CHRIS HOLMES with opener RYDER live at The Rockpile in Toronto

Aaaah. The Rockpile! It’s been so long! How I missed you! I was pretty sure that I hadn’t been to The Rockpile since the Covid pandemic reared its ugly head back in March 2020 and I was right! Given that I have reviewed most shows that I have attended at The Rockpile for Sleaze Roxx, I was actually able to check exactly when I was last at The Rockpile and that dated back more than six years ago when I saw Steve Grimmett’s Grim Reaper put on a great set! Unfortunately, Grimmett passed away a few years later (in 2022) and although it had been six years since I had stepped foot in The Rockpile, the reality is that there haven’t been as many concerts to attend there since the dreaded Covid pandemic. To be fair, The Rockpile still have shows seemingly on a weekly basis but to my knowledge, it’s mainly been cover bands, which is not my cup of tea.

I had actually hoped to catch Chris Holmes play at The Rockpile the last time that he had toured Canada (I think back in March 2025). Holmes was playing two shows on different days and one of them was going to be a special set of W.A.S.P. material. I was hoping to attend the W.A.S.P. focused show but for whatever reason, I couldn’t make it. So I was quite pleased that I would be able to attend Holmes‘ stop at The Rockpile this time around knowing that he was playing a W.A.S.P. focused set once again! With one of my kids attending a birthday party nearby which was ending at 11:00 pm, I thought this would work out perfectly as I could attend the concert and then pick up my kid! Thankfully and for nostalgia’s sake, I reviewed my own review from my first concert at The Rockpile, which was Tracii Guns‘ version of L.A. Guns with Dilana as the lead vocalist. Remember her?

More: https://sleazeroxx.com/concerts/chris-holmes-with-opener-ryder-live-at-the-rockpile-in-toronto-ontario-canada-concert-review/