You wanted a country show, well you got a country show if, you were at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto on Thursday night.
First to hit the stage was Kane Brown. Not knowing much about this band I have to go on what I saw. The band seemed a bit subdued on stage. They played great but I was expecting a little more enthusiasm from the singer. Kane Brown (singer) took a lot of selfies with the audience members up front which is always a hit with the fans who were close but, it does get lost on the people that are further back. The fans in the 200-400 sections of the Amphitheatre didn’t get that opportunity and after the 20-30 time seeing this you start getting distracted and loosing interest. It was unfortunate that their set was only 25 minutes long, but with 4 bands on the bill I guess you have to cut time somewhere.
The Cadillac Three was next to hit the stage. I had the opportunity to see them at a smaller venue in Toronto not long ago and I loved them there so I was expecting the same type of show. Once again the band was a little subdued. But to be fair the singer Jaren Johnston, who also plays guitar, is attached to the microphone and doesn’t have the opportunity to move around much. I love the fact that I got to see them on a big stage for this show. I am pretty sure the next time they are back they will be headlining their own show at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. It was very unfortunate that once again the set was short, I would have liked to have seen them perform a little bit longer.
Thursday night at the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre the fans got their monies worth and more with 4 country acts. Next up was Cole Swindell and the Amphitheatre woke up. The music got louder and the band got a lot more enthusiastic about being here. Cole walked back and forth on the stage and interacted quite a bit with the audience members. The guitar player even took centre stage a few times for solos which I love to see. Even during “No Can Left Behind” he cheers quite a few people in the front few rows. The whole set was only slowed down once during “You Should Be Here” most of the time the crowd was up dancing during Cole’s performance. Nothing like seeing an amphitheatre full of singing fans. They didn’t leave us on a sappy note though finishing off their set with “Ain’t Worth The Whiskey”.
The beers were now flowing in full force and the audience was pumped for the headliners. Florida Georgia Line took command of the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre stage. They kicked off their set with “This Is How We Roll” which brought the audience to their feet and they stayed there for the entire night. Fire was in full effect for Florida Georgia Line and it looked great. Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard walked out on to the front of the stage and interacted with the fans, which the crowd always loves. Florida Georgia Line played “Smooth” fairly soon afterwards keeping the fans out of their seats. The only time any of them sat down was during “Burning It Down” and only about 1/8 of the Molson Amphitheatre sat. Someone during this song thought this was a good opportunity to jump on stage, he was quickly escorted right off.
Cole Swindell and Jaren Johnston (from The Cadillac Three) joined Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard on the 4 stools set up on stage to do a very short medley. An exuberant female fan decided to throw a hot pink bra onto the stage which got quite the laugh from the musicians on stage. Always nice to see someone be taken off guard in a good way and smile. This medley was followed by “Holy” which to my surprise ended up being my favourite song of the night. The fans sang their hearts out and swayed to the music as their images were shown on the LED screens. After the song was done Tyler seemed a little taken aback at the response they received from The Toronto crowd. He smiled and almost blushed at the response “Holy” received. It look genuine to me and made me smile.
Florida Georgia Line finished off the night with “Get Your Shine On” but was quickly followed by an encore which included “Cruise” of course. It was a great evening full of cheers, laughter and great music, and I can’t wait for the next time I get to see Florida Georgia Line.
Once again thanks to the crew, because without them there is no show!
