Remembering the infamous Teenage Head riot at Ontario Place
If you look at the music history of Hamilton, there is no date that stands out more than June 2.
On that day in 1983, an Air Canada fire claimed the life of the brilliant Dundas-based singer- songwriter Stan Rogers. He was returning from a performance in Kerrville, Texas when the airliner caught fire and made a forced landing in Cincinnati.
But, three years before, 41 years ago this week, there was another incident that still reverberates to this day - the infamous riot at Ontario Place at a concert by Hamilton's Teenage Head.
I've written about Rogers before in this space, so I'll focus on the events of June 2, 1980 and what it meant to the city's most celebrated punk rock group.
An estimated 15,000 people converged on the outdoor theatre with the revolving stage that was designed to hold a fraction of that. And the punkers and other rock fans who were blocked at the gates were not happy about it.
According to the book, Gods of the Hammer. The Teenage Head Story," by Geoff Pevere: Police arrived to contend with the increasingly unruly crowd. Some in cruisers, some on foot, others on horseback. Pushing ensued. Pushing back ensued. Projectiles got thrown, horses startled, cruiser windows shattered. There was a riot going on ... There was nowhere near the proper amount of security for the job ..."
In the end, 10 police officers and numerous fans were injured. Two dozen people were arrested with nearly 60 charges laid. At least one fan nearly drowned trying to swim to the show.
It became known as the Toronto Punk Rock Riot." And it led to a temporary ban on rock concerts at Ontario Place. But, for a band of former Westdale High School students - who were used to playing in high school gymnasiums and bars - it was the best publicity they ever got.
One person who was at the concert was Lou Molinaro, co-owner of the iconic James Street North musical nightspot, This Ain't Hollywood, that closed in 2020.
He was 15 years old at the time, living in Oshawa and an uber fan of the group. He skipped school with some buddies, so they could arrive in the afternoon to angle for a good seat.
The concert was free with the admission to the park and Molinaro knew it was going to be packed. As it was, he ended up on the grass behind the seats.
Fans were jumping on stage, going wild in their seats. It was nuts. As much as it was exciting for me to be there, I was also intimidated," he recalled. At one point a fan tried to steal a guitar.
Once the show ended, and we walked outside the forum, that's when I noticed the head-on lawlessness taking place. It was like anarchy."
Public transit was halted and Molinaro and his friends ended up stranded at Union Station having to wait until the next morning to make it home.
His parents were not impressed when he finally walked in the door, but he says the tongue lashing was worth it. Looking back at it now, it was like a badge of honour for a band that we loved."
All these years later, I thought it would be fun to reach out to Steve Mahon, the band's bass player to ask about his memories.
He's 64 and living in a community called Port Bruce, south of St. Thomas on Lake Erie with his wife and stepson. Like other musicians, he hasn't been able to perform because of the pandemic. He spends his time puttering around the house, learning skills on the drums and walking his dog.
They say there is no such thing as bad publicity. And the Ontario Place show certainly didn't hurt us. You just don't want to cause riots at every place you play," he said. The band did nothing to cause a riot. It's not like we got on stage and said OK, throw bottles and smash cop cars.' There were just too many people for the venue."
Although some believe overdrive promotion by the band's manager and record label - that included a float to advertise the show along Yonge Street - were factors in building up an unruly crowd.
For Teenage Head, the summer of 1980 was a high point in a long career. They had become a household name because of the riot. Their second album Frantic City" had gone platinum and their songs were being regularly played on the radio.
They performed the Heatwave Festival near Bowmanville before a crowd of more than 50,000 people on a bill that also included Talking Heads, The Pretenders and Elvis Costello. They were flown to the back of the stage in a helicopter.
But that September, guitarist Gord Lewis was seriously injured in an automobile accident and ended up in a body cast for several months. And while the band set out on the road with a fill-in guitarist, they couldn't capitalize on their new-found fame.
After Lewis returned, there were further albums, all kinds of road tours and pockets of fanatical fans across the country that could be counted on to come out to shows. But it all fell short of their dreams.
It would have been nice to be a little bit more popular around the world. We kind of ended up being kind of a Canadian phenomenon," said Mahon. That was the problem a lot of groups had and still have - how do you become successful south of the border?"
Singer Frankie Venom died from throat cancer in 2008. Last fall, an outstanding film documentary about the band was shown on TVO. The current Teenage Head lineup consists of original members Mahon and Lewis along with singer Dave Rave" DesRoches and drummer Gene Champagne, who recently pulled through an ICU stay with COVID-19.
There was a spirit-lifting T-shirt for Champagne in April that became popular in the city. And in late May Molinaro put out a commemorative T-shirt for Lewis.
The front of the Lewis shirt - available through the Teenage Head Facebook page - features a super cool, stylized photo of the guitarist from the early days.
The back of the garment lists milestones in his more than 45-year music career, including the infamous day in June 1980 when a notorious band from Hamilton caused a riot in Toronto.