Burton Cummings plays to over capacity crowd at Vacouver PNE

Burton Cummings essentially sold out his show three times over at Vancouver’s PNE Fair.  The Amphitheatre was at capacity; the beer garden held a giant screen to air the show was at capacity; the Tim Horton’s stage with seating in the food area was, you guessed it, at capacity … and people were standing around along the outside of it all, without a view, but hoping to hear some of the music.

 

He’s considered to be Canadian rock royalty, with very good reason, and he still obviously has a rabid following, even at 70!

Consider this … by 1970, about 5 years after Burton Cummings was invited to join the Guess Who, the band had sold more records than the ENTIRE Canadian music industry COMBINED!  He later went on to have continued commercial success as a solo artist after leaving the Guess Who in 1975.  For the “younger” generation that may not know his name, they certainly will recognize his music.

 

Cummings stopped performing “Clap for the Wolfman” shortly after starting because of technical difficulty.  Most performers would just keep going and motion to the crew to fix whatever issue there was on the fly, but Burton Cummings is perfectionist for the fans.  He indicated more than once he does his best to have the music he performs live sound as much like the album as possible.  When he stopped playing, explained to the crowd why and filled the time with stories until the issue was resolved and started over.

 

Before he began playing “These Eyes”, Cummings explained to the audience that it wasn’t played that much anymore, but, because the crowd had been so receptive and the weather was perfect for and outdoor show, he agreed to give it a try as long as they would be kind in that the effort was made if it wasn’t perfect.  The audience not only sang along en masse, often to the point of drowning out his vocals, but gave him a standing ovation.

He seemed genuinely taken aback by the response.  “The land of Bryan Adams, Loverboy, and Sarah McLachlan, it’s nice to know Vancouver remembers some songs by us older folks from the prairies.”

 

For more information on Burton Cummings on tour and his music, visit www.BurtonCummings.com