My parents saw Bachman-Turner Overdrive in concert. Here’s their review

In May 2024, I interviewed Randy Bachman of Bachman-Turner Overdrive for The Post. The two of us chatted amicably about the band’s upcoming tour, his career highlights and the origins of the all-timer classic “Takin’ Care of Business.”

What can I say? It’s a good read. We had fun.

However, what isn’t noted in that piece is that, for the first and only time in my journalistic career, I had my dad sit in and listen.

He was on an overseas cruise at the time but couldn’t miss the opportunity to make small talk with the frontman for his all-time favorite band. For our 25 minutes together, I got to see my pops turn into a 19-year-old fan again when he told Randy “I used to listen to ‘Let It Ride’ in my room back in 1974.” Truly a magical experience.

Unfortunately, BTO’s tour didn’t swing through Arizona — where my dad lives — in 2024. Thankfully, the group did schedule a stop at the We-Ko-Pa Casino in Fort McDowell on Friday, Aug. 22.

And, he went with my mom.

Naturally, I wanted to hear their review of the show.

Throughout the concert, per my request, my folks “took care of business” and sent a flurry of texts to me (68 in fact) about the night.

With that, I give you a true Bachman-Turner Overdrive superfan’s thoughts — sent via text message — about what it’s like to see the band live in ’25.

My dad’s thoughts on seeing BTO in concert

Right out of the gate, pops was onboard with the live show.

“Great guitar solo on the first song,” he sent at 8:04 p.m. Four minutes in and he was already jamming.

Three minutes later, I received “Randy’s solos are the best part. He has a nice, high-pitched, pleasant voice. So good and ‘Rock Is My Life’ has a great beat.”

I felt a sense of relief; it was so nice to hear that the show my dad been wanting to go to for years lived up to the hype.

Still, he found time to send “the auditorium is nicely air conditioned. A little cool just enough to keep us seniors awake at 8:30 p.m.” Classic.

Shortly thereafter, the band put on a slideshow looking back at the group’s history, which is standard for classic rock shows these days (take it from me, I just saw The Who and Frankie Valli this past month). Since my dad’s been a fan for half a century, he got a bit nostalgic.

“The movie behind them from the 70s was great. It was cool to see them young and having fun.”

And, even though he’d clearly been having fun, my old man really came to life when he heard the band’s Guess Who medley.

“Guess Who is awesome,” he messaged me. “The guy singing ‘No Sugar Tonight’ has a nice voice and plays the organ and guitar.”

Once “No Time” hit though, he was fully onboard.

“Best song yet with everybody singing,” my dad texted. “They are best when all four guys are singing. Great harmonies.”

After that rapturous effort, the group shifted back to BTO’s catalog and dropped “Lookin’ Out For #1.” Memories flooded in.

“I remember listening to this on my record player in my room in 1974,” he said. “Same solo but different with more reverb.” He was equally impressed by “American Woman,” which had a “very good guitar solo.”

At this point in the show, Randy handed the reins over to his son Tal to deliver his 1999 hit “She’s So High.”

“What an awesome song,” he raved. “His son is very humble and cool. A great singer.”

Now on a roll, my dad messaged excitedly when he heard the first strings of “Let It Ride.”

“Another great one from 1972,” he sent. “The two other guys doing woo woo harmonies were great.”

Per usual, the band finished strong with “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” a classic rock medley (he added “the bassist is great singing Free’s ‘Alright Now’”) and the main event, “Takin’ Care Of Business” that included a “great, one-handed organ solo” by Tal and another band member “playing guitar backwards.”

When all was said and done, my dad told me “it was great to hear the songs live and see what they were like when they were younger versus now. They make great music.”

To put a cherry on top, he noted “the show was way better than sitting at home and watching TV. It was nice to get out and do something interesting for once.”

Bachman-Turner Overdrive tour schedule 2025

A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues, special guests and links to buy tickets can be found below.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive concert dates
Aug. 27 at the Park City Arena in Park City, KS with Jefferson Starship
Aug. 28 at the River Spirit Casino in Tulsa, OK
Aug. 30 at the Family Arena in Saint Charles, MO
Aug. 31 at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids, IA
Sept. 17 at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup, WA
Sept. 19 at the Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, OR
Sept. 20 at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, CA with Blue Oyster Cult and Foghat
Oct. 23 at the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, PA
Oct. 25 at the College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT
Oct. 26 at the Ocean City Convention Center in Ocean City, MD
Oct. 28 at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Oct. 29 at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ
Oct. 31 at the Borgata Casino Event Center in Atlantic City, NJ
Nov. 2 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, PA
Nov. 3 at the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, NY

Bachman-Turner Overdrive set list

According to BTO’s team, here’s what he performed at the We-Ko-Pa Casino in Fort McDowell, AZ on Friday, Aug. 22.

01.) “Take It Like A Man”

02.) “Gimme Your Money Please”

03.) “Rock Is My Life”

04.) “Not Fragile”

05.) “Rock Is My Life”

06.) “Not Fragile”

07.) “Blue Collar”

08.) “Four Wheel Drive”

09.) Guess Who Medley: “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “Undun,” “No Sugar Tonight,” “No Time”

10.) “Looking Out For #1”

11.) “Stayed Awake All Night”

12.) American Woman”

13.) “She’s So High” (performed by Tal Bachman”

14.) “Let It Ride”

15.) “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”

16.) “Roll On Down The Highway”

17.) Class rock cover medley: “Hey You,” “Alright Now,” “Rock’n Me Baby,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Honky Tonk Women,” “Bang-A-Gong,” “Satisfaction,” “Old Time Rock ‘N Roll”

Encore

18.) “Takin’ Care Of Business”

Bachman-Turner Overdrive band members

If you’d like to match names to faces, here’s who performs with BTO these days live.

Randy Bachman (vocals/guitar)

Tal Bachman (vocals/guitar)

Koko Bachman (drums)

Lance LaPointe (bass)

Brent Knudsen (guitar/vocals)

Bachman-Turner Overdrive new music

On March 28, BTO dropped their first single in nearly 30 years.

The nearly four-minute barroom rocker — appropriately dubbed “60 Years Ago” — name checks Canadian rock heroes Burton Cummings, Buffalo Springfield, The Guess Who and more.

As an added bonus, the raucous ditty features a scorching guitar solo courtesy of The Godfather of Grunge himself, Mr. Neil Young. The song may be a last gasp for the aging rockers but also serves as proof positive that they still have gas left in the tank.

If you’d like to hear the rallying cry of a tune for yourself, you can find “60 Years Ago” here.

More about Bachman-Turner Overdrive

In May 2024, The Post spoke with Randy Bachman about the origins of their classic “Takin’ Care Of Business,” new music and career highlights.

“One night I’m driving to a gig in Vancouver and a guy comes on the radio station. He says ‘Hi, this is Daryl B and we’re taking care of business,’” the 81-year-old told us about how the iconic tune came to be.

Bachman wrote the title down and made the band play the song on the spot — unprepared and unrehearsed (!) — that night.

Yes, the memorable call and response “Takin’ care of business/Every day/Takin’ care of business/Every way/Takin’ care of business/It’s all mine/Takin’ care of business/And workin’ over time” was improvised.

“The crowd went crazy,” Bachman smiled. “We recorded it two weeks later and that’s what you hear.”

For more stories like these, you can find our interview with Bachman here.

Classic rockers on tour in 2025

BTO aren’t the only rock icons who took the world by storm in the ’70s performing live this year.

Here are just five of our favorite classic acts you won’t want to miss in concert these next few months.

• Paul McCartney

• Neil Young

• Yusuf/Cat Stevens

• Eric Clapton

• Stevie Nicks

Who else is touring in the near future? Check out our list of all the biggest classic rockers on tour in 2025 to find the show for you.

---

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change

---