Another outstanding Thursday at the Square show has come and gone as local bands Urban Renewal and Willie And The Reinhardts   and Canadian guitar god Kim Mitchell filled the Square with music on June 7,2001.  Also filling the Square were throngs of people (estimated at 20,000 to 25,000) perhaps too many as the summer series has appeared to outgrown it’s 15-year residence. But enough whining because the music was worth the major hassle of attending this event.
     First up was the Urban Renewal Band. Making the most of their fifty-minute set, they hit the stage with their groove going. Playing horn driven soul and R&B with some nice pop touches, they had the crowd eating it up from the get go. Loud applause followed a medley of the Chicago songs “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “Beginnings.” A Blues Brothers medley had one male senior dancing in front of the stage. Albeit not too well, but that’s what music is supposed to do, move your heart and soul and your feet. They closed their set with a rousing rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” that had the lovely Diane Kallay belting it out. Ms. Kallay added a nice feminine touch to a testosterone filled day.
     Next up was the patented, blistering blues rock of Willie And The Reinhardts. What more can you say about these guys? If you’ve ever seen them live you know what I’m talking about, if you haven’t seen them yet, get off your duff and go!  Quite a lot of people were there specifically to see the band and the faithful packed the front of the stage, singing along or watching in awe as Willie played some of his most inspired licks.  Mixing up their fifty-minute set with old and new original material (a new CD guys perhaps?), they had the crowd loving every minute. Many in the crowd purchased the band’s CD from the strolling sellers working the crowd. Ending their set with the classic “T For Texas” they left the stage to a standing ovation and a crowd that wanted more.
      Headlining the show was the legendary Canadian artist Kim Mitchell. Hitting the stage in a matching shorts and shirt combo, he looked more like an Island tourist than a rock star. Missing also was his trademark baseball hat and long hair. Now sporting a brush cut, many gasped as he made his entrance. His self-deprecating humor had him remark that he “felt like a Volkswagen with its doors left open.” Humor aside his classic rock anthem style songs had the fist-pumping crowd hanging on his every solo. He harked back to play songs from his days with Max Webster and some obscure CD cuts for “those that have seen me thirty times”. He even threw in a heavy guitar version of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” To close the night he played his FM rock classic “Go For Soda.” Prancing from one end of the stage to the other he played the crowd perfectly and they worshipped their idol. He genuinely thank the appreciative crowd and left the stage as the familiar strains of Petula Clark’s “Downtown” played to signal the end of another great Thursday at the Square show.