Chilliwack brought four decades of rocking music to Qualicum Beach on Wednesday, May 9 and the standing ovation was proof the Canadian band still has what it takes to connect with their audience.
Best known for their three biggest songs, My Girl (gone gone gone), I Believe and Watcha Gonna Do the seasoned musicians performed the memorable tunes with skill delivering incredible sound as they rocked the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre.
Frontman Bill Henderson sang each song with the energy and passion he is known for and the crowd (although reluctant to get up and dance) enjoyed the familiar music.
Henderson explained some of the history behind the songs and pointed out he and his three band mates have been together for 17 years now. That is quite a long stretch for a group of musicians to hold it together and from the tireless performance by each musician on stage it was obvious the boys are still into having fun and enjoy playing their classic songs.
Aside from the oldies, they performed some newer music including a song Henderson wrote called Patent on the Wind.
The powerful rock indictment of the ownership of life forms was inspired by a Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser. Henderson told the audience how he was inspired by the farmer who battled agri-giant Monsanto which sued the canola farmer for patent infringement because it’s genetic material unintentionally wound up on his property.
Damn the Diva, an Indie rock band out of Vancouver was the opening act and the acoustic set by the three musicians was clean and tight.
The band has been laying low for a while but they are now back into making music. Their songs Breezy and Armed Together were highlights and great examples of some of the great songs the band has composed.
