Yusuf / Cat Stevens “A Cat’s Attic Tour”
Nida, Tadas, Stover and I at the ” A Cat’s Attic Tour”
Morning Has Broken…in Toronto pic.twitter.com/euDJxBklh7
— Yusuf / Cat Stevens (@YusufCatStevens) September 11, 2016
Yusuf / Cat Stevens takes fans on career ride in Toronto
By John Williams, Postmedia Network
The peace train is full steam ahead once again.
The man formerly known as Cat Stevens, now going by the official handle Yusuf / Cat Stevens, kicked off his acoustic A Cat’s Attic Tour before a sold-out crowd at Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts on Monday night.
It was all in celebration of his 50th anniversary of his first single, I Love My Dog, released way back in 1966.
The notoriously reclusive singer-songwriter was anything but, as he opened up with stories behind some of his most famous songs.
Dressed in jeans and a grey T-shirt, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was greeted to a standing ovation before he even played a single note.
And despite it being only his second North American tour since 1978, there were no signs of rust as he launched into Where Do the Children Play? off of his classic 1970 album, Tea For the Tillerman.
The stage looked like something out of a Broadway play, with a full moon shining over a cabin, complete with rustic chairs, boxes of vinyl records and a smoking chimney.
His backing band – which included Eric Appapoulay on guitar and Kwame Yeboah on bass, piano and percussion – were outstanding, and even had Yusuf looking back at them at certain points in amazement.
He told stories early on about his love for Natalie Wood and West Side Story, wanting to be a member of the Beatles (which segued into a stunning version of Love Me Do), and the Neil Diamond-composed I’m a Believer (made famous by the Monkees) keeping him at No. 2 on the charts, a song that he stated was “horrible” (in jest, of course).
Meanwhile, one fan screamed out “Toronto loves you!” between songs, and Yusuf responded with one thumb up and said with a wry smile, “They give me such a hard time getting in here.”
Well played, sir.
A rousing version of The First Cut Is the Deepest had those in attendance back up on their feet again, with Yusuf looking genuinely thrilled by the thunderous applause.
After shunning the spotlight for decades, it seems he’s come to grips with his rock star past.
He told a tale of his brush with death after almost drowning in the ocean of the California coast in 1976, which was the catalyst for his switch from rock star to philanthropist. “I made a promise that if God saved me, I’d work for him,” Yusuf said, as he belted out a great cover of The Impressions’ People Get Ready.
Other standouts included Bad Night, which he told a tale of debauchery in his early days on the road: “You smoke and you drink like one does… especially when you tour with Jimi Hendrix.”
The hits were out in full force as well, with Father and Son (with the crowd in full sing-a-long mode), Peace Train, Morning Has Broken and Another Saturday Night all being played in the last half of the set.
The nearly three-hour journey all came to a close with stunning versions of Wild World, Moonshadow and Oh Very Young, and it also ended the way it started – with fans on their feet.
“I hope you’re enjoying this trip,” Yusuf remarked.
We sure did.
Full setlist:
Where Do the Children Play?
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Somewhere (West Side Story)
Love Me Do (Beatles cover)
Here Comes My Baby
The First Cut Is the Deepest
I Love My Dog
Matthew & Son (with Tears For Fears Mad World snippet)
Northern Wind (The Death of Billy the Kid)
A Bad Night
Trouble
I Wish, I Wish
Lilywhite/Don’t Be Shy
Pop Star
On the Road to Find Out
Second set:
Miles From Nowhere
Into White
Father and Son
You Can Do (Whatever)
The Wind
Peace Train
Morning Has Broken
How Can I Tell You
Ruins
Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke cover)
Novim’s Nightmare
People Get Ready (The Impressions cover)
Be What You Must
Just Another Night
Maybe There’s a World/All You Need Is Love
Wild World
Encore:
Moonshadow
You Are My Sunshine (Pine Ridge Boys cover)
Oh Very Young