When it comes to Canadian music legacies, very few can match the musical catalog of Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. With dozens of Gold and Platinum album awards, a plethora of hit singles and some of the most memorable songs of the 60s and 70s, it’s hard to ignore their contributions to Canadian music.
Tonight, July 20, at Budweiser Gardens in London, the two musical legends united as part of their Together Again tour, performing the music of The Guess Who, Burton Cummings solo and Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO).
There was a lot of respect for 78-year-old Bachman and 74-year-old Burton Cummings, when the duo took to the stage with their five-piece accompanying band. It’s a respect that’s been well-earned and deserved for their commitment and contributions to Canadian music and Canadian culture in general – after all, what Canadian doesn’t grin just a little when someone sings the lyrics to American Woman.
It was a set loaded with Guess Who and BTO hits, mixed with a dash of Cummings solo material. It was also clear from the start, this was not the duo with the same energy, swagger and ability as their 1960s and 70s counterparts, but no one in the audience expected that. The audience was there for the memories, the stories and those songs. Those masterful and clever songs – No Time, Clap For The Wolfman, Albert Flasher, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, My Own Way To Rock and so much more.
Every song was special in some way and every moment a real treasure. Legends like Bachman and Cummings won’t be here forever and it’s always great to grab some time with musical icons like this when you get the chance. In London, they performed These Eyes, which Cummings said they don’t play as much because it doesn’t sound like the original, as well as snippets of Sour Sweet and Cummings big hit Stand Tall.
It was a fairly relaxed show with a casual atmosphere. Bachman was seated for much of the show on a stool, but his guitar playing was still as good as we all remembered, Cummings rocked the piano like a man much younger and moved around the stage quite a bit when he was not nailed to his electric Yamaha keyboard.
The audience was mostly older and well aware of why there were there, but it’s always fascinating to watch someone who may not know the performer by name, but after three or four songs, remembers all of them.
That’s the magic of incredible music and that’s the staying power of Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, who seem to be quite happy to be Together Again.
Bachman-Cummings
Budweiser Gardens
July 20, 2022
All photos by Dan Savoie
Setlist:
- No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature (The Guess Who)
- Clap for the Wolfman (The Guess Who)
- Laughing (The Guess Who)
- You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
- Albert Flasher (The Guess Who)
- Hand Me Down World (The Guess Who)
- Hey You (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
- Undun (The Guess Who)
- My Own Way to Rock (Burton Cummings)
- Roll On Down the Highway (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
- These Eyes (The Guess Who)
- Let It Ride (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
- Lookin’ Out for #1 (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
- Sour Suite (The Guess Who)
- Stand Tall (Burton Cummings)
- Break It to Them Gently (Burton Cummings)
- American Woman (The Guess Who)
- No Time (The Guess Who)
Encores:
- Share the Land (The Guess Who)
- Takin’ Care of Business (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)
