Future Nostalgia

Retrocity finally had their 25th anniversary concert on Saturday at the Redwood Theatre. It was postponed from December due to illness but the delay gave them a chance to sell out the venue. I had passed by this building several times during my sublet but they had no shows in winter of 2022. So I was curious to finally see the inside.

This former movie venue was larger than The Paradise but not as large as the old Royal on College. The seating was supper-club style similar to Lula Lounge in the West end. The roomy space allowed for many more seats and though you could get snacks, you weren't obliged to order dinner like at Lula. There were also some antique paraphernalia including a large film projector from the 60s sitting in the lobby. Aerial silks hung from the rafters as this was also home to an acrobatic and circus studio. All in all, the Redwood had a great vibe.

Most of audience (friends, coworkers, acquaintances) knew this 7-member a capella band and their 80s covers. The newbies were introduced to fun arrangements like Mr. Roboto and Maniac. But the energy sagged through the middle part of the 1st set from obscure songs (Phil Collins' I Don't Care Anymore) and jazzy covers of Tears For Fears and Frank Sinatra. Ostensibly this was to show us that we were as far from the 80s as that decade was from Porgy and Bess and big-band Jazz of the 1930s. Luckily, the set ended on a high-energy medley of New Wave songs. This new arrangement got huge cheers.

The 2nd set opened with a photo montage while the singers covered Without Us (Family Ties Theme). 25 years ago, they were baby-faced grads. But since they were also dressed in 80s garb for shows, the photos seemed to be from an even older era. The songs were recognizably "big hits" including The Right Stuff; Retrocity's first ever cover of NKOTB went over like gangbusters. Cancon was represented with Love Is Fire (Lorraine Segato), Black Stations/White Stations (Martha Johnson), and Something To Talk About (Shirley Eikhard). The set closed with Toto's Africa, a crowd favourite and fun singalong. For the encore, Retrocity sang their sublime arrangement of Cohen's Hallelujah.

I was in an odd mood for the show. As one of the singer pointed out, it has been 35-40 years for folks who were adults and teens in the 80s. Even children and babies when Retrocity originally started their journey as a one or two show lark were now grown. Similar to my feelings about Dwayne Gretzky shows, the audience vibe was starting to feel backward-looking.

The East End wasn't connected to Toronto's music scene. Its mid-sized venues (Opera House, Danforth Music Hall, History) hosted more established (and usually touring) acts. But there were no smaller stages for local up-and-comers. Early in the evening, I felt that The Redwood could be that anchor. But then I read the mission statement of its' booker and promoter. Tribute bands, jazz crooners, oldie genre was how they planned to bring "fun" to this area. There was nothing here for new music and the current generation.