Terry Ilous and Mark Kendall of Great White – Toronto’s The Rockpile August 20 2012

Aug 23 2012 – On a sleep Monday night, Toronto’s The Rockpile was getting rocked hard. Multi-platinum selling LA based hard rock band Great White was in town on their Elation tour. A couple of weeks before the show we interviewed guitarist Mark Kendall, and you can read that interview here. During that interview Kendall told us “… we play a song and we play our hearts out and that hasn’t changed..” but more on that later.

Michael Lardie and Scott Snyder of Great White at Toronto’s The Rockpile August 20 2012

Opening for Great White was Three Quarter Stone. This 5 piece band from Guelph impressed us. Silky smooth vocals inter-weaved with plenty of guitar solos along with a hard beating of the drum and bass really set the tone. This is good hard rock folks and were a solid choice to open up for Great White. Take a dash of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Triumph, (insert name of your favorite late 70’s hard rock band) and you start to get the idea. Personally when watching a band on stage I want to see 2 things – smiles and sweat, and Three Quarter Stone had both in spades.

Three Quarter Stone after their gig at Toronto’s The Rockpile on August 20 2012

After a brief set up Great White hit the stage with a dramatic entrance befitting stadium shows. This is a band that started their career on LA’s fabled Sunset Strip during its heyday so there should be no surprise they know how to work a bar. They started off with “Desert Moon” and “Lady Red Light” both solid songs but the Toronto crowd needed some warming up to get into the party mood that is the proper environment for a Great White show. It was the third song On Your Knees that was originally released in 1982 that really elevated this show. Major guitar solo by Kendall with singer Terry Ilous on his knees singing to the audience brought the rock swagger into the show with a force. The audience started to crowd around the stage at this point, and Ilous tells Toronto that although this is a small crowd he wants them to make alot of noise.They obliged from that point on.

Great White Setlist for August 20 2012 at Toronto’s The Rockpile

Ilous is the new kid on the block for Great White taking over vocal duties from original singer Jack Russell recently. This guy knows how to rock and has both the voice and the charisma to be leading a major act like Great White. I would guess that one of the toughest jobs in rock is for a singer to take over the duties of vocalist of a band with a 30+ year career. Not only does the singer have to be in the spotlight for the whole night, but he has to convince the crowd that he can vocally deliver a good interpretation of their favorite songs. Ilous did all that and had no problem winning over the crowd.

Terry Ilous of Great White at The Rockpile – Toronto August 20 2012

As much as Ilous was in the spotlight most of the night, most of the eyes were on seriously talented guitarist Kendall. As a founding member of the band, Kendall told us he was having fun again with the new reocrd and the tour. There is no doubt that his statement was true. Spending most of the night with a smile on his face, the man in black (black cap, black shades, black shirt and jeans) whipped out world class guitar solos at all the appropriate times and was dripping sweat from his effort. Kendall promised us that this band gives it their all every night, and it was true. All bands we interview claim to give it their all, but you cant fool the audience. Great White performed with the professionalism and enthusiasm of a band playing in front of 20,000 at a sold out Air Canada Center.

Mark Kendall of Great White at Toronto’s The Rockpile August 20 2012

Other highlights of the night were a bluesy I’ve Got Something For You – the lead off single from the new album Elation, the classic rock radio staple Rock Me, and Save Your Love which was probably played in every strip joint in North America in the late 80’s.

Great White in Toronto August 20 2012

If there was one song that everyone knew was Great White’s massive hit from 1989 Once Bitten, Twice Shy (which is actually a cover of an Ian Hunter song from 1975). This tune hit number 5 on the Billboard charts and put Great White on a path of multi-platinum record sales. Once Bitten, Twice Shy was the last song of the evening and the band jammed out a 10 minute version of the rock classic.

The merch table also had a raffle for an electric guitar that all the members of Great White would autograph. Speaking of aurographs after the set was over all 5 members of the band hung out at the merch table and interacted with fans, signed autographs, and posed for pictures. That is true dedication to their fans – while most bands run off to the confines of the backstage or jump in their van to drive off to the next gig, what Great White did for their fans was classy beyond description. Kudos guys, on behalf of all the fans at The Rockpile this night, we thank you for being real and caring for the people that pay your bills.

Great White after the gig for a meet and greet

Great White guitar raffle

Verdict: 4 out of 5 – Great White delivered a high caliber set and did not relent in their professionalism and dedication to musicianship. Hard rock may not be in the spotlight of the mass media these days, but Great White took us back to The Sunset Strip circa 1981 tonight and we thank them for it.