Photos and a review of Triumph and April Wine in Ottawa
[Zachary Resnick wrote the review and Melody Maloney took the photos. – AC]
The Rock & Roll Machine Turns 50
Let me get this out of the way right off the bat: I LOVE Triumph. I’ve been a fan since forever. Triumph was the first live show I ever went to. Their Greatest Hits CD is one of the few that has seen near-constant play since I bought it a million years ago.
So, it was with a mixture of rapturous joy and mild unease that I went to the Canadian Tire Centre on May 2nd to catch the Ottawa stop of The Rock & Roll Machine Reloaded tour. I knew I’d be seeing one of my favorite bands of all time – but would it be the band I remembered?
As I settled in for the evening, April Wine took the stage sounding as sharp as I’ve ever heard them. Exploding out of the blue lights and smoke following the signature train bell, the band erupted into a pulse-pounding rendition of “Oowatanite” that had the crowd screaming with joy.
April Wine’s setlist could be described as the Greatest Hits of their Greatest Hits, including their most popular covers like “You Could’ve Been a Lady,” “Bad Side of the Moon,” and a hard and fast delivery of “Sign of the Gypsy Queen,” which earned the band their biggest pop of the night.
Though the set was short, there was time enough for tribute to late founder-singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwyn, when his Gibson was brought out to play “Just Between You and Me.”
After the final riff of “Roller,” the band walked off-stage a well-deserved standing ovation.
And then, it was time for the main event. Two of the three original members of Triumph – Gil Moore and Rik Emmett – emerged, with bassist Todd Kerns, drummer/keyboardist Brent Fitz (both from Slash’s band), and guitarist/vocalist Phil X (former member and currently part of Bon Jovi’s band) in tow.
As the giant screen projected video showing various iterations of the Triumph logo and album covers over the years, Moore and Fitz took their seats at the twin drum kits, and the show opened with “When the Lights Go Down” as the lights went down, of course.
Pillars of smoke and sparks punctuated the end of the song, and the band wasted no time launching into a rendition of “Somebody’s Out There.” It didn’t sound quite like I remembered, but it still sounded good. Was the Rock & Roll Machine truly Reloaded?
Some creepy green lights and mystical forest imagery led us into Spellbound, which still makes my heart swell after all these years. What a song.
After a look back on the last 50(!) years by Emmett, things mellowed a bit with “Hold On.”
Three Gibson Flying V’s were delivered to the stage for an electric performance of “Allied Forces,” before things softened again as smoke billowed across the stage for “Blinding Light Show.” At least, until the thunderous drums kicked in.
After that, the crowd was suitably hyped up for a once-in-a-lifetime performance of “Rock & Roll Machine.” This was when I knew we were witnessing something special. That this was not the Triumph I grew up with – not exactly – but something evolved, something perhaps even greater.
In the middle of the song, Emmett was left alone on stage to deliver a blistering extended solo. It was a masterclass in chords and distortion, and the crowd erupted into cheers as the rest of the band emerged to finish off the tune.
After that tour de force, we were treated to a cover of Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way,” and a little tribute to Triumph’s third original member – Mike Levine – who, due to ongoing health issues, couldn’t be on this stop of the tour.
The highlight of the show for me was a fiery rendition of my all-time favorite Triumph tune, “Lay It on the Line.” I was giddy during this whole number. I’m usually a pretty stoic concert-goer, but I was screaming the lyrics along with my hands in the air.
The rest of the show kept the energy up, with numbers like “Follow Your Heart,” “Magic Power,” and an absolute stunner of a closing number in “Fight the Good Fight.”
Triumph is, was, and always will be one of my favorite bands. And after this show, I can go to bed knowing that the Rock & Roll Machine is well-oiled, finely tuned, and will continue chugging along for many years to come.
