Founded 50 years ago in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the legendary Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO) announced new tour dates for 2024. The first of the 13 additional tour dates was at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey on Thursday, March. 7, 2024. Following the death of two former band members in 2023 (Robbie Bachman on Jan. 23, and Tim Bachman on April. 28), BTO is still trucking along with only one original band member. Singer and guitarist Randy Bachman is the single original member to remain in the group’s current lineup.
After enjoying a delicious meal across the street from the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, I, along with the eager New Jersey crowd flocked to their seats to witness one of Canada’s greatest bands. As fans were settled into their seats at 8 p.m., the house lights dimmed and the band jumped right into their first song of the night, “Roll On Down the Highway” off of 1974’s Not Fragile. In this version of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, joining Randy Bachman is his son, Tal Bachman on guitar and keyboards, Mick Dalla-Vee on bass guitar, and Marc LaFrance on drums alongside Brent Howard Knudsen on guitar.
For those less familiar with their BTO history, Randy was a founding member of the classic rock band, The Guess Who. The Guess Who had hits such as “America Woman” and “These Eyes.” Now, with that in mind, during Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s setlist, they sprinkled in some of those classic The Guess Who tunes. The band played five different The Guess Who songs, including the two mentioned above. As one fan behind me mentioned in passing it was like “getting two shows in one.”
BTO played just under an hour and a half of their entire catalog of deep cuts and fan favorites. During the band’s rendition of “Stayed Awake All Night,” off of their self-titled 1973 record, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Bachman while perched upon a stool, snagged a drum stick to solo on his solid gold Les Paul guitar. After his solo, he launched the guitar into the sea of fans on the floor of the theater. Fans all left their seats and jumped for the lone drumstick as a special souvenir of the show. That souvenir was certainly not something they could buy at the merchandise booth on the first floor of the theater. Bachman, now age 80, dazzled the cold New Jersey audience with amazing guitar mastery.
Throughout the night, Randy joked and messed around with the audience telling stories and jokes about the band. He was in a cheery and pleasant mood. Whether it was asking the audience to sing along or asking if they remembered AMC (American Motors Corporation) Motors, the teasing brought extra life to the band
From the time they first jumped on stage, the band didn’t show any signs of slowing down. Throughout the show, the band was in perfect harmony with each other and smiling while interacting with the fans. Fans danced in the aisles as the band played some of their famous material, like “Let It Ride” or “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.”
At one point in the show, father Bachman gave the lead vocal duties over to the younger Bachman to perform. Tal performed “She’s So High” from his 1999 self-titled debut record. There was magic in the air watching the father-son duo of Randy and Tal perform. Not only does Tal play an excellent guitar, but he also has amazing vocals.
In addition, the stage contained a giant screen behind them that played videos and showed pictures of the band. Montages played of the band while on the road and playing gigs. This seemed to teleport the theater back to Manitoba, Canada during the 70’s. A certain nostalgia was lingering throughout the night as the clock turned towards the end of the set.
The last song, or songs I should say was one giant jam of tunes from bands that Bachman–Turner Overdrive grew up with or enjoyed. Starting off with their song, “Hey You,” off of 1975’s Four Wheel Drive, other songs included T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” off of Electric Warrior, The Rolling Stone’s “Honky Tonk Women,” and “Twist and Shout” off of The Beatles debut record. During this 10-song jam, fans were air guitaring, air drumming and singing along to every single tune. The last and only song of the band’s encore was their smash hit, “Takin’ Care of Business” off of 1973’s Bachman–Turner Overdrive II.
At the end of the show, fans exited humming and singing along to their favorite tunes of the night. Smiles were shared as the legendary rock band known as Bachman–Turner Overdrive simply took care of business, rocked another house and went rolling on down the highway.
Bachman–Turner Overdrive is:
Randy Bachman – Vocals/Guitar
Tal Bachman – Guitar/Keyboards
Mick Dalla-Vee – Bass guitar
Marc LaFrance – Drums
Brent Howard Knudsen – Guitar
Setlist:
1. Roll On Down the Highway
2. Rock Is My Life, and This Is My Song
3. Shakin’ All Over (Johnny Kidd and the Pirates cover)
4. These Eyes (Guess Who cover)
5. No Time (Guess Who cover)
6. Not Fragile
7. Four Wheel Drive
8. Lookin’ Out for #1
9. Stayed Awake All Night
10. American Woman (Guess Who cover)
11. No Sugar Tonight (Guess Who cover)
12. Undun (Guess Who cover)
13. She’s So High (Tal Bachman cover)
14. Let It Ride
15. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet
16. Hey You/All Right Now/Rock’n Me/You Shook Me All Night Long/Honky Tonk Woman/Can’t Take My Eyes Off You/Get It On (Bang A Gong)/Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye/Twist and Shout/Hey You (reprise)
17. Takin’ Care of Business
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My love for covering music started with my first concert ever, Guns N’ Roses back in 2016. Since then, I’ve been able to see 55 concerts and capture photos of some amazing artists like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, and Post Malone. I am based in New York/New Jersey and go to school in Connecticut majoring in Journalism and always looking for the next concert to attend.
