Pouring rain couldn't drive away the mostly middle-aged crowd waiting in line last night for a small-venue concert by the Rolling Stones.
In spite of precipitation that came and went throughout the afternoon and evening, hundreds of people persevered outside the Phoenix Concert Theatre on Sherbourne Street, where the Stones held a tune-up gig before going on the road for their latest world tour.
Olga Kobylansky turned 55 waiting in line, telling her husband she had "a date with Mick."
Her husband understood. Ms. Kobylansky said she last saw the band nearly 40 years ago and she's more excited this time.
Standing in line, the tanned woman with green eye shadow and glass bead bracelets said that there's something sensual about the Stones, something visceral.
Ms. Kobylansky was one of more than 1,000 people waiting to attend the unscheduled event.
Many of them said they'd caught wind of the concert while hanging around the band's rehearsal spot in north Toronto, at a school in the Davisville and Mount Pleasant area.
Skippy Shay, 38, a Philadelphia resident who runs the fan site stickyfingersjournal.com, said the rumours of the concert had begun circulating as early as Saturday.
Mr. Shay saw the band 27 times during their last tour, travelling to five other countries to do so. He said news of the intimate venue drew him to Toronto.
"I've been a fan since I was nine years old," he said, adding that his devotion had been criticized by his mother. "They're the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world."
There were cheers as a convoy of vehicles carrying the band arrived and then more jubilation as the doors opened at 8 o'clock.
"They're old dinosaurs but they're still picking it up," said Al Lalli, who's in his mid-40s. "Younger bands take note."
The comment, and the generally seasoned crowd, is a testament to the Stones' staying power.
Now in his 60s, lead singer Mick Jagger has lived several decades since his famous comment that he wouldn't be singing rock'n'roll when he was 30.
The Nova Scotia group the Trews was scheduled to open last night for the Stones, a coup for the band that has not yet released its second album.
Veteran musician Beck will be opening for the Stones when they pass through Toronto again on Sept. 26, playing then at the Rogers Centre.
The Stones tour officially begins Aug. 21 in Boston, where Black Eyed Peas will open.
Pre-concert rehearsal and tune-ups in Toronto have become habitual for the band, which is said to maintain a soft spot for the city.
"Toronto is their favourite place, it's a home away from home," said Marlene Brown, 50, who has been a fan since she was a child.
"When Keith was busted for heroin, as a public service, they made him hold two benefit concerts for the blind.
"That's great. And Mick wooed Maggie Trudeau."
Ms. Brown said she had grown up listening to the band.
"They sound a little different now but they're still really tight," she said.
"You get bit by something, it's like an addiction."