Kevin Kane & Tom Hooper from The Grapes of Wrath brought their tour to Aeolian Hall here in London, Ontario, Canada, last October.
What a night! What a show! This is one where the performance exceeded my expectations.
I learned of The Grapes of Wrath back in 1984 when I was in my first of nine years DJing at CHRW, Western’s alternative radio station. The cover art on their debut EP caught my eye, and so I threw it on during my shift. I played the first cut, “Misunderstanding,” and I became an immediate fan. I followed them right through until their unfortunate break up in 1992.
(Photos by VA)
During the late ‘80s-1990, I not only got to see them 6x, but interviewed them almost every time they came through town and got to know them a bit.
Particularly memorable shows include a spring 1988 performance at Call the Office where Kevin lost his voice and the band not only get blitzed, but they got inventive and turned the whole thing into a fun evening.
While I enjoyed them every time I saw them live, I feel that this new show with just Kevin Kane and Tom Hooper was the best of them all. They not only played a perfect set list, they also prefaced each song with background stories about them. So, now I know what “Piece of Mind” is about and will never hear it the same way again.
They sounded fantastic and effortlessly aced the harmonies.
Captivating from start to finish.
I will be podcasting and blogging about all 6 shows down the line in the mylifeinconcert.com series. Call the Office, London, Ontario, May 18, 1988
- Call the Office, London, Ontario, May 18, 1988
- CHRW Halloween Gig, Wonderland Gardens, October 1988
- Harris Park Balloon Fest, London, Ontario, August 5, 1989
- Diamond, Toronto, Ontario, Wednesday August 9, 1989
- with Sarah McLachlan, Althouse College, UWO, London, Ontario, October 19, 1989
- Kipling’s, London, Ontario (Not sure of date)
And thank you Michael Elie for saving me a poster for the duo to sign.
NEXT SNAPSHOT: The great Carole Pope returns to grace us with her wit and great tunes.
SNAPSHOTS no. 225. Attitude: Carole Pope with Tim Welch and Awake and Dreaming, Aeolian Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday March 26, 2026
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