Rock legends Cheap Trick kicked off the evening at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, along with Def Leppard and Journey. Cheap Trick celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and still knows how to deliver a stunning rock’n’roll performance.
Cheap trick
Rogers Centre, Toronto – August 2, 2024
Text and photography: Taylor Cameron
Rabin Zander at the helm still displays an onstage attitude and fashion sense that screams rock star, and the lead singer continues to come across as a larger than life figure.
With their deep cuts and huge hits, Cheap Trick effortlessly captured the attention of the Toronto crowd. It was clear that these men continue to love what they do.
Rick Neilson played a number of crazy guitars, the coolest of which was a double-neck guitar whose body was a cartoon caricature of himself, with the guitar necks and headstocks serving as legs and feet.
My personal favorite Cheap Trick song, The Flame, caused the audience to roar with cheers when Zander played the acoustic intro. The power ballad is always a crowd favorite.
“I Want You To Want Me,” “Dream Police,” and “Surrender” followed, and the crowd excitedly rose to their feet to sing along to the legendary songs.
Cheap Trick ended their set with “Goodnight,” a song the band released on their LP “Live from Budokan,” and what a perfect ending to their performance.
While the crowd said goodnight to Cheap Trick, the anticipation for Journey immediately grew.
The latter’s imminent cancellation of their UK and Ireland tour would leave European Cheap Trick fans devastated. One gets the feeling that Cheap Trick themselves would be pretty upset.
You can read all reports about an evening at the Rogers Centre here: Def Leppard – Journey – Cheap Trick.
