Page meets Pops in powerhouse orchestral show

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This article was published 23/09/2023 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“I’m just a good, old-fashioned, authentic Canadian guy,” said self-declared legendary Canadian pop icon Steven Page onstage at the Burton Cummings Theatre Friday night.

Well, gosh, yes, for sure he’s all that; however, he’s also a whole lot more.

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra featured the internationally renowned singer-songwriter — joined by his Steven Page Trio mates: Craig Northey (guitar/vocals) and Kevin Fox (cello/vocals) — as it kicked off its Live at the WSO series with the first of two weekend shows, led with gusto by maestro Julian Pellicano.

The Fayetteville, N.Y.-based artist last appeared here for the WSO Pops show Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in April 2016, which feels like a lifetime ago, during the “Before Times.” He also burned up the Burt’s stage as lead singer with his former band, the near mythical Barenaked Ladies, even further back in 1992.

Page first rocketed to fame as co-founder, with singer-guitarist Ed Robertson, of the Canadian alt-rock band. His earliest hit tunes, infused with equal parts quirkiness and insightful social commentary, include If I Had a Million Dollars and Hello City; they served as soundtrack for legions of fans growing up in those pre-digital days of mix tapes (remember those?).

The artist left the band in 2009 to embark on a solo career that has now spawned five solo albums, including his 2022 release, Excelsior, and extensive tours around the globe, including opening for rock legends the Who.

From the offside grand piano for his opening number, There’s a Melody, through two full sets composed of 16 numbers culled from his solo canon, as well as “oldies” from the Ladies’ discography, the now-53-year-old Page proved he still possesses the powerhouse vocal chops and energy of a man half his age.

He also displayed multi-faceted creativity that saw him morph among the roles of vocalist, guitarist, pianist, consummate showman/entertainer, witty raconteur — and even briefly, flamenco dancer — during the two-hour show (including intermission) that began with his congenial “It’s so nice to be back in Winnipeg.”

Early highlights included A New Shore, sung with plenty of bite as the singer’s soaring tenor voice climbed into its falsetto range, and, poignantly, What a Good Boy, from the BNL’s debut 1992 album Gordon. The song, penned at the tender age of “19 or 20,” rightfully earned the night’s first loud cheers from the mixed-generation crowd.

We also got to hear Northey — best known for his time in Vancouver pop band the Odds — wail through his licks in Entourage, before Page playfully entwined his guitar lines with Fox’s so-cool-it-hurts carbon-fibre cello, with Call and Answer closing the evening’s first half and inspiring a rousing standing ovation.

Many times touring artists bring along their own drummers and bass players; the wise, even rare choice to feature a smaller ensemble ensured a cohesion of sound between the guest artists and “big band,” the WSO, skilfully led by Pellicano throughout.

If there’s one reason to see this show, it’s Page’s white-hot performance of Gravity from his 2018 album Discipline: Heal Thyself, Pt. II. The heavily Spanish-flavoured song, told from a religious man’s viewpoint dismissing scientists, flared like a rocket after intermission.

A “proud papa” moment also came with Jane, arranged by Page’s son, composer/conductor Isaac Page, 26, proving the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, with the lighter, more sparsely written textural orchestration ably showcasing the trio’s close vocal harmonies.

However, the party really heated up after the musician demonstrated his “feel-good strumming” guitar riffs — honed via his internet “guitar research” during pandemic lockdown days — that have fuelled many a pop song.

He then launched into a medley including Wasn’t That a Party and Takin’ Care of Business, the latter written by Winnipeg’s Randy Bachman and made famous by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO), paying homage to Winnipeg’s rich legacy of celebrated rock bands.

Truthfully, there could have been a few more ballads in this program to provide greater contrast. It would also have been terrific to hear the trio’s crackerjack musicians perform a tune or two sans orchestra, or even have Page, whose boundless vocals easily shape-shift between pop, falsetto, and even dramatic operatic overtones worthy of a divo, warbling alone, a cappella style.

His lyrics are so good — and we want to hear every syllable — but the singer at times became subsumed by the orchestra, partly owing to tricky balance issues in the historic 117-year-old venue.

While he’s likely performed it a gajillion times, the expected/hoped iconic Ladies’ anthem If I Had a Million Dollars proved strangely missing in action. Another wish-list item, and a nice topical touch, would have been the gorgeous Half the Moon, written by John K. Samson, former frontman for Winnipeg’s now-fallow the Weakerthans, and performed by Page with other Canadian orchestras. Hallelujah — which is also in the group’s repertoire, penned by one of Page’s heroes, Leonard Cohen — would also have sent listeners (including this one) into a swoon.

However, having said all this, Page really put the pedal to the metal for his finale of Brian Wilson. Written in his parents’ Scarborough basement at age 20, it pays tribute to the Beach Boys’ legend, and saw Page shredding his guitar for an enthralling, all-guns-blazing outro.

As expected, the crowd leapt to its feet with another thunderous standing ovation, leading to an encore of Powder Blue, with Page returning to his piano, bringing this show full circle.

The show repeats tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Burton Cummings Theatre. Tickets at wso.ca.

holly.harris@shaw.ca