Randy Bachman Is Still Takin' Care of Business With BTO

On Saturday night, I saw and heard Bachman-Turner Overdrive perform in concert at the Chevalier Theatre in Medford, Massachusetts. 

It marked the first time I have attended a BTO concert although it is not the first time that I've seen Randy Bachman perform. I previously saw him with the original members of The Guess Who at the Tweeter Center (now known as the Xfinity Center), an outdoor concert venue in Mansfield, Massachusetts which is situated between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.

That concert took place three days after 9/11. Although people were there for a good time, the emotions were understandably raw. Nevertheless, the show went on with Bachman singing several BTO songs including "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Lookin' Out For Number 1", "Let It Ride" and "Takin' Care of Business". 

It was also my first time attending a show at the Chevalier. Originally constructed as a Works Progress Administration project in the late 1930's, the theatre fell into disrepair by the early 1980's. Since 2017, it re-emerged as a vibrant cultural space which can accommodate nearly 2,000 people. 

The Chevalier is slightly off the beaten path for me. It is about an hour's walk from where I live although it is accessible by some MBTA buses. But I'm glad I finally went to the Chevalier. The seats are made of hardwood. Fortunately, the Chevalier provides seat cushions although Bachman-Turner Overdrive kept much of the audience standing throughout the night.

Randy Bachman is the only original member of BTO. Fred Turner and Blair Thornton retired and brothers Robbie and Tim Bachman both passed away in 2023. Chad Allan, who was Bachman's bandmate in Chad Allan and The Expressions, The Guess Who and Brave Belt, also passed away last year. 

Perhaps this played some role in Bachman deciding to resuscitate BTO and take care of some unfinished business. Bachman, who turned 80 last September, demonstrated not only that he still has something to give but that he has not lost a step. Bachman is joined by his son Tal on guitar and keyboards (more on him later), Brent Howard Knudsen on guitar, Mick Dalla-Vee on bass and Marc LaFrance on drums. 

I should say a few words about Brave Belt. There would be no BTO without Brave Belt. After Bachman had a falling out with The Guess Who in 1970, he started jamming with Allan and soon involved younger brother Robbie on drums and later Fred Turner on bass. Brave Belt originally started out as a country-rock band with Allan on lead vocals. But by their second album there were hints of moving into a harder rock direction with Turner supplanting Allan on most of the vocals causing Allan to depart Brave Belt as he departed The Guess Who. Brave Belt would soon morph into Bachman-Turner Overdrive and the rest, as they say, is rock 'n roll history.

I sent the band a message on their website expressing the hope we would hear a couple of Brave Belt songs as a tribute to Allan and Robbie Bachman namely "Another Way Out" and "Summer Soldier". Although this would not come to pass, before BTO hit the stage two Brave Belt songs - "Never Comin' Home" and "Goodbye, Soul Shy" over the PA system. I thought that was a nice touch.

Yet it must be noted that a third of the set was devoted to Guess Who songs - "Shakin' All Over", "These Eyes", "No Time", "American Woman", "No Sugar Tonight" (without "New Mother Nature") and "Undun". Well, The Guess Who is a major part of Bachman's musical identity and no one in the audience had any trouble with him leaning into that legacy. 

Tal Bachman also leaned into his musical legacy singing his one big hit "She's So High". The younger Bachman noted that it was the 25th anniversary of "She's So High". As it was climbing up the charts, Bachman's friends would call him and tell him his song was on the radio. But Bachman never heard "She's So High" on the radio until the day he landed in Boston for a concert. As soon as he left Logan International Airport, he turned on the radio and he finally heard himself. 

The elder Bachman also had more than his share of stories. Bachman hails from Winnipeg which he describes as "the center of Canada, the center of North America and the middle of nowhere." The same could very easily be said for Thunder Bay. 

Bachman told an interesting Winnipeg story involving Neil Young's 70th birthday. He wasn't sure what to give to a man who had everything. Then Bachman remembered that Route 70 runs through Winnipeg and thought getting a sign would be the perfect gift. Bachman ended up calling the City of Winnipeg about how he could get a sign. The city thought he was crazy but when he told the official it was for Neil Young's birthday, the city was all in. The only problem was that the sign was much larger than he thought, and he had a hell of a time trying to carry it on a commercial flight. But when the airline crew was told for it was for Neil Young's birthday, they too relented. 

And yes, there was plenty of BTO material starting with "Rolling Down The Highway" and "Rock Is My Life and This Is My Song" before moving onto "Not Fragile", "Four Wheel Drive", "Looking Out For 1", "Stayed Awake All Night" and "Let It Ride". The evening ended with a medley of "Hey You" mixed in with an array of songs from Free's "Alright Now", "Rock Me Baby" by The Steve Miller Band, The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman", "Get It On" by T-Rex, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons' "I Love You Baby" plus "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC. This was followed by an encore featuring "Takin' Care of Business". 

Well, business has been taken care of for now as BTO will take a break for several months before reconvening in June for some shows in the summer and early fall. Rock is still Randy Bachman's life and he is still playing his song.