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Bachman & Turner and Sammy Hagar Join the Sadies for 'Secret' CMW Show

Randy Bachman, Fred Turner, Sammy HagarBachman & Turner | Getty Images

Booking the Sadies as the openers for a secret headliner at the Mod Club's Canadian Music Week showcase Friday night in Toronto seemed like a bit of a gamble. Considering the Sadies have built a career blowing other bands off the stage, it was hard to imagine who they could get to match the locals' legendary live show.

All it took was a quick reveal of the headliners -- Canadian classic rock icons Bachman & Turner playing a rare club gig -- to remove any doubts. Reunited on this tour for the first time since 1991, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner worked through a hits-loaded set that would have been at home in an arena, but instead took place at 8:30PM ET in front of about 400 fans.

The two 68-year-old rockers, the former faces of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, are touring in support of their new collaborative album, but they weren't afraid to delve into nostalgia.

Dipping into their vast catalogue, the band obliged the older-skewing crowd with a show packed with BTO standards. Armed with a double guitar/double bass attack (maybe they've been watching 'Spinal Tap'?), the group brought a riff-laden, solo-filled finesse to bona fide hits like 'Roll On Down the Highway,' 'Let It Ride,' 'You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet' and even 'American Woman' -- arguably the best known song from Bachman's other famous band, the Guess Who.

While far from revelatory, the set did what shows of this kind set out to do -- it showed the old legends still had some rock left in the tank, and played pure fan-service to an audience starving for the hits from their youth.

And that would have been enough to justify the ticket price, but they had one more (poorly protected) surprise in store. Returning from their encore with another familiar sexagenarian, one Mr. Sammy Hagar, the group launched into a song that could easily have fit into their own car-obsessed catalogue, Van Halen's 'I Can't Drive 55.' Hagar's iconic axe attack was enough to facilitate some "Sammy" chants, and the first-time Bachman-Turner-Hagar lineup obliged with a solo-trading performance of BTO's biggest hit, 'Taking Care of Business.'

It certainly lived up to the billing with the Sadies, but the veteran country-rockers had some tricks up their own sleeves, as seen earlier that night. You generally know what you're going to get from a Sadies performance: soulful vocals, tight rockabilly-surf instrumentals, and a consistency unlike any other band on the planet.

Where the Sadies escape the traps of predictability, though, is in their penchant for collaborations. Guest appearances were the theme of the night, and the Sadies had one of their own: veteran Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith. Joining together for a roof-blowing cover of 'The Seeker' by the Who, the performance fit the night's classic rock vibe to a tee.

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Rick

Van Halen's 'I Can't Drive 55.' ...wow who's writing this stuff?

March 14 2011 at 9:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

Just to note - Can't Drive 55 is not a VH song - it's Hagar solo.

March 12 2011 at 6:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply