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Date Posted: 22:44:05 03/30/00 Thu
Author: Rocksteady
Author Host/IP: NoHost / 216.129.18.52
Subject: "To Hell With The Rain!"

August 31, 1975, I had been a dedicated Guess who fan for 5 years and tonight I was going to see them live in concert for the first time at CNE stadium in Toronto. Only problem was it was raining. Not a light drizzle or even a sprinkle. It was POURING! There I was soaked to the skin. The show was late getting started, we had just sat through a truncated set by the openning act of shawne Jackson and the stage was getting pummelled by the wind and the rain. Just when I was about to despair, out of the darkness from the stage, I heard a familiar voice on the microphone scream "To Hell With The Rain, We're going to rock tonight, Toronto!!!" Up come the lights and Burton and the boys are belting out Down And Out Women. Stage hands were coming out constantly wiping water off instruments and amplifiers. The keyboards were covered in plastic. The band had every right to call the whole thing off. But Burton, ever the professional wasn't going to leave us unrewarded for waiting in the wet. We got the full show that night. 2+ hours of great rock and roll from Burton, Domenic, Bill and Garry. It was a night that I will never ever forget. Got a bootleg of the show about a year ago that I just love. Also the first date with a girl who would later become my wife. Although we celebrate our wedding anniversary every year, we always do something special every August 31. this year, it will be 25 years... Man, I'm a sentimental fool... Burton, I'm really enjoying the book exerpts. Thanks for hanging in for the fans, both this morning and 25 years ago in a rainstorm...

Mark

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Replies:

[> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Shillelagh, 23:11:31 03/30/00 Thu [1] (remote064.arc.ab.ca/128.144.63.64)

Mark, you are the sentimental fool. As you know, I was also at CNE that night, but what you don't know is that it would have been the 1st Guess Who concert (3rd date) with the woman I would eventually marry. EXCEPT, she decided to play hard-to-get, so I invited a mutual girl friend attended. The mild jealousy exhibited afterward let me know I was in pretty good standing and by the time Massey Hall 76 happened, we were engaged.


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[> [> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Rocksteady, 23:48:03 03/30/00 Thu [1] (ppp83.lindsaycomp.on.ca/216.129.18.83)

Hey! I was at Massey Hall as well. What a great concert. Burton's first solo tour. I was in row 11 in the centre. What I remember most about the concert was the song Fool Fool I Met A Fool, as well as being blown away by this new song entitled Charlemagne. At that point it was still unrecorded and Burton was singing about 6 different verses. Sorry, I don't have a bootleg of that show... Burton also did Own Way To Rock, and Nicky Hokey. I was also struck by the incredible stage presence that Burton exuded throughout the entire show. It was something that was harder to detect in the larger CNE venue. In the more intimate setting of Massey Hall, it was very apparent.

Mark


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[> [> [> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Shillelagh, 00:39:35 03/31/00 Fri [1] (remote053.arc.ab.ca/128.144.63.53)

Rock, check the email address. You're talking to an "old" friend.


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[> "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Arrivederci Guy, 23:51:15 03/30/00 Thu [1] (ch1smc.bellglobal.com/206.47.244.61)

It was far from the GW's best show. We all could tell the GW was on the verge of splittin' up after they did the Barbra Streisand(?) song "Memories". It was horrrrrible.


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[> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Delia, 00:49:40 03/31/00 Fri [1] (proxy-396.public.rwc.webtv.net/209.240.200.96)

When I started to read your post I thought someone that knew me had told MY story. It was summer of 1973, I don't remember the exact date, or the opening band. It was Mississippi River Festival at SIU Edwardsville, and outdoor venue. There was a tent with chair for some. Most of us sat on the grass under the stars.

There was a drizzle for the opening band. As TGW was preparing to take the stage, it began to pour. A crowd gathered around the outside of the tent. A rush was inevitable. I was lucky enough to get 2nd row just to Burton's left. I sat in awe for 2 and half hours as he performed directly in front of me. He hit every note perfectly, his voice never cracked. I have never forgotton, and doubt that I ever will.


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[> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Chilli, 01:11:04 03/31/00 Fri [1] (tc1-29.icom.ca/207.139.201.221)

> August 31, 1975, I had been a dedicated Guess who fan
> for 5 years and tonight I was going to see them live
> in concert for the first time at CNE stadium in
> Toronto. Only problem was it was raining. Not a light
> drizzle or even a sprinkle. It was POURING! There I
> was soaked to the skin. The show was late getting
> started, we had just sat through a truncated set by
> the openning act of shawne Jackson and the stage was
> getting pummelled by the wind and the rain. Just when
> I was about to despair, out of the darkness from the
> stage, I heard a familiar voice on the microphone
> scream "To Hell With The Rain, We're going to rock
> tonight, Toronto!!!" Up come the lights and Burton and
> the boys are belting out Down And Out Women. Stage
> hands were coming out constantly wiping water off
> instruments and amplifiers. The keyboards were covered
> in plastic. The band had every right to call the whole
> thing off. But Burton, ever the professional wasn't
> going to leave us unrewarded for waiting in the wet.
> We got the full show that night. 2+ hours of great
> rock and roll from Burton, Domenic, Bill and Garry.
> It was a night that I will never ever forget. Got a
> bootleg of the show about a year ago that I just love.
> Also the first date with a girl who would later become
> my wife. Although we celebrate our wedding
> anniversary every year, we always do something special
> every August 31. this year, it will be 25 years...
> Man, I'm a sentimental fool... Burton, I'm really
> enjoying the book exerpts. Thanks for hanging in for
> the fans, both this morning and 25 years ago in a
> rainstorm...
>
> Mark

I too was at that concert. It happen to be my second Guess Who concert ever and the start of a string of concerts that would allow me too see Burton close too 100 times since. The thing that impressed me more than anything was that he sounded just like the records. I've seen many artists perform live, and Burton Cummings is one of maybe just a few that can sound better than the record. He is the ultimate professional. I saw him at a bar when someone spilled a drink on the baby grand piano and he never missed a beat. Any lesser performer would have lost his/her composure but Burton played it cool and made everyone feel OK even though it could have wiped out his piano. What has gone done here today is typical of human nature. Those few can spoil it all for the masses. I like everyone else was very excited to have my life long idol reply to one of my posts. It brighten up a rather depressing life that I was leading. Lets not push this too far. Let Burton reply when he wants and post when he wants. Just the fact that he is among us is special enough for all of us to saviour. This man is a rock & roll icon. I had mentioned to some very young co-worker friends of mine today that I've had a reply from Burton Cummings on the web, expecting them to say Burton Who?, But too my surprise, this one 21 year old girl replied, Thee Burton Cummings!!!! I was proud too say yes thee Burton Cummings!!! We are very blessed here to have one of the all time greatest rock & roll performers of all time a part of our group, lets not screw it up.


Chilli


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[> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- Nimbus 9, 09:34:32 03/31/00 Fri [1] (NoHost/206.47.203.49)

WOW! Ithink I'm having a flashback.
I was in the fourth row & 15 years old. I remember I was wearing my new jeans for school. My legs were dyed blue when i got home. My best friend & I were soaked to the bone & having the time of our lives watching our favorie band!
Thank the GODS for this site. I also went to the Massey Hall show by myself. That was a bit weird but you can't have a bad time at a BC or Guess Who show.
CHEEERS Nimbus 9


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[> [> Re: "To Hell With The Rain!" -- carguy, 14:36:21 03/31/00 Fri [1] (june.bmts.com/216.183.140.3)

Well, it sounds like quite a few of us saw that CNE show!
I, too, was there and I, too, sensed that something was
"wrong", when it came to the part of the show that featured the medley of hits, sandwiched between the Streisand song. Intentional or not, there was a very melancholly "feel"
to Burtons' vocals...maybe all that rain affected the way
the vocals "carried", but it sure was eerie....I'll never
forget it. The band was definitely in trouble...Troiano
is/was a great musician but he was not commercial...and
there's nothin' wrong with being commercial!

During Burtons' first solo tour, he actually played the
somewhat accoustically- deprived Sudbury arena, and
played a great show. I attended the show with a good friend (unlike some of you, I didn't marry this girl; don't even know where the hell she is, actually). Anyway, somewhere
in a scrap book, I have tickets #1 and #2 for that show.
"Stand Tall" was quite a hit single...I remember seeing
quite a few "older folks" attend that show, on the strength of the single, not knowing Burt's background. My girlfriends grandmother had gone to that show because she
liked the song (not with us). That was a pretty rockin'
show, with those future hits, Charlemagne and My Own Way to
Rock, plus all the GW stuff...a few of the "oldsters" left early that night.


> WOW! Ithink I'm having a flashback.
> I was in the fourth row & 15 years old. I remember I
> was wearing my new jeans for school. My legs were dyed
> blue when i got home. My best friend & I were soaked
> to the bone & having the time of our lives watching
> our favorie band!
> Thank the GODS for this site. I also went to the
> Massey Hall show by myself. That was a bit weird but
> you can't have a bad time at a BC or Guess Who show.
> CHEEERS Nimbus 9


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