The Proclaimers wasted no time rocking the house as they took the stage on Sept. 25 at the Algonquin Commons Theatre.
Charlie and Craig Reid were greeted by a packed house of 800 as they jumped right into Angry Cyclist, the first song of the evening.
The energy was felt all around the theatre. There were no bells and whistles, just two guys, their band and their voices.
With three decades of music behind them, what’s the key to a long and fulfilling career?
“You want to have to play the gigs in the first place cause if you don’t the audience sees that in your face,” Craig said during a Skype interview on Friday. “You also have to play good gigs; you want to make the audience come back again.”
For concert-goer Andy Nopper, the interest is generational.
“I love old music in general and my parents listened to The Proclaimers growing up so it made an impact on me,” he told the Times after the show.
Streets of Edinburgh is a track off their new album and sticks true to their Scottish roots. “We get inspiration from different experiences and the experiences of people around us,” said Reid.
Fiona McDonald, another big fan, was born in Scotland and immigrated to Canada with her parents when she was very young.
“The Proclaimers were played in the car on every camping trip, at parties, and around the house. I have a lot of memories with a Proclaimers song in the background.”
So it comes as no surprise that Tuesday was a giant hit. “The concert was fantastic, I appreciated the mix of old and new, and they’re non-stop energy,” said Mcdonald in an exchange on Twitter.
The anticipation was definitely building as the night progressed and at the very end — the moment everyone was waiting for — finally happened, when they broke out into their most popular song I’m gonna be (500 miles) which had the audience on their feet clapping and singing.
For any aspiring musicians, the brothers have a key piece of advice. “Believe in yourself, be true to yourself and don’t get distracted trying to copy other people.”
The Proclaimers wrap up the Canadian leg of their tour at the end of September with the European tour kick starting on Oct.10 in Cardiff.