Coney Hatch rocked the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts Saturday night. 42 years after releasing their debut album, the band still sounds like they’re in their prime with powerful guitar-driven riffs and perfect vocal harmonies.
Three of the four original members are still in the band: Carl Dixon (singer/guitarist), Andy Curran (singer/bassist) and Dave Ketchum (drums). "The new guy," Sean Kelly on lead guitar, has been part of the band for 10 years. Curran joked that they’ll consider dropping the "new" moniker after 15 years.
Coney Hatch has a deep history in Canadian music. Their debut album was produced by the legendary Kim Mitchell and they’ve toured the world with some of the biggest names in rock, such as Peter Frampton, Ted Nugent, Edgar Winter, Cheap Trick, IronMaiden and Judas Priest.
As if that weren’t enough, Carl Dixon has played with AprilWine and the Guess Who. Andy Curran is part of Alex Lifeson’s “Envy of None” project, and new guy, Sean Kelly has played with several Canadian icons including Lee Aaron, Nelly Furtado and Helix to name a few.
In 2008, Carl Dixon was almost killed in a car accident in Australia. Fortunately, he survived, but not without multiple titanium implants and a glass eye. To see the band now, you would never know they had been through such a traumatic experience – with Curran even joking that Dixon’s memory is better than his even though he was hit by a car.
While Dixon was in a coma, Curran told him that "the Hatch still has some rocking to do, you gotta survive." Dixon kept his promise and came back stronger than ever.
The show opened with the band playing their second album "Outa Hand" from start to finish. The near-capacity audience, filled with die-hard fans of the band, sang along with every song. The band’s performance was flawless even though there were a few Spinal Tap-esque moments, including Kelly’s guitar cord cutting out right after the first song.
At one point, Carl Dixon was looking to drummer Dave Ketchum to start a song only to realize that he was the one who was supposed to start that one. It was all light-hearted fun and the audience ate it up. The band has incredible charm and a sense of humour that is part of their DNA one of the reasons that their fan base is so loyal.
At one point during the second set, Andy Curran took a moment to acknowledge the one-of-a-kind instruments he and Kelly were playing. The Loucin "Mo’Caster" guitar and "G-Bass" were made from the floorboards of the original El Mocambo by Oakville guitar maker, Garren Dakessian of Loucin Guitar Co on Speers Road.
The band closed the show with some of their most popular songs, including "Hey Operator", "Stand Up" and fan-favourite "Monkey Bars."
After the show, they met fans in the lobby to share memories, sign autographs and take photos. That’s something you don’t see at many concerts these days without paying extra for VIP access.
Their music continues to stand the test of time – and even though they’ve played many of those songs thousands of times, they still bring the energy and passion. Plus, you can see that they clearly enjoy playing music together – how many bands can say that after 40 years? Coney Hatch is truly a Canadian treasure.
