By: Dan Duffin
Niagara Falls, Canada - I had the pleasure of attending the UB40 concert at the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino recently supported by opening act Maxi Priest.
If you haven’t been there yet, the OLG Stage is a huge arena-like stage and can seat 5000 people. The place was certainly almost full this evening. The media area is located quite some distance from the stage so we see the entire crowd out in front of us from an elevated position.
Maxi Priest
Maxi Priest opened the evening and the entire performance was superb. For a 63 Year old performer he can really pump it up on stage, working with a supporting vocalist who was equally good. I was honestly surprised by the energy of the entire set. Maxi really connects with the crowd and has everyone on their feet, hands and phones in the air to hits like "Close to You" and "Wild World". A masterclass in how to get a crowd going with considerable energy. Standing behind the capacity crowd I could see the whole room. Everybody was on their feet, with phone lights turned on. Amazing fun.
UB40
After such a high energy room experience, I then found UB40, the headlining act, to be a much more somber feeling set. While they did deliver a hit-filled set, their performance felt much slower and lacked the pumping energy that Maxi Priest had just left us with. The band played many of their hits like "Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" . I sensed the crowd was enjoying it on a much higher level than me and I’m sure many people were there specifically to see UB40 but I felt the room energy drop as Maxi Priest’s performance had surprised me so much. He stole the show for me with the whole room energy. If you're a fan of his reggae classics then Priest is definitely worth seeing live. Really good fun.
UB40 Setlist
Here I Am
Keep on Moving
Maybe Tomorrow
The Way You Do the Things You Do
Sing Our Own Song
Home
Bring Me Your Cup
You Don't Call Anymore
Fool Me Once
Cherry Oh Baby
Gimme Some Kind of Sign
Broken Man
Johnny Too Bad
Red Red Wine
Encore:
One in Ten
Kingston Town
Can't Help Falling in Love
It's great to finally actually see Maxi Priest on stage after remembering him from the UK in the 80’s and 90’s with some of his early hits. I would love to see him again.
The next one from me will be Alice Cooper’s show at OLG Stage at the end of the month.
Maxi Priest Online
UB40 Online
Concert Photo Gallery
show date: July 11, 2024
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