Can Con Thursday - Tonight Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love

The first concert I was allowed to go to without my parents was an April Wine show. Pretty typical for a Canadian kid in the early 1980s, I think. Arena rock in an actual arena.

They were playing at the Memorial Centre (which I can see from my front porch, some 40+ years later). It was a GA show, and I had won tickets, an LP and a t-shit in a contest on a local radio station (does anyone out there remember CKLC?). I was pretty excited, even though I remember my ears ringing for a few days afterwards. 

For Can Con Thursday, I'm sharing a classic April Wine song, "Tonight Is A Wonderful Time To Fall In Love." Recorded for the band's 1975 album, Stand Back, the song definitely has LOTS of cowbell! Apparently, Stand Back was the first album by a Canadian band to achieve platinum sales in Canada. This power ballad was a pretty big hit in Canada, and I'm sure that many Canucks of a certain age can remember all of the lyrics!

Love is such a sweet thing, oh yeah

It's easy when you realize

These moments are forever, oh yeah

It's magic and it's in her eyes

 

Way Back Wednesday - Enough Is Enough

During the summer of 1982, I was 15.  I won tickets (listening to CKLC - 1380 AM) to see April Wine at the memorial center.  It was a whole package actually, tshirt, record and the tickets.  It was the first time my folks gave me permission to go with a friend.  Prior to that, I'd only gone to a concert with my parents. Not so much fun when you're 14 or 15.

I wasn't a particularly big fan of April Wine but hey, free tickets to a legit concert (I think Harlequin opened for them).  What's not to love about that.  I remember that it was loud and I hadn't really figured out the ear plugs thing yet but, I also remember that we had a great time and felt pretty grown up.

Just recently, I went back and revisited some April Wine songs.  They definitely represent a certain time in Canadian music.  Do they sound a bit dated? Sure... but they are still fun.  Today, in honour of Way back Wednesday, I'm sharing a video from April Wine, Enough Is Enough.  Now, I'm not a prude and definitely not a film critic but, I would imagine that folks in 2018 would frown upon a truck load of grown men picking up young girls from along the side of the road and throwing them into the back of a truck.  Again, no judgement, just perhaps not something that you'd really want to encourage.  Kinda really glad that the times have changed.