Canadian rock legend Tom Cochrane and Red Rider expanded the Athabasca Regional Multiplex with energy April 28.
About 750 people from Athabasca and surrounding areas attended the show, which was opened by country-folk group Nice Horse.
After the show, Cochrane said he got into a trance on the stage, and he had a lot of fun performing in Athabasca.
“We passed through here so many times, but never played here. It’s always a really important thing to kind of do some of these markets that bands don’t get into a whole lot,” he said.
At the beginning of the show, attendees were seated throughout the Multiplex Fieldhouse, and by the end crowds were storming the barricade and reaching up for Tom Cochrane and Red Rider at the front of the stage during the final number.
Cochrane said he realizes times can be tough for folks in the country, and that is part of the reason he strived to put on a good show.
“You put a whole lot of energy into it, because you know people lay it down to come out and see me,” he said. “It means a lot to me, so the least we can do is do our best.”
When the band began hitting chords for the song “Life is a Highway,” the room went wild, and the energy kept up through the entire number.
“Everyone always says, ‘(Do) you get tired of playing (Life is a HBefore playing the hit song “Big League,” Cochrane spoke about how hockey connects the entire country, and asked the crowd how the Oilers were doing in their playoff game against the Anaheim Ducks that night. The crowd shouted back the live winning score, and Cochrane was off into the legendary song.
Town of Athabasca resident Rena Flasha said she has pretty much always been a Tom Cochrane fan because she is a “80s girl,” and it was a fantastic show to attend.
“It’s nice to see big shows like this come to Athabasca. I think if people keep supporting them they’ll keep coming, and the promoters will keep bringing them. I think that’s great, so people need to support stuff like this in small towns,” she said.
Multiplex manager Dustin Pysyk said from the Multiplex standpoint the show was a success.
“I think it went great. It was good to see a concert like this at this level back in Athabasca,” he said. “Everybody seemed to have a good time and Tom put on a good show.”ighway)?’ How do you get tired of playing a song that you get so much energy back when you play it?” Cochrane said.
