By Paul ‘Street Fighter’ Eastwood and Ken ‘Spellbound’ Vantour

Oowatanite!

The Rock and Roll Machine landed in Ottawa on May 2nd for a twin bill featuring two of the most important bands in Canadian history: April Wine and Triumph. Each drew from their impressive catalogues and delivered a night to remember.

April Wine was at the forefront of Canadian rock throughout the 70’s and 80’s. The lineup in Ottawa consisted of Brian Greenway (guitar/vocals), Richard Lanthier (bass), Roy Nichol (drums), and vocalist/guitarist Marc Parent. The absence of Myles Goodwyn was noted in a heartfelt dedication to the former frontman before launching into the power ballad Just Between You and Me. The vocals and guitar playing of Marc Parent were outstanding, and kudos to the band for keeping the energy and the songs of April Wine alive. Speaking of the songs, their set was filled with hits that permeated the airwaves of our youth. Say Hello, Oowatanite, Sign of the Gypsy Queen and of course, Roller as the perfect closing song. The level of musicianship was as high as ever, and set the tone for an excellent night of music.

(check out our interview with Brian Greenway here)

Triumph!

I never expected to see them in concert again. I say again, as my last Triumph show was at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa in August of 1979.

There has been some grumbling about the addition of musicians to the original trio, and the replacement of Mike Levine by Todd Kerns on bass and vocals. This turned out to be completely unwarranted. Todd and second drummer/keyboardist Brent Fitz are both touring members of Slash’s band. I say second drummer as Gil Moore was also on drums for most of the night (Watch Gil’s interview with Let’s Rock here.) He did however, take several opportunities to step out front to provide lead vocals for his classics, such as Rocky Mountain Way and I Live For The Weekend. I appreciated this, as it avoided the usual predicament of a drummer being obscured by their kit, and allowed him to be the rightful focus. The final addition, (although he was actually a touring and recording member of Triumph in 1992-93) is Phil X (check out Phil’s interview with Let’s Rock here) A member of Bon Jovi for many years, Phil is one of the most accomplished rock musicians and a tour-de-force guitarist/vocalist (Seriously, check out Phil X and The Drills on Spotify. You WILL NOT be disappointed). Phil is a perfect complement to Rik Emmett, contributing on rhythm, lead, and dual guitars, as well as lead and backing vocals. Phil and Todd are excellent and respectful musicians, they are up front when appropriate, and in the background when the focus is on Gil or Rik.
Rik Emmett is one of Canada’s premier guitarists/vocalists. His playing was top notch, and during Rock and Roll Machine among other classics, he turned back time and delivered complex and blistering sonic blasts.

Onto the show, all blinding and lit!
From the opening When the Lights Go Down to the closing Fight the Good Fight, this was pure Triumph at its best. My highlights were from the early days: Rock and Roll Machine, Lay It On The Line and Rocky Mountain Way. Standouts such as Follow Your Heart, Allied Forces and I Live For the Weekend were note perfect with just enough tweaking to add personality from the expanded lineup.
One of the most powerful moments of the night was a heart to heart from Rik about the realities of coming out of retirement in such a massive statement. This naturally led into Magic Power and the healing properties of music that the song alludes to.

Quite often, shows like this are labelled as nostalgia. This was not one of those shows. It was a continuation of the timeless music of April Wine and Triumph. There was no feeling of melancholy for the time that has passed since I was a kid, saving my money to buy Just A Game or Nature of the Beast. It was Just the pure joy of hearing all these great songs played by these great musicians and seeing the younger audience members sitting in rapt attention and getting what the music is all about.

Magic Power indeed!