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PHOTOS: Bachman and Cummings deliver for hometown fans

By: Melissa Martin

1/07/2009 8:16 AM | Comments: 12

Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings entertain the masses at the MTS Centre Tuesday night.

BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Enlarge Image

Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings entertain the masses at the MTS Centre Tuesday night.

Four years ago, having triumphantly mended the fences they smashed all over North America in the early 1970s, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings publicly walked away from their dusty old band name and branded themselves with a more self-evident moniker, just Bachman Cummings.

Still, some commentators can't get over the name. Their argument makes sense: if Bachman and Cummings were the architects of the Guess Who, then fans will always see the pairing as, well, the Guess Who. Problem being, Bachman Cummings is not just the Guess Who With The Answers Filled In.

Sure, the bulk of the well-rounded two-hour set they unveiled at the MTS Centre on Tuesday night hailed from the Guess Who days. But there was more to it than that: together, the duo pumped out Bachman Turner Overdrive classics, a handful of Cummings' bouffant solo hits (sadly, some of his best didn't make the set list), and a selection from Jukebox, their 2007 covers collection.

And where the Guess Who were bona fide rock stars, Bachman Cummings (joined on this tour by longtime backing band the Carpet Frogs) are just two guys with an invisible bungee cord tying their hearts to the flagpoles at Portage and Main. Maybe it's different when you're playing to an arena full of people who first saw you haunting North End community clubs in rainbow shirts your mother bought.

Or maybe, they 're just glad to snap back home. The MTS Centre show was unhurried, unpretentious, and uncommonly casual. Bachman, looking trim and hale at 65, and Cummings took the stage at 8:15 p.m. with relatively little fanfare and laid into the set, starting with Running Back to Saskatoon, BTO hit You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, and Laughing.

From there on out, it was lots of hits... and lots of history. They swapped songs, with Cummings trilling through his elegant Timeless Love and Bachman replying with the gentle Prairie Town. And they swapped stories: Cummings commented on old Deverons fans in attendance, Bachman waxed poetic about the day a disc jockey discovered Undun on Laughing's B-Side, and gave them their first double-sided hit.

Cummings' voice, for the most part, sounded strong, though sometimes lost under the instruments; that may have been a side-effect of press box acoustics and some swampy production. When songs were stripped down, especially on the tantalizing Undun, his voice soared.

There was some worry that These Eyes might be missing from the set list, as it was on recent tour dates. We are happy to report it wasn't so.

"We don't play this every night, because I just can't sound like that Burton from the 60s," Cummings said amiably, before laying into the tune's unforgettable chording. "But we've got to try for the hometown. Everything changed after this song."

We're not sure what he was worried about: These Eyes ended up being one of his best vocal deliveries of the night. Not as effortless as it was 40 years ago, but still enough to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

Though most of the show was relaxed, Bachman, Cummings and the Frogs started to crescendo in the last 40 minutes of the set, dishing out a growling snippet of the Doors' Roadhouse Blues, which segued into the unforgettable spelling into of American Woman. Then they blasted through some old-time rock'n'roll before sending the crowd to their feet with a giant Canadian flag and sharp encore versions of Share the Land and, finally, perennial summer rocker Takin' Care of Business.

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12 Commentscomment icon

Perhaps if you would have paid more attention to the actual concert instead of having your head in the past you might have enjoyed the concert as much as everyone else that was actually there. Also, if you had been sitting where you could hear the music and the vocals properly, you would not have heard the fading in Cumnmings voice. They produced and excellent performance and everyone I talked to that night said it was one of the BEST concerts they had ever attended. Therefore I can only assumne you are too young to appreciate their talents or you went to the Bartley Kives School of "Knock it if either (1)you don't understand it or (2) didn't get the interview you wanted".
P.S. Your comment "These two 'Peggers' have always seemed bungee-tied to the flagpoles at Portage and Main---" is another insult to our locally produced talent. If you did your research, you might have determined that Winnipeg was not the only stop on their tour. Or, should they understand that they should ignore Winnipeg?????

Really fantastic time! The Jim Morrison thing was such a highlight to the night, Burton is such a hero of mine and really is a man of a thousand voices.. I've heard him do many over the years and he never ever fails to impress! I would have loved to hear a song like Talisman, Pain Train, Pleasin' for a Reason or even a couple of other songs off the new disc, Invisible or Dream.. etc etc the list goes on forever. Thanks Randy and Burton, we love you guys here!

Was this one of the concerts Cummings was to donater part of the proceeds from in return for the renaming of the Odeon / Walker Theatre to his name? Oh wait, that is only when he performs at the Burton Cummings Theatre. How many times has that happened?

I skipped this show to see Al Green. I wish I had ditched those tickets for this show, instead.

I would love to see Bachman and Cummings get together for a concert with Fred Turner. I know he was not part of the Guess Who but Randy and Fred did make some great music together and I would love to see BTO (or in this case maybe a BTC) comeback!

Nothing beats "sharing the land" by "taking care of business". Fantastic concert and Burton's voice isn't that of a 60 plus! Great way to move into Canada Day.

I can honestly say without a doubt this was the best concert I have ever seen. My husband is from Barbados and he was just in absolute awe of Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman. He knew of the Guess Who but only had heard a few of their songs. The songs brought back so many memories of those River Heights dances....you guys are the best!!!!! Thank you for a very memorable evening.

Fabulous Concert! The guys can still blow them away. The Doors' Roadhouse Blues, which segued into the unforgettable spelling into of American Woman as mentioned by the reviewer has got to be one of the high marks of any concert I've been to. Amazing.

I was one of the Deveron fans who got a shout-out from Burton. I might be biased but I thought it was one of the best shows I've ever had the priviledge of seeing - on par with a 3-hour set from Van Morrison 30 years ago.

Burton's voice is still one of the greatest in Rock & Roll and Randy - well what can you say about Randy - he's awesome.

I felt like I was 17 again at River Heights CC and dancing my heart out.

Sad I had to miss it - these guys are always value for the money

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