Big Country at Lee’s Palace

Big Country

Album Release: April 8^th, 2013, The Journey
Concert Date: August 4th, 2013
Venue: Lee Palace, Toronto

August 8, 2013 – Re-igniting an 80’s musical quartet long since forgotten is a monumental task for any band. Trying to deliver on past successes without the luxury of two original members including its iconic frontman Stuart Adamson and bassist, Tony Butler could amount to a cacophony of disappointment. But, the melding of the old, original guitarist Bruce Watson, and drummer Mark Brzezicki, with the new, bassist Derek Forbes, a Scot from the Simple Minds’ formative years, and new frontman Mike Peters from The Alarm – has successfully resurrected Big Country satisfying its long suffering global fan base as they tour on the release their 2013 CD, The Journey. To further insure the lineage of Big Country will continue on for years to come, Watson has enlisted the services of his son Jaime on second guitar.

Realistically, no one can replace the original frontman Stuart Adamson, the musical life-force behind this Celtic-rock foursome that burst on the UK scene in 1983 with the single Fields of Fire, followed in quick succession with the ground breaking debut album, The Crossing featuring the iconic single, In A Big Country. Drawing from their traditional Scottish music and story lines backed up by a heavily engineered guitar inspiring a bagpipe wall of sound, tapped into an eager fan base hungry for this progressive rock.  And it’s the frenzy of this sound combined with the driving vocals of Mike Peters that flooded every corner of Lee’s Palace on Sunday August 4th, re-igniting the spirit of Stuart Adamson for all to enjoy.

Opening the show with Return from The Journey CD,  Peters left no doubt to the throngs of kilt wearing fans of Big Country 2.0, he still has the chops and deliverables that converted even the most mild mannered into euphoria. The polyrhythmic foundation from which Brzezicki creates his musical beats became the cornerstone of all things Big within this musical Country. With only six of the 15 song on the setlist taken from The Journey CD, it was easy to see that mining the back catalogue parlayed into immeasurable dividends for their aging fan base. Wading his way into the Toronto crowd as he rub shoulders with the loyal commoners, further endeared Peters to the frenzy surrounding him. Like Adamson before him, Peters channeled an intensity and conviction to both old and new material that reflected a complete command of Big Country sensibility. “Harvest Home,” “Chance,” and “Wonderland” conjured an infectious retelling of yesteryear sounds. The three song encore was capped off by an extended version of In A Big Country closing out a memorable night of Celtic rock satisfaction.

Verdict – 4 out of 5 With so many obstacles to overcome and a current musical landscape far removed from their formative years, one could infer that the Big Country 2.0 tour would amount to no more than a lukewarm reunion tour for a Celt-rock band long passed its prime. But, on the strength of classic roots rock songs powered by political and social anthems that resonated long after there sung, what I and many others experienced was the heart and soul of a new Big Country opening new musical doors while re-mining its Celtic roots with a gravitas and charm that reminded everyone why this new hybrid version is hitting all the right notes.

By John Dash

T-Mak World: Toronto’s Site for Music, Movies and Culture