Rock star revival tours can be a sad state of affairs. As
much as aging baby boomers love hearing those old Top 40 tunes,
there's no way to hide that the musicians and the audience
are no longer in their prime.
This was not the case, however, Tuesday June 20 at the Sudbury Arena when Canadian rock legends Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings performed.
They both looked great and sounded better than ever. The former Guess Who members, both who are much thinner than they have been for decades, didn't just play the oldies, they have managed to reinvent them for their First Time Around Tour.
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Following a short video montage of The Guess Who in their heyday, Bachman and Cummings opened their set with The Guess Who's anthem American Woman. This bluesy and more mature rendition is a lot less angry than the 1970 version.
This was quickly followed by These Eyes, the song that put The Guess Who on the pop music map in 1968. They didn't mess with this, and if you closed your eyes you could imagine you and your sweetie listening it on the car AM radio and cuddling by the dashboard lights.
Cummings' tenor voice is now fuller and more polished. He is an experienced showman and this adds to experience. Bachman wrote many of the songs that made The Guess Who and later BTO famous. He is also a fabulous guitarist, but Fred Turner sang the vocals on the those 1970s BTO hits such as You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Let It Ride, Hey You, and Looking Out for #1.
Bachman isn't much of a singer but he bravely performs the vocals on this tour with the help of the talented five-man backup band and Cummings. The audience doesn't seem to mind.
Cummings, 58, a rock divo then and now, is the polar opposite of the folksy Bachman. Cummings had a string of solo hits after leaving band and he performed a few Tuesday night: Fine State of Affairs, My Own Way to Rock, Break it to Them Gently and Timeless Love.
The rockin' concert closer, BTO's Takin Care of
Business got everyone off their feet and singing along.
The audience of about 3,500 left feeling satisfied and glad to
know they would be home in time to watch the 11 pm news.
For those who missed the concert, The Bachman Cummings Songbook
was released in April with a 19-original masters that combines
the best of The Guess Who, BTO and Cummings' solo work. The
two musicians taped a CBC special, First Time Around, that was
broadcast recently, and will be released on DVD Sept. 12
Fans are invited to write their own review of the show or share a favorite Bachman and Cummings  story or memory with NorthernLife.ca readers using the comment forum below.
Concert set list: American Woman, Albert Flasher, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Timeless Love, Clap for the Wolfman, Let it Ride, Hand Me Down World, Shape of My Heart, No Sugar/New Mother, Nature, Prairie Town, Fine State of Affairs, Hey You, Laughing, She's Come Undone, Star Baby, Looking Out for #1, My Own Way to Rock, Break it to Them Gently, No Time, Share the Lan and Takin' Care of Business.
