Glass Tiger / Roxette – Rogers Arena – September 12, 2012
Stepping back into our youth, friends and I went to Rogers Arena for the final night of Sweden’s Roxette‘s Canadian Tour, featuring guests Glass Tiger. Former Much Music VJ, now DJ, Kim Clarke Champniss opened up the night with a DJ set before Canadian rock band Glass Tiger took to the stage. Starting the night off with “I’m Still Searching”, the pop stars sounded as good as they did 20 years ago. The three time Juno Award winners played an array of their biggest hits during their 45 minute set; “Someday”, “My Song”, “Animal Heart”, one of my favourites “Diamond Sun” garnered a lot of sing – along and applause from the audience. After a brief interlude for lead singer, Alan Frew to talk about their support for CCFCanada and some encouragement to sponsor a child, the biggest applause for Glass Tiger’s set was for their first hit, “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone”, even after 26 years it’s still a song that gets people on their feet.
After a stage change, the headliners Roxette came to the stage with the opening notes of “Dress For Success”. While the group, Marie Fredricksson (vocals) and Per Gessle (guitar & vocals), sounded like they did in 1989, it was immediately noticed that Marie’s energy level wasn’t what it was in the band’s heyday. We weren’t sure what was wrong so a quick check on Wikipedia revealed the fact that she’d had a brain tumor and went through cancer treatment in the early 2000s, resulting in blindness in one eye and years away from performing. While she may have been physically on the comeback trail, her voice was still strong and commanding. Per handled much of the audience engagement and worked around the stage with enough energy for the both of them. Their back up singer and other bandmembers worked the stage as well to boost the crowds entertainment level. The band’s big hits; “Fading Like A Flower”, “Crash, Boom, Bang”, “Dangerous” were mixed with recent singles like “She’s Got Nothing On But The Radio”. The old and new songs and the up beat and ballad mix kept the audience hopping up out of their seats, to get on to their feet to dance and sing. Some of the biggest sing-alongs were with the bands huge hits, “Must Have Been Love” and “Joyride” the later wrapped up the main hour + set on a energetic high with the addition of a dozen giant beach balls bouncing into the audience. A quick turn off the stage preceded the encore of “Listen To Your Heart”, “The Look” and “Church Of Your Heart” to close out our fun trip to the late 80s and early 90s.