powerful set treated the fans to such hits as “Teenage Rampage”, a medley of “Little Willy/Blockbuster/Wig Wam Bam”, “Love is Like Oxygen” and of course “Ballroom Blitz” which had the entire stadium dancing in the aisles
Chilliwack followed, and while not quite matching the look of Sweet, they certainly carried the intensity running through a set list that included hits such as “Arms of Mary”, “Crazy Talk”, and crowd favourite “Gone, Gone, Gone, (My Girl).
What were expected to be the biggest draws, UB40, and BTO followed and while both bands brought with them a string of hits, they just didn’t seem to hit as hard as the openers, especially Sweet. UB40 musically, were incredible bringing their reggae sound with songs such as “Bring Me Your Cup” and “Cherry Oh Baby” but despite the wonderful vibe, musicianship and coordinated stage moves, judging by the crowd, many weren't too familiar with their catalog and really only came alive with the radio hit, “Red Red Wine”.
As the headliners, BTO brought the hits and Randy Bachman was quick to point out that he would definitely let the music talk. And while they had the biggest stage backdrop of the night with videos paying homage to the 50 year history of the band, there seemed to be a lack of energy from the band. The music was amazing and the band sounded great with hits including “Shakin’ All Over”, “No Sugar Tonight”, “American Woman” and an encore that started with a great medley and finished with crowd favourite, “Taking Care of Business”. However, and this is just my humble opinion, maybe, after following the high energy of bands like The Box and Sweet, seeing four guys come out in their street clothes (Okay, one of them was wearing a racoon skin cap, but still) just didn’t seem to be as exciting as it should have been.
Only the die hard fans of each band would actually know the original members. For, what I would say to be the other 95% of the crowd, just hearing those songs come to life again surrounded by fellows fans of great music was more than enough to keep vibe grooving all night long!
Concert Photo Gallery
show date: August 24, 2024
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