Live Nation ‘making adjustments' at Toronto's Rogers Stadium after fan complaints
Live Nation Canada said it is incorporating fan and community feedback and 'working closely' with city officials, transit operators and emergency services.
Some fans who attended a concert by K-pop group Stray Kids on Sunday evening said it took up to two hours to exit the stadium near Downsview Park, as the venue and transit services seemed ill-equipped to handle the throngs of people coming in and out of the show.
Live Nation Canada also said it is aware that fans felt their seats move in the upper grandstands during the concert, but said that is 'expected as part of the design of the venue,' which 'exceeds' international safety codes.
James Pasternak, a city councillor whose ward includes the area where the stadium is located, was set to meet with Live Nation Canada and landowner Northcrest Developments Wednesday morning to discuss possible solutions.
The Toronto Transit Commission said it had manageable passenger flow and 'frequent train services' at all three stations in the area on Sunday, but it's looking to add more staff to its Downsview and Wilson stations ahead of upcoming concerts.
A spokesperson for the transit agency also said the TTC held a staff debrief on Wednesday and attended a meeting with the City of Toronto, Live Nation and other stakeholders.
Rogers Stadium is gearing up to host British rock band Coldplay next week for four performances taking place between July 7 and 12.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025.
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Washington Post
40 minutes ago
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On ‘Period,' the old Kesha is back. Again.
Kesha burst onto the music scene with a distinctive brand of blunt, electrifying pop that seemed designed to take the dance floor by sheer force. Then came the genre-hopping. It's nothing new for a pop star to pivot. Claiming maturity, sonic growth or the need to express something raw, musicians from Beyoncé to Lana Del Rey to Post Malone have recently asserted their indie, country or rock bona fides. It's rare for these pivots to go off without a hitch. For Kesha, a string of such sonic shifts have led to 'Period,' a semitransparent bid for yet another career reset. 'Period' is particularly confounding after 2023's 'Gag Order,' on which Kesha abandoned her party girl persona and reinvented herself as a purveyor of haunting, minimalist art pop. (Her earlier surprises include dabbling in rock on 2012's 'Warrior' and a collaboration with Dolly Parton on 2017's 'Rainbow.') The guttural, Rick Rubin-produced album marked Kesha's furthest jump from the Obama-era electropop that made her famous. It also marked the end of her association with former producer Dr. Luke, with whom she had been embroiled in a years-long defamation lawsuit, and his Kemosabe Records. Her first release on the newly founded Kesha Records, 'Period' seemed poised to get back to massive-sounding pop, with help from some of the producers behind recent smashes 'Brat' and 'Renaissance.' Instead the scattered, occasionally enthralling effort raises an awkward question: What happens when your influence is all over today's pop, but you don't have anything new to say? When 'Joyride,' the lead single for 'Period,' arrived last July, we were in the thick of 'Brat' summer. Kesha can confidently claim to be proto-' Brat,' but she still struggled to keep up with Charli XCX when adding a verse to the remix of 'Spring Breakers' this past fall. 'Joyride' thankfully isn't an attempt to blend in with the pop of the moment — just look at its strange klezmer-hyperpop instrumental. It does fall apart, though, when Kesha announces 'I am mother' in the second verse. The other explosive songs on 'Period' are stronger, especially when Kesha leans into the slapstick of seduction. Decorated with New Order-esque kick drums, the so-wrong-its-right narrative of 'Red Flag' thrills when Kesha's speak-singing recalls her breakthrough hits. With its bubbly keys and chirping vocal filters, the song's exuberant bridge could have been lifted from peak-era Black Eyed Peas or Addison Rae's latest. Before whispering that she's going to 'Eat 'em up like amuse-bouche,' Kesha ups the tempo on 'Boy Crazy,' a similarly bouncy, carefree anthem. Although advertised as a return to form, 'Period' is strikingly low on club-ready sing-alongs. Recent single 'Yippee-Ki-Yay' turns Kesha's long-standing interest in country music into a Shaboozey-like abomination. And she retreats to self-help clichés ('I've got a soul nobody can break') on 'The One,' over horns shrill enough to grace one of Jason Derulo's hits. Most frustrating is how headachingly loud the programmed percussion is across the album, often threatening to overwhelm whatever bland sentiment arrives in the lyrics. Despite those missteps, Kesha manages to chart at least one fresh path back to the party. She sounds firmly at home on the opener, 'Freedom,' which begins with a slap bass part and erupts into an unexpected hook featuring an inspiring gospel choir. With slinky pianos and Kesha's devious delivery of lines such as 'I only drink when I'm happy/ And I'm drunk right now,' it eventually wanders into house territory, a new destination for Kesha. As the only 'Period' song produced by frequent Father John Misty collaborators Jonathan Wilson and Drew Erickson, 'Freedom' rings like an opportunity. When it's time for Kesha's next pivot, she knows who to call.
Los Angeles Times
40 minutes ago
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A tale of two parks: One was a ‘poor boy's Disneyland,' the other had a Cobra Woman who was really a man
Here's a little story for summertime, a tale of two seaside amusement parks of days of olde: One eventually got itself a reputation as a rackety, unsavory hangout where you didn't have to look hard to find gambling, dive bars, tattoo parlors (back when nice people didn't go near them), and 'soiled doves,' what the Victorians called prostitutes. Notoriously, someone once found a corpse there — as a sideshow exhibit, not a murder victim. More about him presently. The other park, not far up the coast, was as perky and clean-cut as a barbershop quartet, painted the colors of sand and sky, with shipshape and jaunty ocean-inspired adventures, and zippy, futuristic, razzle-dazzle rides. Now, which one do you think lasted longer? It was the first one, the older one — the Pike, in Long Beach. It opened in 1902, when the electric cars first brought sweaty, landlocked Angelenos to the beach breezes and the Pike's carnival delights, like the fabled Cyclone Racer roller coaster that swooped its riders fast and furious above the water. It was finally done, and done in, in 1979, replaced by shops set among the Long Beach Convention Center and the Aquarium of the Pacific. The other one, Pacific Ocean Park, straddled the sand of Santa Monica and Venice. It opened in 1958, three years after Disneyland, and didn't last even 10 years. Santa Monica has seen amusement parks come and go over more than 120 years, but POP is of fairly recent and fond memory. That place should not to be confused with the much smaller Pacific Park that operates now on the Santa Monica pier, the heir to L.A.'s long beachfront amusement park heritage. POP was a creature of Cold War America. Westinghouse Electric Corp. built one display, a replica of the hull of the atomic-powered Nautilus submarine, with sound effects like an actual submarine at sea. A 'spaceship' theater 'took' the audience to Mars, to see the Red Planet and its imagined Martian residents. A 'house of tomorrow' [sound familiar, Disneyland fans?] ran on 'electronic age' conveniences with an 'artistic representation of the atomic city of tomorrow,' as the old Pomona Progress-Bulletin newspaper wrote in September 1958. An 'ocean skyway' ride took visitors in clear gondolas out over the Pacific surf. Zev Yaroslavsky, the L.A. native, longtime county supervisor, and city council member, still misses the place, even all these decades later. In elementary school, in junior high and high school, 'me and my buddies would take the bus out there, and we'd spend the day having fun. It was a great place to go with girls on whom we had a crush. It was the poor boy's Disneyland.' You entered through the watery darkness of the aquarium, and when you came out the other side, Yaroslavsky remembers, you were 'greeted by the bright sunshine on the pier with the attractions and the Pacific Ocean in my line of sight,' like being wafted from the humdrum to 'the exciting fantasy land of a shoreline amusement park.' 'I felt wronged when it closed, and I have missed it ever since.' In 1960, an FM station, KSRF – K-Surf – began broadcasting from POP, but it was POP's live dance shows that brought in big names and the crowds that followed them – Ritchie Valens, Sam Cooke, and the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson wrote a short foreword to the lavishly illustrated 2014 book 'Pacific Ocean Park.' The 1950s and '60s gave us a glut of amusement parks, and as with any boom, there was a bust. POP became one of the busted. Competition from that place in Anaheim was unrelenting. So too is sea air, and its assault on wood and metal and human-crafted things in general, and the price for keeping all of that at bay was untenable. Rides broke down and went un-repaired. City building projects messed up the roads into POP. By the autumn of 1967, POP was closed – ostensibly for repairs but in fact for good. The apocalyptic forces that work against amusement parks, neglect and fires, did their handiwork. As The Times wrote in February 1975, as the last of POP was being demolished, 'Sooner or later all dreams come to an end.' Yet the Pike soldiered on — rather, sailored on. In 1919, Long Beach became the home port for the nation's Pacific fleet of battleships, and in time, more ships followed. The Navy was big business for Long Beach, and for the Pike, where thousands of Navy 'gobs' stationed here spent some of their shore leave and their earnings. Like Las Vegas, the Pike, too, underwent an identity shift, if not a crisis. It too suffered from competition of more family-focused resorts. As parents took their kids holidaying at Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm, the Pike was left more and more to grownups like boisterous sailors and footloose Angelenos and their tastes for pool rooms, bars, dance halls and sideshows. In 1946, a sideshow fixture billed as 'Miss Elsie Marks, the Cobra Woman,' died after her seven-foot diamondback rattlesnake bit her. That was the first big headline. The second was that 'the Cobra Woman' was in fact a 6-foot-3-inch man surnamed Nadir, who had traveled in circus sideshows over the years as, serially, 'the dog-faced boy,' then 'the monkey man' and 'the bearded lady.' The Pike's louche doings made for great newspaper copy. In 1914, the 'Duke of the Pike' — a debonair character who lived large, mostly on brash cheek and bad checks — finally got caught when his car broke down in Compton. He was asking the police chief to lend him $10 for repairs when a sergeant recognized him as a wanted man. The next year, a businessman who said he had simply wanted to show a young girl the sights on the Pike was arrested for breaking a local law delicately phrased by The Times as being 'in a certain state of mind when approaching an apartment house' where the girl was living on his largesse. In 1943, at the height of World War II, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ted Sten announced that gambling was going on on the Pike: 'I personally counted eight last night. There are wide-open crap games, and the only police down there are watching the merry-go-round.' In fact, the Pike was probably the most heavily policed part of Long Beach, but players will be players. In the 1950s, the Pike rebranded itself Nu-Pike, in a makeover that tried to snag more families as customers. That didn't rescue the Pike, nor did another new name for the area: Queen Park, after the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary, permanently anchored on the Long Beach landscape. Geography itself worked against the Pike, too. Beyond its actual borders, unsavory operations sprang up, but the whole stretch was identified as 'the Pike.' In 1965, as Long Beach began sprucing up the harbor, a dredging operation piled up a landfill at the edge of the Pike. In short order, the Pike was no longer at the beach. A man who ran a grill restaurant in the Pike's 'Fun Zone' told The Times in 1979 that 'they pushed the beach back so far they killed business.' By 1967, a columnist at the Long Beach Independent had to defend his town to an anonymous letter writer demanding an expose of Long Beach's gay bars and brothels, including the Pike, 'that nightmare alley with its rock-bottom characters and perverts in plain view … ' The columnist's retort was valiant but rather weak sauce: There are only three gay bars in Long Beach — down from nine two years before. At the 'notorious hotel' occupied by prostitutes, there was only one arrest there in the last six months. In 1979 the city had big plans that did not include the Pike. 'Nu-Pike May Be No Pike,' ran The Times' headline. Leases were not renewed. Attractions that hadn't already fallen down were knocked down. (A small museum of Pike artifacts survived in the Lite-A-Line game arcade in Long Beach, operated by the Looff family, which had run the same attraction at the Pike for decades. But even that closed, in 2022.) By 1979, too, one of the Pike's foremost attractions was already gone, first to the L.A. County coroner's office, and then to a graveyard in Oklahoma. In 1976, a wax dummy painted Day-Glo red was being moved around in the Laff in the Dark attraction when an arm fell off. Underneath was not more wax, but a human bone. The dummy was a mummy — the desiccated corpse of Elmer McCurdy. McCurdy was a B-list, turn-of-the-century outlaw, a ne'er-do-well train robber who was so lousy at his craft that he held up virtually empty trains instead of the gold-toting ones he thought he was targeting. He once blew up a train's safe that was full of loot, but the 'bang' fused all of the coins to the safe's inside walls. He was shot down by a sheriff's posse in Oklahoma in 1911. After that, his unclaimed body began its wanderings: as a greeter for an Oklahoma funeral home, as a sideshow attraction for touring carnivals, and even in a titillating 1933 pre-Code film, 'Narcotic.' (It wasn't a speaking role.) Once out of the carny racket, McCurdy became more famous in death than he had been in life. Times columnist Steve Harvey christened him the King Tut of the Tumbleweeds. McCurdy's post-posthumous credits: a BBC documentary, two biographies, a Celtic folk song, and a murder mystery weekend. He was buried in a historic cemetery in Guthrie, Okla. — under a two-foot layer of concrete, lest anyone be tempted to take him on tour again.
Time Business News
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- Time Business News
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The Outlaws, created by Stephen Merchant and Elgin James, is a standout BBC comedy-drama that fuses humor, crime, and emotional depth. Set in Bristol, the show brings together a mismatched group of strangers completing community service. The driving force behind its success is its dynamic, diverse, and brilliantly cast ensemble. At BritainWrites, we've explored each cast member in detail to help fans and new viewers alike understand why this ensemble works so well. From Hollywood icons to rising UK stars, this breakdown showcases what each actor brings to the table. Christopher Walken as Frank Sheldon Among the Cast of The Outlaws, Christopher Walken is the most internationally recognized name. He plays Frank Sheldon, a retired con artist attempting to repair his relationship with his daughter while serving community service. Walken's iconic delivery adds depth to a role that mixes criminal charm with emotional vulnerability. Known for: The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can Character type: World-weary, cunning, regretful Unique fact: Walken's first lead in a British series Walken's portrayal adds global star power and a grounded, heartfelt presence to the show. Known for: The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can, Pulp Fiction Role: A sly but soft-hearted former criminal Fun fact: This was Walken's first major role in a British TV series Walken's portrayal of Frank adds unexpected tenderness to the character, making him both comedic and touching. Stephen Merchant not only co-created the series but also stars as Greg Dillard, an awkward and painfully shy solicitor. Greg is sentenced to community service after a public indecency offense, and his personal journey is one of the most relatable in the show. Known for: The Office (UK), Extras, Hello Ladies Role: A lonely lawyer with social anxiety and deep insecurities Creator credit: Merchant also writes and directs multiple episodes Greg's storyline is often both cringe-inducing and deeply moving, and Merchant's self-deprecating performance hits the right balance. Rhianne Barreto plays Rani, a gifted student from a strict immigrant family. After being caught shoplifting, she's sentenced to community service. Her storyline explores rebellion, cultural expectations, and identity crisis. Known for: Hanna, Honour Character traits: Intelligent, impulsive, emotionally conflicted Performance: Barreto brings complexity to Rani's coming-of-age arc As the youngest in the group, Rani adds a generational contrast that enriches the dynamic of the cast. Gamba Cole plays Christian, a protective older brother using a false identity to escape gang affiliations. His calm demeanor hides a life filled with danger, loyalty, and difficult choices. Known for: Guerrilla, Hanna Background: Christian is on the run from a dangerous past Relationship arc: His bond with Rani adds emotional weight to the storyline Cole's understated performance adds credibility and emotional grounding to the show's more dramatic moments. Darren Boyd plays John Halloran, a disgraced businessman caught in a racism scandal. His struggle with public image, family expectations, and personal guilt provides an ongoing moral dilemma within the group. Known for: Spy, Killing Eve, Green Wing Character profile: Conservative, prideful, and forced to confront change Story impact: John's arc mirrors real-world issues of privilege and bias Boyd brings both satire and sincerity to a character audiences love to hate—and sometimes sympathize with. Clare Perkins takes on the role of Myrna, a former radical activist. Now older and haunted by her past, Myrna uses community service as a chance to make amends and rediscover purpose. Known for: EastEnders, Secrets & Lies Role traits: Fiercely intelligent, morally conflicted, idealistic Dramatic depth: Her internal struggle adds gravitas to the ensemble Myrna often challenges other characters' motives, making her a voice of conscience in the group. Eleanor Tomlinson plays Lady Gabby, a socialite and former reality star sentenced after a drunken scandal. Her entitlement and cluelessness offer comic relief but also develop into genuine character growth. Known for: Poldark, The Nevers Character shift: From influencer to introspective outsider Added value: Her arc surprises viewers with unexpected emotional depth Tomlinson's portrayal of privilege evolving into self-awareness is one of the show's most entertaining transformations. Jessica Gunning stars as Diane, the overly intense community service officer. Obsessed with rules and control, Diane provides consistent comedic energy while occasionally revealing her own insecurities. Known for: Pride, Back, White Heat Character tone: Comically strict, socially awkward, and a little delusional Standout scenes: Diane's patrols and interrogations are comedic highlights Gunning balances slapstick and subtle humor to deliver some of the series' funniest moments. Nina Wadia plays Shanthi, Rani's traditional and overbearing mother. She represents the generational and cultural pressures faced by Rani and delivers moments of both frustration and heart. Known for: Goodness Gracious Me, EastEnders Cultural influence: Shanthi brings immigrant family dynamics into sharp focus Narrative weight: Her confrontations with Rani are emotionally charged Wadia's performance adds authenticity and emotional complexity to Rani's backstory. Actor Character Notable Credits Character Summary Christopher Walken Frank Sheldon Pulp Fiction, Catch Me Aging conman seeking redemption Stephen Merchant Greg Dillard The Office, Extras Awkward lawyer hiding deep loneliness Rhianne Barreto Rani Rekowski Hanna, Honour High-achiever turned rebel Gamba Cole Christian Taylor Guerrilla, Hanna Ex-gang member protecting his sister Darren Boyd John Halloran Spy, Killing Eve Disgraced businessman facing backlash Clare Perkins Myrna Okeke EastEnders, Secrets & Lies Former radical with unresolved guilt Eleanor Tomlinson Lady Gabby Penrose Poldark, The Nevers Spoiled influencer seeking identity Jessica Gunning Diane Pemberley Pride, Back Overzealous officer with a quirky side Nina Wadia Shanthi Rekowski EastEnders, Goodness Gracious Me Strict mother with traditional values The success of The Outlaws depends heavily on its diverse and multi-layered cast. With a balance of comedic veterans, dramatic actors, and international stars, the series resonates across different demographics. Each actor brings authenticity to their role, and the ensemble chemistry keeps the plot engaging and believable. Filmed in Bristol, the gritty urban setting adds realism, while the diverse casting reflects contemporary British society. The Outlaws has received widespread acclaim for both performance and writing. The cast, in particular, has been praised for elevating what could have been a typical redemption story. IMDb Rating: 7.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 92% Praise: Strong performances, believable character arcs, and smart humor Christopher Walken's presence draws global attention, while Stephen Merchant's dry wit and writing give the show a distinctly British flavor. Most original cast members returned for the third season, including: Stephen Merchant as Greg Christopher Walken as Frank Rhianne Barreto as Rani Gamba Cole as Christian Clare Perkins as Myrna Their ongoing character development adds new depth to the show's evolving narrative. Who is the most famous actor in The Outlaws? Christopher Walken is the most internationally recognized member of the cast, with a long and award-winning career in film. Is The Outlaws based on real people? No, the show is fictional. However, the characters are inspired by real-world social dynamics and stereotypes. Where was the series filmed? The series was filmed in Bristol, England, using real locations to enhance authenticity. Will the full cast return for Season 4? There's no official confirmation yet, but the positive reception of Season 3 suggests most of the cast may return. The cast of The Outlaws brings together actors from different genres, generations, and cultural backgrounds to create something uniquely entertaining. From Walken's seasoned charm to Barreto's raw emotion and Gunning's comedic timing, every role feels essential. Their performances turn a simple community service premise into one of the BBC's most exciting and human-centered shows. Whether you're here for the humor, the social commentary, or the performances, the cast of The Outlaws delivers something for everyone. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
