Published: August 23, 2009 12:47 am      

JENNINGS: Rock staple wraps up concert series

LOCKPORT — Randy Bachman took care of business Friday night, ending a stellar canal concert series with a rock staple after thrilling the Lockport crowd with a multitude of hit songs from his days in the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. A solid band, each of whose members took turns singing vocals on songs originally sung by Burton Cummings, backed the 65-year-old

rocker.

Bachman opened with a catchy version of the Guess Who’s “No Sugar Tonight.” The arrangement sounded reminiscent of the Grateful Dead, which suited Bachman’s laid-back vocal style. The next song was the Guess Who’s first hit from 1965, “Shakin All Over.” Legend has it that when the song was released by a local group from Winnipeg, the label credited the song to a mystery artist asking fans to “guess who” it was, giving the legendary band its name.

Before breaking into the BTO hit “Let it Ride,” Bachman told a funny story about how his band was boxed in by some truck drivers while on the way to a show in New Orleans. Next was one of the best songs of the night, “American Woman,” featuring bass player Mick Della Vee on lead vocals. Although other band members sang songs made famous by Burton Cummings, Della Vee sounded the closest to the original Guess Who vocalist.

Bachman then went “Neil Young style” as he called it, sitting alone on stage with a hollow body electric, strumming three famous Guess Who songs, “These Eyes,” Laughing” and “Undun.” It was an opportunity for the crowd to sing along to familiar hits, even if Bachman’s vocals were not on par with the original versions.

Soon after the band returned to the stage, they hit full stride with excellent versions of “Roll on Down the Highway,” featuring some excellent harmonies from Bachman’s band. That was followed by the BTO hit, “Hey You,” which included a medley of bar band hits like “All Right Now,” “Rockin Me,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Hot Legs” and “Wild Thing.” It seemed appropriate that Bachman paid homage to songs that have reached the same stature as many of the hits he wrote or performed.

The last song of the set was “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” The band really came into their own at that point and left the crowd wanting more. Thankfully, Bachman left the stage while the crowd cheered for the encore. I know that encores are a given, but I miss it when bands don’t go through the ritual. Bachman returned with a smoking version of “Takin Care of Business,” one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded.

This was my third time seeing Bachman in concert; I have seen him once with BTO and once with the Guess Who. As a solo artist, he puts on a good show, especially because he is able to play BTO and Guess Who songs in the same set.

At the end of the night, Mayor Mike Tucker asked the crowd if they wanted the series to come back, and the roar of approval was fantastic. Then he promised it would be back next year, which was music to this reviewer’s ears.

Contributing reviewer Thom Jennings is an Albion resident.