10 milestone shows at 101 York Boulevard
Hamilton’s downtown arena opened as Copps Coliseum in 1985 and was renamed FirstOntario Centre in 2014. In the 38 years before it closed in the summer of 2023 for a massive renovation, it has hosted some epic concerts.
What makes a show memorable? Size of crowd? Sales figures? Local relevance? Some other extraordinary factor that’s difficult to pin down in words?
Since 1985, there have been hundreds of concerts in the space we now call TD Coliseum. Most of them were memorable, no doubt, to thousands of people. Such a long list isn’t publishable, though, so using a mix of the above criteria, we’ve narrowed it down to a sample list of 10 performances over the years.
You probably remember something special you saw there, too. Consider it part of that long list.
THE LIST
1. The Grateful Dead (March 1990, March 1992): The legendary psychedelic wanderers played two nights two years apart, both times giving Hamilton a glimpse of the travelling circus the Dead brought with them. However, Deadheads, “spinners” and parking lot grilled cheese vendors were ancillary to the main events: four spectacular shows that demonstrated why the Dead were one of the most celebrated live acts of all time.
2. Shania Twain (September 2003): Shania’s Copps Coliseum show was not just the kick-off to her Up! Tour. On the heels of releasing her enormously successful album of the same name, she perfected her live show in Hamilton. Twain spent several weeks rehearsing the tour here and when the day of the show came, the sold-out Hamilton crowd was the first to enjoy the results. The concert held the coliseum’s attendance record for many years.
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3. Bruce Springsteen (October 2012): The Wrecking Ball Tour was the Boss’s second time at Copps. Known for his marathon shows, Springsteen performed a set list that combined his classics with audience-requested songs. One of those requests was extra special; Bruce performed “Terry’s Song,” for only the second time ever, as it was requested (via a written sign in the crowd) by a young fan, in tribute to her late friend. He really is the Boss.
4. Britney Spears (August 2009): Britney was no stranger to Hamilton, having stopped here in 1999 and 2002. It was her 2009 show that made records, though. The Circus Starring Britney Spears may have received mixed reviews, but the spectacle of it all (including its three-ring circus-styled theatre-in-the-round set-up) led to a sell-out performance.
5. Garth Brooks (March 2016) At the time, Brooks’ three-date run, huge shows that drew from around the region, easily surpassed previous sales records at FirstOntario Centre (it was renamed in 2014). Though it consisted of three dates, Brooks actually played five shows, performing back-to-back concerts. Switching out one enormous arena crowd for another, in the course of one evening, was an unusual, but surprisingly organized, affair.
6. Paul McCartney (July 2016): The legendary Beatle brought his One on One tour to Hamilton, where it became a sell-out and one of the city’s highest-grossing standalone shows. Hamilton was his only stop in eastern Canada. Audiences were treated to a 39-song set, which included a special performance of "Mull of Kintyre" with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Pipe Band. McCartney returns to open the newly rechristened TD Coliseum on Nov. 21.
7. The Tragically Hip (August 2016): The Man Machine Poem tour, the Hip’s farewell to fans across the nation, landed in Hamilton a mere four days before the Hip’s final performance in their hometown of Kingston, Ont. With singer Gord Downie diagnosed with incurable brain cancer, every show on the tour was an emotional, historic event.
8. Arkells (Feb 2017): Did the show set sales records? Perhaps not, but playing your first-ever arena show, in front of fervent local fans no less, is the definition of a memorable concert. Ten thousand fans were thrilled to experience a 26-song set. The band would go on to perform several sold-out shows at Hamilton’s football field, but the FirstOntario Centre show was a milestone occasion.
9. Tool (May 2017): The dark, mysterious prog-metal machine made only one Ontario stop on their 2017 tour, and it sold out in minutes. The band played a two-hours-plus set of Tool classics and one Canadian live debut (“Descending”). It had been a decade since the band last played the city, and their powerful performance and immersive visuals (lighting design, projections, lasers) did not disappoint.
10. K-pop: Hamilton hosted K-pop superstars Blackpink (two sold-out shows in November 2022, their only Canadian dates) and BTS (three sold out shows in September 2018, also their only Canadian dates). Both groups were international icons in a genre that shows no signs of waning popularity. Audience members came from across Canada and the U.S.A.
