Rock the Rink 2019 (Virtue/Moir, Chan, Stojko, Osmond, Kostner, Abbott)

Nell411 said:
I think part of the problem with the band is that their main demographic is easily at least 10 years younger than I am (32) at maximum. They mentioned searching them on TikTok and I know for a fact the average age of most TikTok users is 19/20. Considering that a lot of skating fans in towns that the show is going to are 40 or older I think it makes it a little harder for the band to really click with people.

The band is fine, I wouldn’t seek them out on their own but I didn’t hate that I heard them. They were engaging and would probably do well on a bigger stage.
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Exactly. The sound was okay for us too.
 
Did I pay $132 each for tickets for my mom and I to see Rock The Rink just so I could see Carolina Kostner skate live? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Absolutely. It was such a fun show, I loved the cafe group number so much, it was a lot of fun, but also because I definitely have all of the songs they skated to as a part of my regular playlist except for the exact version of the song Carolina Kostner did her solo bit to.

We had floor seats as well which was amazing and if we ever get another skating show here ever again I am definitely shelling out for those again. It was easier to access which was great for my mom's bad knee and we were right up there which is fun for me as someone who likes to take pictures of things without being obvious I'm trying to take pictures of things. I didn't even have to look at my phone while I was doing it.
 
Although I probably wouldn't want to sit through the whole band's performance either, I think I understand the concept. The show is called "Rock the Rink". The band is like the warm up act for the show. V/M (and whoever is producing with them) evidently wanted to integrate live music into the show and they had to make it worth it for the band to tour with them by giving them exposure.

Also, if they were not touring with them, we would have missed this gem in Dawson Creek. https://www.instagram.com/p/B3f3keYDpmO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
 
Calgary show did not disappoint! Nothing to add except that thanks to you guys we made the executive decision to arrive at 758 pm and were exactly on time for the ice show to start .

Two songs by the touring band during the show was enough for me. I applaud the effort to have live music but it was a dissonant choice for the overall vibe of the music for the rest of the show.
 
We attended the Calgary show as well and it was fabulous. We arrived late and missed the band. I have to say I loved the Corral - so much better than the Saddledome. My only complaint would be that 3/4's of the people were on either side right to the top but much of the skating, jumps etc. were focused on the far end where many fewer seats were occupied. Aside from Tessa and Scott, personal favorites for me were Carolina Kostner (just sublime), Patrick (getting better and better at show skating and so close you really got to see his amazing blade work, Kaetlyn is very good in group numbers as she really plays her parts, and Jeremy Abbott was also so lovely to watch. Tessa and Scott were delightful and it was fun for us old fans to be able to pick up even some of the more subtle transitions from previous competitive programs that they incorporated in new ways to these programs. A real highlight was the young woman from special olympics who skated a lovely program and just beamed the whole time she skated as well as when they brought her back out for the credits and bows. Very touching and the audience loved her. It was truly a lovely evening and if they are coming to your city and tickets are still available - it is well worth the admission price. Now - my $4.00 bottle of water - not so much!
 
puglover said:
We attended the Calgary show as well and it was fabulous. We arrived late and missed the band. I have to say I loved the Corral - so much better than the Saddledome. My only complaint would be that 3/4's of the people were on either side right to the top but much of the skating, jumps etc. were focused on the far end where many fewer seats were occupied. Aside from Tessa and Scott, personal favorites for me were Carolina Kostner (just sublime), Patrick (getting better and better at show skating and so close you really got to see his amazing blade work, Kaetlyn is very good in group numbers as she really plays her parts, and Jeremy Abbott was also so lovely to watch. Tessa and Scott were delightful and it was fun for us old fans to be able to pick up even some of the more subtle transitions from previous competitive programs that they incorporated in new ways to these programs. A real highlight was the young woman from special olympics who skated a lovely program and just beamed the whole time she skated as well as when they brought her back out for the credits and bows. Very touching and the audience loved her. It was truly a lovely evening and if they are coming to your city and tickets are still available - it is well worth the admission price. Now - my $4.00 bottle of water - not so much!
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They played a lot to the end here too and literally all that was there was 1 row of floor seating. Made me think next time I should buy tickets for that side instead of where we were. But then we were basically dead centre so we could see everything with very little difficulty so it's hard to be too annoyed.
 
Nell411 said:
They played a lot to the end here too and literally all that was there was 1 row of floor seating. Made me think next time I should buy tickets for that side instead of where we were. But then we were basically dead centre so we could see everything with very little difficulty so it's hard to be too annoyed.
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I definitely will keep this in mind. We had seats in the middle on the ice and the chairs were so tightly packed you felt like you were sitting on your neighbor's lap. My husband ended up wearing some of the young girl beside him's wine. It did make it hard to see around all the other heads along the line also trying to see. I have found some skaters perform well (Kaetlyn) but do not seem to make any eye contact with the audience while others (especially Patrick, Elvis, Carolina) do make that added connection which I personally really enjoy. Tessa skated close to us a lot and she is just so beautiful. Now - about her hair?? I thought recent ads showed her with a chin length bob but it appeared longer in the show. Kaetlyn's hair has grown out and I think it suits her better longer.
 
puglover said:
I definitely will keep this in mind. We had seats in the middle on the ice and the chairs were so tightly packed you felt like you were sitting on your neighbor's lap. My husband ended up wearing some of the young girl beside him's wine. It did make it hard to see around all the other heads along the line also trying to see. I have found some skaters perform well (Kaetlyn) but do not seem to make any eye contact with the audience while others (especially Patrick, Elvis, Carolina) do make that added connection which I personally really enjoy. Tessa skated close to us a lot and she is just so beautiful. Now - about her hair?? I thought recent ads showed her with a chin length bob but it appeared longer in the show. Kaetlyn's hair has grown out and I think it suits her better longer.
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I agree with you about the skaters connecting with the audience.

For all that Elvis connects well with the audience and the crowd definitely loves him, I can't imagine he's going to be doing shows for too much longer. He really didn't do a lot at our show when he was on ice. To the point where there was a couple of times he wasn't on ice and I didn't realise there was someone not there because of how well everyone else was working together.
 
puglover said:
I definitely will keep this in mind. We had seats in the middle on the ice and the chairs were so tightly packed you felt like you were sitting on your neighbor's lap. My husband ended up wearing some of the young girl beside him's wine. It did make it hard to see around all the other heads along the line also trying to see. I have found some skaters perform well (Kaetlyn) but do not seem to make any eye contact with the audience while others (especially Patrick, Elvis, Carolina) do make that added connection which I personally really enjoy. Tessa skated close to us a lot and she is just so beautiful. Now - about her hair?? I thought recent ads showed her with a chin length bob but it appeared longer in the show. Kaetlyn's hair has grown out and I think it suits her better longer.
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About the hair: Think hair extensions. ;)
 
puglover said:
Tessa skated close to us a lot and she is just so beautiful. Now - about her hair?? I thought recent ads showed her with a chin length bob but it appeared longer in the show.
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More like shoulder length ? - https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz_sEZyjVoZ/? igshid=minmrdhigul6, https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cVVzeDlDS/?igshid=a25if36eamba, https://www.instagram.com/p/B2aGlEvDJLV/?igshid=97za89esxw5e (this last one is from the middle of September). I think her hair has just grown out.
Kecasyl said:
About the hair: Think hair extensions. ;)
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I don't think so. Tessa cut her hair to a shoulder (not chin) length bob in July (see my response to puglover above). It's been three months since then, so it's not surprising that her hair is longer now.
 
Jislav said:
How long is the show? I think I could go to the Kingston one.
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It's about 2.5 hours but the first hour is a concert by Birds Of Bellwoods and zamboni break so unless you wanna see a rock concert (with possibly bad acoustics like in Vancouver) you don't need to arrive until just before 8 when the skating starts. Then it's over by about 9.30.
 
I"m looking at tickets now and there are some close to the rink (not on floor), but I'm wondering - do they take down the hockey glass and any netting? Just wondering if better to be higher up or closer to rink?
 
kates8 said:
I"m looking at tickets now and there are some close to the rink (not on floor), but I'm wondering - do they take down the hockey glass and any netting? Just wondering if better to be higher up or closer to rink?
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Yes, they take out the glass and netting. :)
I would personally recommend closer to the ice, but any seat is going to be nice, I think.
 
Went to the London show tonite, which of course is Tessa’s hometown, and Scott is from Ilderton just a few miles north. Lower bowl of the Budweiser Gardens completely full, as were most of the private boxes, and the on ice seats - we were in the corner opposite of the skaters entrance, 4th row from the ice. Tickets were a birthday gift from my daughter, I made my husband take me as I’ve been to countless Jr. B hockey games, that he called “date nights” so yeah. :p

Not really into shows so much, having seen plenty of Stars on Ice, Skate the Nation, etc, and I think they’ve run their course. But I enjoyed this one a lot, which is good, because its’s likely my last. Group numbers were excellent, especially the one with the musical group, and I especially liked Carolina‘s solo. Patrick floats across the ice which is especially evident when he is skating with Elvis, who is still a fan favorite and got the biggest applause after Scott and Tessa. Music and lighting were nicely done, loved all the costumes except the final group number ones were too casual.

Downside was all the construction around the arena, and we’ve been to dozens and dozens of events there and are very familiar with the area, and still found it annoying to navigate. Upside was that there just happened to be one free parking spot right around the corner, bonus as it was pouring rain. We didn’t have time for a proper dinner beforehand, even with skipping the musical group, so we went to Five Guys Burgers, which is my favorite burger place.

Husband actually really liked the show, and was impressed that Elvis is 47. And of course the girls are all gorgeous so I’m sure he appreciated that too. :lol:

A wee bit of sappy stuff at the very end and of course I teared up, but it was short and sweet and just right. Lovely show, amazing career, stellar skaters, excellent ambassadors for Canadian skating, and I am proud to call them ”those local kids from up the road who won the ‘lympics a coupla times”. :inavoid:
 
We went to the show in Brandon. It was pretty decent. Birds of Bellwood was actually a nice band to listen to,the young guy singing was pretty talented, very distinct voice. They really tried to hype the crowd..Its hard to do because they are relatively unknown but they did a half decent job doing it. The crowd was decently into it.

I liked the use of the lights in the show particularly during Kaetlyn's performance. I thought the group number with Jeremy coming up to Patrick while that song was on about never letting go or cant live with out you (something to that effect) was very emotional and gripping.. slightly confusing because it was guys doing it to guys and then the girls later..I wasn't exactly sure of the message there lol. I loved how Scott and Tessa incorporated all their signature moves through out the show paying homage to all the fantastic programs they have done. It was nice to see another dynamic at an ice show. All thats left is for them to create and ice show with a band that plays the music for them and have ariel actors in it from Cirque Du Solier or a company like that join in. That would be spectacular.
 
I attended the show in London last night and I will attend it again Saturday in Kitchener. I went in unspoiled, other than knowing about the band as the opening act, so we didn't take our seats until they were on the final two songs. They weren't that bad, I didn't mind them. I loved the opening numbers all set to Rolling Stones music! Of course, I'm very partial to Patrick (see my profile pic LOL) but my God, has he come out of his shell in the last couple of years. He just beams and enjoys himself so much now, whereas when he competed I never found that exhibitions were his thing. He's so much more relaxed. I never saw him put a foot wrong all night, even in his jumps. Scott and Tessa were sublime as always, and it being the home crowd, it was very special. I really enjoyed having Maxime & Tatianna, Jeremy and Carolina on the tour, it was nice to have some new faces. Katelynn skated well, and of course Elvis lit up the building as he always does. It was so cute for him to skate with the mic and stand, since he's been singing along to his music since the early days. I remember one time they even mic'ed him during an exhibition skate (I think it was at '94 Olympics?) Anyways, it cracked me up! He's so fit, and he's such a wonder to watch as he gets up there in age. I'm so glad he came back to skating after his years away in Mexico.

Probably my favourite part of the show was the group number they skated with the live band. I loved that they had guys interacting with guys as well as girls. It was amazing! I can't wait to see it again on Saturday. It was only because I have another show to attend that I didn't cry at the end of the show. I think most people were teary, and Scott and Tessa seemed to be as well.
 
Sonata said:
Is there any chance this show will be on tv? Choreography looks great and it’s the last chance to see V/M skate together, so I feel like it would be good tv.
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The next to last show, in Halifax, NS, has already taken place. I have heard nothing about filming taking place at any of the stops. I would say a TV version would be unlikely.
 
If they were going to tape for TV I would have thought they would do it at the London stop which of course is Tessa's home town and likely the biggest audience.
 
I attended the Montreal/Laval stop on Thursday and thoroughly enjoyed the show! Every single skater on this tour seemed to be handpicked and truly exceptional in their performance ability. Most tours or shows that I've seen, your eyes are naturally drawn to a few skaters because they stand out, but in this case, I almost didn't know where to look during the group numbers.

There was only one solo number for each skater (though there were solo moments for each skater in the group numbers), and I came away wishing there had been two, mostly because I wanted more of the show. The group numbers were all excellent and very diverse in their music selection - Rolling Stones for the opening, a cafe number (very sultry), Motown (pure fun), Birds of Bellwoods (beautiful and haunting), and Coldplay for the finale.

My only criticism (aside from wishing it was longer) is that the choreography did tend to face towards one end, which I had read here. Since we didn't know which end that would be when we bought the tickets, we just crossed our fingers and chose one and it turned out to be the wrong end, which meant the skaters faced away from us a lot so we didn't get as much face-ography.

Aside from that, there were some teary and emotional moments for sure, particularly during Tessa and Scott's video introduction to the finale. Carolina's Ne Me Quitte Pas is just stunning in person. It was fun to see Patrick do very upbeat and happy numbers - both he and Kaetlyn just seemed like they were having so much fun out there, and they were paired together during the Motown number. Really great to see Tatiana and Max as well - they did a double twist and triple loop throw and some cool lifts.

Since Tessa and Scott trained in Montreal the past few years, it was like a home crowd for them, which they acknowledged during the opening. They mentioned their coaches and choreographers were in the audience, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the ice dancers based in Montreal were there too. Pretty full crowd and an appreciative one too. Even though it's their farewell tour, I do hope they'll occasionally do a show here and there in the future.

Videos of two group numbers I took from the show:
Motown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NoignsFivc
Let You Go/Birds of Bellwoods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCoKsR2tSvE

I'll be adding more photos to this account throughout the week, but here are the first few:
Opening: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BSJ0kp8ik/
Jeremy Abbott: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5BSvOLJcha/
 
I really, really hope we are wrong and that the show was filmed for TV. It would be such a shame if it wasn't.
 
This kind of show screams CBC holiday special.... Plus, they have a whole bunch of sponsors. Oh well. Still hoping, despite lack of reports of any tv cameras.

Virtue and Moir are doing a segment on This Hour Has 22 minutes... so maybe?
 
Sonata said:
This kind of show screams CBC holiday special.... Plus, they have a whole bunch of sponsors. Oh well. Still hoping, despite lack of reports of any tv cameras.

Virtue and Moir are doing a segment on This Hour Has 22 minutes... so maybe?
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That will be a short comedy sketch with Mark Critch, presumably while they were in Halifax where the show is based.
 
Re-posting here:
flowerpower said:
An excellent review of their Rock the Rink tour from Jacquelyn Thayer (Two for the Ice):
Rock the Rink Offers a Pure Vision of Skating

One of the best skating shows I've attended; beautifully-choreographed group numbers, great skating skills on display.
Click to expand...
ETA:

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