Rock the Lake 2018 blurred the line between legitimate nostalgia bands and tribute artists.
Its theme of 'I'll be back' - a re-interpretation of Arnold Schwarzeneger's famous catchphrase in his 1984 science fiction film
The Terminator - implied the weekend rock concert at Kelowna's Prospera Place would be classic acts from the 70s, 80s and
90s returning to entertain their long-time fans.
The sad fact is that any sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll bands from that era have lost or changed members dozens of times in some
cases. That begs the question: when does an oldies band go from legitimate nostaglia to tribute. The answer depends on what
fans consider crucial personnel ingredients - the original vocalist(s) and guitarist(s), and to a lesser extent, the other vocalists
and instrumentalists.
Rock the Lake 2018 provided multiple opportunities to make those kind of judgements. And the response of the 3,500 fans
last weekend will provide the basis for Rock the Lake 2019 on the weekend of Aug. 9-11, announced Saturday with ticket
sales underway on Sunday at 2018 prices.
Canadian rock musician, songwriter, actor and author Ian Thomas, who led the three-artist Friday night concert, joked the
weekend might have been dubbed "We thought they were done" festival. And in 1975, his "beatiful head of hair hung like an
awning. Unfortunately, it was a retractible awning."
His classics setlist included Right Before Your Eyes (1977), Pilot (1979), Hold On (1981), The Matter With Me (1991, from
his four albums with The Boomers 1991-2002), You've Got To Know (1993, The Boomers), and one modern hit, To Comfort
You (2016, album A Life In Song).
His skills as a songwriter were showcased with The Runner (a 1971 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band) and the slow,
melodic To Comfort You (Bette Midler from her Bette of Roses album in 1995).
He wasn't done with the lighter side, introducing new lyrics to the1964 international hit The Girl From Ipanema featuring
Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz about a middle-aged man wearing a Speedo.
Men Without Hats, a Canadian new wave/synth pop group originally from Montreal, had a much different attack. The lead-
off was the rollicking Safety Dance, a worldwide hit in 1983 from the debut album Rhythm of Youth.
Lead singer Ivan Doroshuk then set the stage with Antartica with the double-entendre words, "It's my turn." And it was his
turn to tell everyone, in song, his battles with the recording industry.
Those familiar with the band's rocky history will recall Doroshuk wanted the band's first synth-heavy hit to be first single, I
Got The Message. The followup, Where do the Boys Go?, should have been a hit but the record company had lost interest in
the group.
Pop Goes the World resurrected the band in 1987 placing in Billboard's Top 20. Dorochuk wanted On Tuesday to be the
followup but the record company chose Moonbeam. Dorochuk's choices were on the playlist, not Moonbeam. Also on the
setlist was Living in China, which the record company thought was "too political."
A survivor, Doroschuk included Head Above Water and This War from Love in the Age of War, which he continuously
referred to as "our new album" even though it was released in June 2012.
And in one final slap, he finished with a remix of The Safety Song, which was supposed to be included in a box set dedicated
to the band's early years. It didn't happen and the band split up once again in 2004, eventually reforming in 2010.
Histrionics aside, the crowd danced and enthusiastically cheered every selection.
In the nostalgia versus tribute debate, it was Randy Bachman and his tribute band.
Bachman, who ended Friday night, sang vocal hits from Bachman-Turner Overdrive but he was no Fred Turner and the lead
singer in his backup band, Rick Delavie, was no Burton Cummings in the Guess Who numbers or a wailing Robert Plant in a
strange mix, Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love in the middle of the Guess Who's American Woman.
Bachman, ever the music historian and the most celebrated musician in Canadian history, went chronologically through the
main hits, from Shakin' All Over (1965) to Guess Who hits These Eyes, Laughing and No Time to BTO's Roll On Down The
Highway, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet and his theme song, Takin' Care Of Business (not until the encore). The encore
included The Taxman, his new George Harrison tribute album, By George By Bachman.
On Saturday, the Northern Pikes' setlist included the band's first significant hit, Teenland (1988), Kiss Me You Fool (1990)
and the biggest hit, Believe (1992), plus a couple Grapes of Wrath tunes in honour of that band's former guitarist Kevin Kane
(from Kelowna) who joined in 2017.
Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts returned to the stage with a solid set that included: Come Back To Me (1988), Life
Could Be Worse (1991), Doin' Fine (1992), Belly of the Sun (1993), Do You (1995) and I'm Shattered (1995). And strangely
ended the set with Tom Cochrane's anthem, Life Is A Highway, even though the band had many more hits over its 10-year
history.
Glam rock/heavy metal band Sweet tested the debate on nostaglia versus tribute since two original members are dead and
there is Andy Scott's Sweet established in 1985 and Steve Priest's Sweet formed in 2008. Priest, on bass/backing vocals and
adorned in a red cape, sat on the Prospera stage for the one-hour set while "new" lead singer Paulie Z from Los Angeles did
all the heavy lifting on Little Willie (1972), Teenage Rampage (1974), ACDC (1974), Love is Like Oxygen (1978), Fox On
The Run (1975) and, of course, wrapping up with the audience favourite, Ballroom Blitz (1973).
Glass Tiger resolved the blurring with four out of the five original musicians from 1983. Their pop rock numbers had everyone
standing, many dancing, and they romped through Someday (1986), I'm Still Searching (1988) and an encore of their major
international hit, Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone (1986). They will be hard to forget after that closer.
Produced by GSL Group, "Rock the Lake 2018 "has once again been a tremendous success, and the mix of great
music and good times cemented the decision to bring the festival back in 2019 for a fourth consecutive year," said organizers
on Saturday.
More details on next year’s festival and line-up will be released in the coming months at: -
2019 and on the Rock The Lake Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds.
Full three-day passes for next year鈥檚 event start at $153, plus applicable charges, and are available for pre-purchase for a
limited time at: . Further ticket information for VIP passes, single-day admission and parking will be
available soon.