March 13, 2019
Burton Cummings Theatre
To commence the evening’s lineup solely made up of rock ‘n’ roll was Manitoba’s own Wreckin’ So. Comprising of members, Brent, Ronnie, Clint, and Claude, the four of these guys have made a name for themselves rather quickly with their irresistible blend of hard rock and blues. In recent years, the band has opened for a ton of talent including Blue Oyster Cult last August and now Buckcherry, for the second time. Be sure to watch out for more from these four fellows as they’re sure to take the world by storm.
Following Wreckin’ So was the Los Angeles-based rock band, Joyous Wolf. The band brought incredibly high energy that was felt throughout the band’s nine-song set on the Burton Cummings Theatre stage. Vocalist Nick Reese was performing front and backflips, contorting on stage, and even running up and down the Burton Cummings Theatre’s aisles during the band’s last song of their performance while guitarist Blake Allard’s infectious guitar solos never let up on the audible energy.
Joyous Wolf brought high octane Rock ‘N’ Roll with them in songs like “Undesired” or “Holy Driver,” to name a few. As well as ballads such as their song, “The Mechanic.” Near the end of Joyous Wolf’s set, vocalist Nick Reese sang the hook, “American woman, get away from me / American woman, mama let me be” to the Winnipeg audience with a massive loud cheer to follow. These lyrics are from The Guess Who’s 1970 smash hit, “American Woman” which was fronted by Manitoba’s Burton Cummings. This led to Joyous Wolf dedicating their track, “Mother Rebel,” to Burton Cummings himself. Joyous Wolf took their new Winnipeg fans for a wild ride during their debut performance, which even saw the band receive a standing ovation at the climax of their final number of the evening, “Quiet Heart.”
After Joyous Wolf’s fantastic high-energy set, it was time for who everyone came to see, Buckcherry. Buckcherry has been to Winnipeg numerous times during their twenty-plus-year career at various venues and music festivals throughout the city, so the band has built quite a loyal fan base within Winnipeg and its neighbouring cities and towns. Buckcherry is currently on their Warpaint Tour throughout North America right now in support of the album of the same name that was released earlier this month on March 8th.
Buckcherry brought their classic no-tricks style with them to the Burton Cummings Theatre to perform a fourteen-song set for their Winnipeg fans. Starting off with their cover of the Nine Inch Nails song, “Head Like a Hole,” which is featured on their brand new album, Warpaint, it set the tone for the rest of Buckcherry’s performance. The band did bring along some ballads to slow it down during their time on stage, with the tracks, “Radio Song” and “Sorry.” Vocalist, Josh Todd told a few stories throughout the night including one told after performing their song, “Lit Up,” in which Todd told the crowd that his first-ever line of cocaine was done off of an Ouija Board, even saying, “It was some straight-up devil shit.” Buckcherry played many of the fan's favourites in the likes of “It’s a Party,” “Everything,” “Somebody Fucked With Me,” and of course the band’s 2006 smash hit, “Crazy Bitch” to end the night off with a bang.
All photos by Samuel Stevens Photography.