A packed house of rock fans received a twofer from the rock gods last night when both Peter Frampton and Steve Miller took centre stage at Prospera Place.
Many of the concert goers were teens when the legends' tunes first topped the charts. While others grew up on the hits, thanks to the old records of their parents and grandparents.
The smooth and sultry musical stylings of Peter Frampton kicked off the evening.
Frampton kept fans hungry and yearning for more hits from the first strum of his guitar. Fans revelled in hearing popular classics such as, “Something Happens,” “Lying,” “Lines On My Face” and "Show Me."
His musical prowess seemed just as remarkable that night as it had ever been.
Choosing many hits from his popular album, Frampton Comes Alive, Frampton's songs bellowed through the microphone and his guitar, sounding as fresh as the day they were first released.
A master of the guitar, Frampton played with a tenacity rigorous enough to scramble your brains, mixed with a careful, soft and beautiful tone.
His musicianship was best highlighted in his performance of the 1975 hit, "I’ll Give You Money." Though his new rendition was a bit slower, it may have been his most rambunctious song of the night.
Fast forwarding a couple of decades, Frampton paid tribute to the late Chris Cornell, (former lead singer of Sound Garden) and his family, with a haunting instrumental version of “Black Hole Sun."
The wails of his guitar had the hair on my arms standing straight up throughout the song's entirety. The skill and mastery from the 67-year-old was an unexpected surprise for many who attended.
Stopping to reminisce with the crowd between songs, he shared with Kelowna the story behind the writing process for his big hit “Baby, I Love Your Way."
While vacationing in the Bahamas for three weeks, he ran into Alvin Lee, frontman for Ten Years After. The two got talking and drinking and ended up writing both "Show Me the Way" and "Baby, I Love Your Way."
From the first strum of his acoustic, the crowd was up on their feet, some even grabbing their loved one to dance with in the aisles.
Frampton's voice, still as strong and warm as always, gave this iconic love song the chops to still make us swoon today.
With just half the stage time as his comrade Steve Miller, Frampton more than showcased his abilities and proved why Frampton Comes Alive is one of the best-selling live albums in history.
After a Frampton's stellar performance, the crowd was in good spirits by the time Steve ‘Guitar’ Miller hit the stage.
Starting off his set with "The Stake"—which boasted a striking solo early on—Miller gave the crowd just a small taste of what was to come.
After hitting the audience with the mystical jam “Abrcadabra," Miller proved he's more than just a beast with an axe and ripped a mean harmonica solo during “USA."
It wasn’t long before the stars aligned and Frampton joined Miller onstage for what they called “The Blues Triangle”—a three-song mini-set that paid tribute to some of the homestead cities of the blues.
Starting off with “Mercury Blues” by K.C. Douglas, the song saw the two classic rockers return to the roots of the genre with a heavenly guitar duet and Miller on lead vocals.
Next, Frampton’s rich vocals returned to deliver a soul-shaking performance of “Same Old Blues." This was one of the peak performances for Miller’s mastery with a guitar.
Every twang of the strings served up a sucker punch to the gut of the unadulterated blues.
Frampton and Miller finished off their ode to the blues with “Stranger Blues."
The guitar gurus fed off each other, producing a dance-inducing rendition of the Elmore James song.
And it wouldn’t be a proper Steve Miller Show without things getting a little psychedelic (if you catch my drift). Fans grooved and swayed leisurely in their seats to "Wild Mountain Honey" and "World Turn Around."
What better song for a crowd to take a trip to than “The Joker?" (We’ve all seen That 70’s Show and know there is no better anthem).
Pair that with the interstellar “Fly Like An Eagle” right after and bam! You’re back in the 70s.
Aside from giving fans everything they wanted, Miller played with perfection. His voice still held the whimsical qualities that made him stand out back in the days of his early recordings.
But the best part of the show was the improvisational aspect. While he can mimic a song with perfection, he still adds twists and turns that demonstrate his musical ability.
Miller often lengthened many of his songs with solos or mini-jam interludes.
It's safe to say, fans headed home with a head and heart full of music.
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