GLASS TIGER – Private Concert: Greystone Racquet Club Waterloo, Ontario July 13, 2023

Photos and review by Dr. Kathryn Ladano

About a month ago, I saw a social media post on Glass Tiger’s Instagram page that was announcing a very special private, acoustic concert, with only 50 tickets available to the public. I immediately thought, “well that sure is cool, but I’m sure it won’t be happening anywhere near me”. To my surprise, that event was happening in Waterloo, 15 minutes from my home. The ticket price was steep – $199 plus tax for one ticket. However, I knew that this was a once in a lifetime experience to see the band that was my absolute favourite growing up. I hesitated at the price for about 2 minutes and then reserved a ticket to ensure I got one before they sold out. I only bought one because I didn’t think I’d be able to convince anyone to pay that price. So, I opted to go to the show alone. This would be my third time seeing Glass Tiger live. The first time was when they opened for Roxette in 2012 at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto. The second time was five days before this concert – at the Kincardine Scottish Festival (a very large, outdoor event with thousands of people in attendance). I’d like to say that I saw them in their heyday in the 80’s and early 90’s, but I was a child living at home then, and my mom wouldn’t let me go!

I received an email two days before show advising us that for general admission ticket holders (me), the doors would open at 6:30pm, we could enjoy a cash bar and free appetizers, and the show would start at 8:30pm. The email mentioned there were also VIP tickets, and those people got to come earlier, receive several free drinks, and were able to access a private reception after the concert. I honestly have no idea how one could get those tickets. They were not advertised on any posting I saw. Because I was going alone and had no one to talk to, I decided to leave my house around 7:30pm, arriving around 7:45pm. As soon as I got there, I bought a beer (Waterloo Amber) and then claimed my spot at the very front of the stage right in the centre. To my surprise no one had staked out their spots to the concert! Everyone else was socializing and hanging out farther away from the stage. I’m sure I looked like a bit of an idiot, standing in front of the stage all by myself for so long. However, I wanted the best possible experience, and I didn’t want a little bit of social discomfort to ruin that. People could think whatever they wanted!

To my surprise, Glass Tiger emerged and came on stage at 8:15pm (not the 8:30pm that we were told). The entire band had to walk right beside and in front of me to get on stage. I was inches away from all of them! Glass Tiger still has three original members that perform in all of the live shows: singer Alan Frew, keyboardist Sam Reid, and guitarist Al Connelly. Their bassist, Wayne Parker, is still a member of the band but he no longer performs live with them due to his wife contracting Lyme disease several years ago. He’s opted to stay at home and care for her, which he can’t do when he’s on the road with the band. Alan Frew has a really great recurring Insagram live show called “Frew the Looking Glass”, where he talks to fans and often has special guests. I tuned in when Wayne was the special guest two years ago, which is where I learned all about this. Glass Tiger now has a different bassist when they perform live. Last week, at the Kincardine Scottish Festival, Tom Lewis filled that role. Last night though, because it was an acoustic show, they had a second acoustic guitar player and I unfortunately do not remember his name. The band was also joined by back-up singer Carmela Long and long-time drummer Chris McNeill.

Every other time I’ve seen Glass Tiger live I’ve been nowhere near the front – always pretty far away from the stage. This concert was the exact opposite. At various points in the show, I was able to make eye contact with every member of the band and I was always met with a big smile (probably because I had a huge smile on my face the entire night). Right from the start of the show, Alan Frew informed us that he was sick, and I noticed that he was sipping tea (rather than beer) during the show. Despite this, you couldn’t tell by hearing his voice. Where you could tell was in his energy – he was definitely lower energy than the previous week. However, it was clear that he still wanted to put on a great show, and he did. The show began with the relatively new song, “Fire it Up”, which absolutely fired up the audience. They played 13 songs in total for the main set, and then two more songs in their encore. The show lasted about an hour and a half in total. I could see the setlist from where I was watching the show, so I was never surprised about what was coming next. For some reason though, they switched up the last song and the second last song. On the setlist, the final song was supposed to be “Animal Heart”, but they went with “Thin Red Line” instead (which ultimately, I think was a better choice). The setlist (as played in the concert) was as follows:

1.             “Fire it Up
2.             “You’re What I Look For”
3.             “I’m Still Searching”
4.             “My Town” (Alan Frew told us Rod Stewart was invited to sing, but just hadn’t shown up to the venue yet!)
5.             “This is Your Life”
6.             “Healing Hands” (from Alan Frew’s first solo album)
7.             “Right Here Right Now” (a cover of the Jesus Jones hit)
8.             “My Song”
9.             “Someday”
10.             “Diamond Sun”
11.             “I Will Be There”
12.             “Animal Heart”
13.             “Thin Red Line”

Encore:

1.             “Heroes” (cover of the David Bowie song)
2.             “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone”

 

The setlist was almost identical to the one I heard in Kincardine. There were only two differences: Instead of “Healing Hands” and “This is Your Life”, they played “Rhythm of Your Love” and “Ecstasy”.

While most of the audience was pretty dressed up, I opted to wear my Glass Tiger t-shirt that my mom got me for Christmas in 1988. For some reason, she got me an XXXL shirt – and I’m still swimming in it. The shirt (pictured) is from the album/song “Diamond Sun” and includes the song lyrics, “Love Gives Live” (which in the song is followed by the words, “and life is love”). When the band started playing Diamond Sun, and those lyrics came up, keyboardist Sam Reid looked at Alan Frew and pointed at my t-shirt. Alan then knowingly nodded his head. At another point in the song, Alan Frew also pointed to my shirt when singing those lyrics. The song has a new memory associated with it for me, and I’ll never forget that! Much to my surprise, I only saw one other person wearing a Glass Tiger shirt that night, and it was a significantly newer one. There were literally people of all ages at the show. The youngest was a child – maybe around 10 years old (I have a very hard time knowing what age children are, so I could be way off on that). There were also several seniors there – and many of them were right out front dancing beside me!

When the concert ended, I stuck around for a while on the off chance that I could get an autograph (I brought my CD copy of the “Thin Red Line” special edition, released in 2012). Because there was a VIP ticket option, the staff were clearly trying to ensure that only the people with those tickets had access to the band. I thought I’d wait anyway, just to see. To my surprise, guitarist Al Connelly came out by himself to grab some of his gear on the stage. A security guard was standing right in front of the stage, so I asked him if it would be okay if I asked Al for an autograph. He said absolutely, as long as I didn’t go onto the stage myself. I got Al’s attention and he said he’d come right back to sign my CD because his hands were full. True to his word, Al grabbed a beer and then came right back to where I was waiting and signed my album. Shortly after that, the security crew were telling us “regular” ticket holders that we had to move out of the space to make room for the VIP reception. I figured I would have no other opportunities to get more signatures, so I left the concert.

All in all, a fantastic show. It was a night I’ll never forget and I’m glad that I went ahead and got a ticket even with the higher price tag. While there were some songs I would have loved to hear live and didn’t (such as “Watching World’s Crumble”, “Far Away From Here”, “After the Dance”, and “Stand or Fall”), I still immensely enjoyed the experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat if such an opportunity ever came up again (and I’d have to figure out how to get a VIP ticket!). It was just announced that Glass Tiger will be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame – the crowd gave them a lot of cheers to recognize that accomplishment.

5/5 stars