50 – Rick Astley Sells Out Toronto’s The Opera House
50. A simple title for Rick Astley’s 8th studio album. Released in 2016, the year Astley turned 50, the album is his first number one album since his debut album, Whenever You Need Somebody, released in 1987. It had been ten years since the pop-soul singer had released any new music, and I for one, am saying, it was worth the wait.
On a cool, misty Friday night, Astley played to a sold-out crowd at Toronto’s The Opera House. He delivered a great mix of new songs, fun covers, including a great mashup of Take Me to Your Heart / We Found Love, and of course the classics. Joking about not being offended if people went to the bathroom while he sang new material, he was charming and fully engaged.
Note: Nobody left during the new songs.
Rick Astley is a master and don’t let anyone tell you differently. He had the crowd eating out of his hands. His musicians are top notch, the light show was spectacular, the sound was crystal clear, and he’s planned out his set perfectly to wind things down when he needs to take a breath. This level of professionalism is the recipe for a great show, and it allowed him to go full out from the beginning to end of the show. Singing, dancing, joking and bouncing up and down he gave us our money’s worth and more. It was fun, and the crowd needed zero encouragement to cheer, clap and sing along.
Some stand out moments during the show included Astley’s cover of the Ed Sheeran hit Shape of You. He intro’d the song and warned us that he was going to a) butcher and b) kick the shit out of the song. He did neither; he killed it.
The second stand out moment came during the encore when Toronto’s Choir, Choir, Choir joined Rick on stage to perform Never Gonna Give You Up. On April 4th Choir, Choir, Choir posted a video on YouTube telling Astley that they wanted to sing with him. Well, on Wednesday night Rick showed up to sing with them (at the time of posting, the video had over 85,000 plays), and they, in turn, joined him on stage for a fun rendition of his giant hit. Bonus points to Rick for being super cool about this.
Stand out moment three had Rick stepping back and sitting down at the drums (did you know Rick Astley started out his musical career as a drummer?) and letting his guitar player kill AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. It was a giant surprise and they pulled it off fantastically.
The 50 tour continues and if he’s coming to a city near you, you should buy a ticket, while you still can!
I’m going to leave you with this short video of the lighting technician at work. This is artistry, and it’s something most of us don’t think about. I had the pleasure of standing beside the board and watching the tech work. It was magical.
Rick Astley at Toronto’s The Opera House Setlist
This Old House
Together Forever
Don’t Say Goodbye
It Would Take a Strong Strong Man
Keep Singing
She Wants to Dance With Me
Hopelessly
Shape of You (Ed Sheeran cover)
Hold Me in Your Arms
Angels On My Side
Cry For Help
Dance
Encore:
Whenever You Need Somebody
Take Me to Your Heart / We Found Love (Rihanna cover)
Never Gonna Give You Up / Together Forever (Acoustic with Choir, Choir, Choir)
Never Gonna Give You Up
Highway to Hell (with Rick on drums)
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