This past weekend we had the chance to catch Canadafest at Jobing Arena in Glendale, AZ. The venue is the home of the Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL and with the team in D.C. it seemed like an odd day to do an event. Upon closer examination, it was revealed that both Vancouver and Montreal will be playing in the Valley of the Sun this week, and as such a large number of Canadians, many Snow Birds will be in the area to take in some hockey action.
In a clever promotion, the Coyotes organized an event which brought legendary Canadian bands Trooper, Loverboy, and Bachman Turner Overdrive into town for a rocking evening that was preceded by watching the Coyotes on the venues numerous screens.
The cozy but very polite crowd was thrilled to find the Canadian donut and coffee haven Tim Horton’s on hand as they have opened a stand at the arena which is open to the general public daily until 3:00 PM.
The show started off with Trooper who are not widely known in the states but have been a well-established and popular band in Canada for decades. Despite the years, the band clearly knows how to deliver and while at first it was a bit odd to see the long haired band of old now balding and pudgy but the men well into their 60s were rocking out and pulled it off and then some despite some faltering movements that had my wife worried that lead singer Ra McGuire had hurt himself while doing stage crouches and such.
Not only did the band play a song they had written over the weekend, but classics such as We’re Here For a Good Time, Raise a Little Hell, and The Boys In The Bright White Sports Car had never sounded better.
After a short break, Loverboy took the stage and delivered hit after hit. Hits ranging from Notorious, Queen of the Broken Hearts, Turn Me Loose, Lucky Ones, Hot Girls in Love, The Kid is Hot Tonight, and the timeless Working For The Weekend were just a few of the all hit single set the band unleashed to a crowd who was clearly amped to here the timeless classics again. My wife said to me after the show that she ended up knowing far more of their songs that she thought she would as prior to the show she could only remember a few of their hits.
70’s rockers Bachman Turner Overdrive completed the evening with their power rock set which built to the classics Let it Ride, You Aint Seen Nothing Yet, and the closer, Taking Care of Business.
The bands were in top form and the amazing venue and friendly staff provided an enjoyable evening that had great acoustics, plenty of easy access parking and numerous restaurants and shopping and entertainment options for pre and post event entertainment.
For concerts, sporting events, and more this is a great venue and the Phoenix Coyotes buoyed by their permanent status in the Phoenix area continue to provide fun and creative promotions and events on and off the ice.
