This past Sunday, December 17th marked Big Wreck's return to Winnipeg, supporting their new EP "Pages". The Regent Event Centre was treated to talent from 3 great rock voices, which included Daniel Greaves of the Winnipeg rock band The Watchmen and Texas King.
First on stage was Howard Mandshein of 92.1 CITI, introducing the singer of one of his favorite rock bands in Canada, Danny of The Watchmen. Winnipeggers may recall the sold-out Watchmen show a month previous at the same venue, which was a kick off show for Danny leaving to join Big Wreck on the road. Danny came on stage and immediately went into a cover of James Taylor's "Sweet Baby James", quietly walking back to his electric piano and exhibiting his talent on more covers of tunes such as "Highwayman" by The Highwaymen and "Watermelon Sugar" by Harry Styles. Interlaced into his setlist were original acoustic Watchmen songs, including "All Uncovered" and "Stereo". Danny's greatest strength as a performer, especially during acoustic/quiet sets, is his ability to feed off of the crowd's energy, strongly highlighted in this performance, taking some (albeit polite) jabs to people firing off requests or singing wrong lyrics.
Soon after Danny left the stage, Texas King from London, Ontario came on. This was the bands' 2nd time in Winnipeg this year, as they had previously headlined The Park Theatre on their "Whatever You Break" tour back in April. Texas King lighted up the crowded with some fiery but passionate blues-influenced alternative rock. Anthems such as Changes lit up the crowd while "Whatever You Break" and "Home" provided a more nostalgic vibe to the bands' set, the latter of which had a massive crowd participation flare to it. Texas King even had some of the younger fans in the theater on the edge of their seat with their version of Post Malone's "Chemical".
In Texas King's Spotify bio, singer Jordan MacDonald notes: "when you hear us, I want you to know that it's gonna be a crazy night". Jordan and his band delivered on this, and set the energy for the rest of the night.
Following Texas King's leave from the stage, Big Wreck hit the stage for the first time in Winnipeg since 2019. Their set was a solid mix of new material and old classics, which include "The Albatross" and "That Song". Also included in the setlist was a performance of Ian Thornley's own 'So Far, So Good' (which was released in 2004, after Big Wreck broke up). Big Wreck's current lineup includes drummer Sekou Lumumba (who I interviewed here), who had previously worked with Thornley when he was doing solo material. Other highlights of the set included a segue from their song "Ghosts", into The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'" (sung by guitarist Chris Caddell), and the final encore performance of "The Oaf" which was extended into a long jam, with Danny Greaves coming on stage to perform a segment of the track with them.
The sold-out return of Big Wreck was overdue, and was a night to remember. As of writing, Big Wreck are currently finishing up the final 2 dates of their North American tour, before they get a well-deserved rest this holiday season.
-Fish, Suburban Home (UMFM 101.5, every Wednesday from 1-2pm)
Check out the links below for streaming and merch from the bands.
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