As we learned from Spinal Tap's performance in Springfield, one way to ensure your audience screams in excitement is to mention the name of the city you're performing in. I've been to many concerts in my life time, but nobody went to this well as often as Kid Rock did when I saw him last weekend.
Kid Rock shouted out the names "Toronto" and "Canada" several times. When chatting with the audience, he'd talk about his tremendous Toronto friends or how much he loves Canada. He even went so far as to alter lyrics to his songs so the word "Toronto" replaced the name of an American city. I'd guesstimate he shouted out the name of our fair city at least a dozen times on the night.
The thing is it worked. Every time he said the word "Toronto" the crowd erupted in cheer. You can't help it, it's an automatic response a'la Pavlov's dogs. At Hip shows, when Gord refers to "that night in Toronto" during "Bobcaygeon", there is always a huge cheer. Kid Rock knows it and isn't afraid to go to that well over and over again. Who can blame him?
