Peace of Rock n Roll - 'Boston / Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' Concert Review

Last night was probably one of the best moments of my life for all-time. I have had the ticket for a while that I purchased in a pre-sale when I found out that Boston was coming back to Toronto, and its been three years since they were last here.

You could also imagine my shock when I found out that the female rock legend was coming to open for the American rock band herself, Joan Jett.

I can recall that friends were going to see them at the time, and a lot of them were telling me to go and see them perform because their show was really worth seeing. I figured 'why not' and decided to score a ticket, and it was right on the floor of the Budweiser Stage - previously known as the Molson Amphitheatre. I have been to this venue many times for shows, so it would be a great night.

The temperature on the way there was really scorching hot when I set out to the venue gates waiting to open up, and here I was trying to dodge the sun. I did end up talking with a couple of Boston fans and a mixture of Joan Jett fans as well. I arrived a little early, but the doors eventually opened up at 6:30pm.

Once I got inside, I purchased two shirts - one for me and the other for my dad since he enjoys Boston. He had work so he wasn't able to make it for this show. After purchasing the shirts, I went over and bought a slice of pizza and apple juice for dinner as I didn't have dinner just yet. I go down to my seat in Row D on the floor in seat 8 and began eating while just watching the tech on stage setting up for Joan Jett.

7:30pm comes up, and the song My Generation from The Who starts playing. After that, followed the screen in the backdrop that lit up with CGI with a sign that introduced us all to the rock legend herself, with her back-up band.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

The band members were the first to come up onto the stage, which Joan Jett came out last and absolutely surprised us. She grabs her Gibson brand guitar and kicks off the show with a bang. In the audience were a load of girls, and I was even surprised to see a family with little children in the front row, looking really excited to see her with their own eyes.

She played a lot of cover songs that she is known for doing that, and making them sound much better that way. A few of her originals were also performed as well, which there was one song that is quite recognizable from a movie featuring a green ogre. The other members played quite well and their sound was really crisp and loud as it should be.

All hell really broke loose as soon as they begun performing their classic cover hit at the time I Love Rock 'n' Roll, originally by The Arrows. Everyone began to sing along with the chorus and during the "Yeah, me!" bit. I found myself beginning to sing it as I can remember when Weird Al Yankovic had parodied this song for his debut self-titled album called I Love Rocky Road. The parody version is what really introduced me to the original.

The show wrapped up at 8:30pm after a final song, and she and the other Blackhearts take a bow before heading off stage, including picks being thrown to the audience. I went up to the front of the stage to get a pick, but I ended up with a setlist instead. I will be keeping it, as it'll worth a lot of money in the future

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Setlist

1. Victim of Circumstance
2. Cherry Bomb
3. Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)
4. Bad Reputation
5. You Drive Me Wild
6. Light of Day
7. Love is Pain
8. Love is All Around
9. I Love Rock 'n' Roll
10. Crimson & Clover
11. I Hate Myself For Loving You
12. Everyday People

Boston

About twenty minutes later, the main feature of the night finally came up on stage. Their drum set looked absolutely mind-blowing - especially with the large gong behind the drummer that the singer Tommy DeCarlo slammed. But first we had a guitar serenade from the only remaining member of Boston himself named Tom Scholz, and then it kicked off the show from there.

They performed a lot of their hits, but also performed their new songs as well from their recent 2013 album which featured their previous singer posthumously for a few tracks. Tommy reminded me a bit of Mark Wahlberg by his own appearance from there, but his singing almost reminded me of James LaBrie from Dream Theater.

A female keyboard player was there for them performing and got to sing as well to my surprise. I really enjoyed that.

During the show, Tom went into a complete guitar solo followed by the pounding of the drums and bass to the National Anthem of Canada. You should have seen my reaction when they chose to do a tribute to my country - I absolutely began to belt out the lyrics for the anthem all the way to the very end of the song. (Absolute proof that I really love my country. 😊)

I did have a GTA V moment when they began performing Peace of Mind as it is featured on the Los Santos Rock Radio station in that video game. They also performed their love ballad Amanda and finished the show with a few of their other known hits back in the 1970s and 1980s.

The show eventually came to an end, and the guitar picks, drum heads and drum sticks were thrown to the audience, and wished all of us a good night and safe trip home. Thank you too Boston for a wonderful night.

Boston Setlist

1. Rock & Roll Band
2. Feelin' Satisfied
3. Smokin'
4. Heaven on Earth
5. Peace of Mind
6. It's Been Such a Long Time / Interlude
7. Cool the Engines
8. We're Ready
9. Hollyann
10. Don't Be Afraid
11. I Think I Like It
12. Don't Look Back
13. Something About You
14. Amanda
15. The Launch
16. Magdalene
17. More Than a Feeling
18. "E" Jam
19. To Be a Man
20. Walk On Medley
21. Foreplay / Long Time
22. Party

Well, that's it for last night's show. I made it home safely after having missed the 11:20pm train because of the Derby Racing in the Exhibition. So I caught the 11:50pm train, carrying the Joan Jett setlist home with me, along with the shirts.

Next upcoming shows for me are this weekend, as I will be seeing Iron Maiden w/ Ghost this Saturday with my friend Emily at the same venue, followed by Metallica w/ Avenged Sevenfold & Volbeat on Sunday at the Rogers Centre.

\m/ Brayden \m/