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Tom Cochrane rocks The Bailey

Cochrane's Mad Mad World Tour performs for sold-out crowd in Trail
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Tom Cochrane brought his Mad Mad World Tour to Trail for a sold-out concert at the Charles Bailey Theatre on Saturday night.

Tom Cochrane gave new life to some classic hits as he delivered a knockout performance for a sold-out Charles BaileyTheatre crowd Saturday night in Trail.

Cochrane’s Mad Mad World Tour was geared to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his break-through solo creation but his performance Saturday was much more than simply reliving the album that sold over one million copies in Canada.

From the outset, with the video chronicling Cochrane’s commitment to World Vision’s work in Africa to his rousing encore, theManitoba-born singer delivered everything expected.

Not only did he belt out all his big hits from the Mad Mad World album, he added a touch of Trail midway through his show mentioning homegrown hockey player Craig Cunningham’s heart-breaking story and life-saving recovery.

The acknowledgement impacted Cochrane who was visibly choked up to see Craig’s mother Heather stand up and graciously acknowledge his comment and the outpouring of community support for her son and family.

That led Cochrane into a rendition of “Big League,” that took on a new meaning at the Bailey Theatre.

It was one of many highlights on the night.

Katie Marie and Brandi Caroline of Nice Horse returned to the stage after their opening act to provide background vocals, a little bit of banter with Cochrane and fantastic harmony on “All the Kings Men.”

Caroline also provided Cochrane with a perfect segue as she belted out the rhythm and blues classic “Hit the Road Jack,’leading into the show stopping “Life is a Highway.”

Another highlight was rekindling some classic Red Rider hits. Cochrane’s band included Red Rider band mates Jeff Jones andKen Greer, who showed his incredible versatility on keyboards, guitar and dazzled on the pedal steel guitar.

The trio stepped to the front of the stage late in the show for a trip down memory lane with some classic band hits including“Human Race,” and the ever-popular “White Hot.”

He capped off the evening by returning to the stage with his acoustic guitar in hand and delivering a stirring rendition of“Good Times,” and “Boy Inside the Man.”

Opening the night was the all-female band Nice Horse, who, in their first-ever tour show, provided an early spark to the crowd with their great harmony, energy and a blending of their own songs such as “Pony Up,” as well as an entertaining cover of Kim Mitchell’s “Patio Lanterns.”

But this night belonged to Cochrane, who continues to cement his status as one of Canada’s greatest singer-songwriters.