On November 2,3 and 4, I had the great privilege of traveling to the Toronto, Ontario area to meet up with James and listen to some great, live music from Griffin, Sylvester and  Coley.  This trio knows their musical ropes and their audience reacted appropriately.  They were great!  The shows featured some of the biggest hits they each had with their respective groups, as well as a few nice surprises thrown in for good measure.

I went with my girlfriend, the mighty Isis, and as soon as we checked into the hotel, we went over to the venue, which is directly connected to the hotel.  From the ground floor, we could hear something good and we simply followed the sounds until we found them rehearsing for the night's performance.  We listened for a while and then got a chance to exchange greetings with Jimmy, before heading off to supper, so that we could be back in time for the show.

Before leaving for dinner, we got the chance to meet Terry's wife, Diane, who was nothing short of super to us.  She chatted for a while and then invited us to meet her after the show to head backstage.  Too cool!  We staked out two seats in the first row, center, by leaving our jackets on them (and hoping they would be there when we came back several hours later!)  

When we returned later that evening, Isis reclaimed the seats (the coats were still there) while I hung out looking for Jimmy.  As I was waiting, I heard a distinctive whistle emanating from the level below me. If you've never heard Jimmy whistle, it's a very distinctive whistle.  I knew it was him  and called out "Mr. Griffin?"  He yelled back and told me he was on his way up the stairs.  We chatted for a while and then made plans to meet after the show.

I rejoined the mighty Isis, and we listened to the opening act, which was a fifties rock and roll band.  Nice, but not what we came for.  When the main actors finally appeared on stage, it was everything I hoped for and then some.  Jimmy still sounds great.  I love Paul McCartney and I just bought his latest CD "Driving Rain" - it's really good.  BUT, he can't hit the high notes like he used to.  Jimmy CAN!  He's so amazing.  His voice is so strong, yet so melodic.  I called his voice "fire and ice" years ago and it still fits.  Terry is the most animated of the three musicians and you can tell he's really enjoying himself up there.  He did all the Hollies' classic hits and they still hold up so well - and so does he!  He was the real organizer for these shows and deserves a lot of credit for paying attention to all the details.  It really paid off, because the sound and lighting were great all three nights and the show flowed so well.  John Ford Coley was, for me, the biggest surprise.  He typically would introduce his songs with a story that usually had the audience laughing like crazy.  He's got a great story-telling ability and it just added to the flavor of the show.  His voice is great.

I must say a word about the harmonies.  They were so good.  If you didn't know that they were performing their greatest hits from individual bands, you'd swear that these songs were all theirs.  They found the right way to blend the voices that never embarrassed the original versions - if anything, they enhanced them.

Here is the set list:

There were hardly any empty seats at any show.  In fact, I remarked to Jimmy that there were more people in the audience the second night at the Hershey Centre, than there were for the 1996 Bread reunion concert in Atlantic City.  He agreed and said that's one of the reasons he was trying to enjoy this so much - it's a unique opportunity.  Terry deserves a lot of the credit for the success of the shows, as he organized pretty much everything.

The second and third nights were pretty much carbon copies of the first - no problems and great music.  After the second show, we took Jimmy out to dinner at one of the local eateries.  Jimmy bought me dinner twice in the past and it was time to make it up to him a little. We spent some time together in the restaurant talking about his music, Bread, upcoming projects and so forth.  For you Griffin fans who wish you could have been there, I know how you feel!  Talking to Jimmy is always great, because besides being interesting, he's just a good, generous person.

The last day featured an afternoon show and was a little less formal because it was in what most of us would consider a "local" hockey rink - not an arena-style rink like the Hershey Centre, but the kind of place you'd go with the kids on a Sunday afternoon to skate.  Again, we were right up front and I got a chance to take some nice close-ups with the camera (see the links below.)  After the show, the guys seemed very relaxed, knowing that all the shows had gone so well.  They were posing for photos and signing autographs and everyone seemed in a great mood.

As all good things do, this had to come to an end.  We said our goodbyes, which I always hate to do, and thanked everybody for being so nice.  Before we left, Jimmy was gracious enough to record a little 30 second greeting for the website.  It will be on the web site shortly.

Griffin, Sylvester and Coley already have a date in July 2002 for a show up in Toronto.  Here's hoping they will do some shows in the States too so that U.S. audiences will have a chance to see them.  In the near future, I hope to have some audio and video clips out here from these shows.  For now, you can check out still images of the shows, by clicking on the links on below.

Griffin, Sylvester and Coley Ontario Mini Tour Photo Page One

Griffin, Sylvester and Coley Ontario Mini Tour Photo Page Two

Griffin, Sylvester and Coley Ontario Mini Tour Photo Page Three

Griffin, Sylvester and Coley Ontario Mini Tour Photo Page Four

Back to Bread Fans Home Page

Most recent update: Friday, December 07, 2001
For more information, email  can be sent to Fran Hart at: fran_hart@hotmail.com