Gowan Shares 40 Years of Memories with Montreal at MTelus [Photos]

Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. I would hear that phrase every weekday afternoon at 1:00 pm while staying with my grandparents over the summer. Grammie liked her stories, but that phrase has taken on new meaning. The sands of my own hourglass continue to run. Tuesday night served as a reminder of this. Gowan was at the MTelus in Montreal as part of a brief Canadian tour.

That tour would be to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his landmark album, Strange Animal. Yes, 40th Anniversary. The number just doesn’t compute. It seems like it was yesterday that we first got to see the video for “A Criminal Mind,” while having snacks after school and watching Video Hits on CBC. Mother Nature and Father Time make for a very formidable duo. Both have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

On the other side of the hourglass was Sofia Duhaime. The young artist is still taking the first of what will be many steps on her musical journey. She exuded a quiet confidence on stage, regaling us with songs from her debut album, Lune d’argent. Singing in both English and en français, Sofia masterfully held the audience’s attention with her spellbinding voice. I particularly enjoyed “Entre deux stations,” a song she dedicated to public transport. She obviously has a big future, and I can’t wait to see her star shine even brighter.

Though this was a seated concert, there was still a buzz of energy going through the building. Before arriving, the video wall displayed a brief retrospective of Gowan’s career. Forty years of great music flashed before our eyes before the lights went out and Gowan hit the stage.

“Awake The Giant” got the night off to a rocking start. Gowan split his time between his signature keyboard and walking the stage, acknowledging his fans along the way. He broke out a beautifully painted guitar for “Dancing On My Own Ground” while also chatting with the crowd.

His is admittedly broken French, but the crowd didn’t mind at all. They were more than happy with the effort being shown. He shared a memory of first playing the smaller Théâtre St. Denis in early 1985. Later that year, after the great success of Strange Animal, he was suddenly headlining the legendary Montreal Forum.

A brief mention of his time with Styx led to the instrumental piece, “Khedive.” Gowan dedicated the rest of the evening to Strange Animal. From “Cosmetics” all the way through to “A Criminal Mind,” the crowd, and Gowan himself, partied like it was 1985 once again. Gowan brought the show to an end with “Moonlight Desires,” at which point Father Time returned to remind us that it was 2025.

Gowan’s “40th Anniversary of Strange Animal Tour” comes to an end soon, but there are a few more shows scheduled for early 2026.