23 years old, southern California summer and a whole day of great bands! What a day!!! These guys came out, unassuming in their appearance, three regular guys that ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is hard to sing and play guitar yet he plays complicated riffs not just simple strums to help support another guitarist sometimes it seems like they have two guitarists a good cover band would probably need five or six people to replicate their songs
@@douglasjohnston1465 They did tour with a second guitarist. I believe it's the same guy Rik does his solo tours with now. David Dunlop I believe is his name, and can be seen in some of their videos. l Now, I'm not sure when they started having Dave play on tour with them, but I believe it was around the Progressions of Power tour.
@@MichaelMartin-eh6wl Rick Santers was the guitarist that toured with Triumph on the last 2 or 3 tours that Triumph did before Rik Emmett left the band. Dave Dunlop worked with Rik Emmett after he left Triumph and did his solo work
It sounds like they went into LedZepplin and possibly some Aerosmith and made it work pretty cool. They were awesome and the singer/ guitar player is unbelievable they should have been bigger than they was but than again look at Skynyrd makes you wonder how their plane ran out of fuel they were on thier way to possibly become the biggest ever especially after Steve Gains joined them. He was the icing on the cake for them
Lots of great bands today. I love Triumph but their songwriting was spotty - a few good ones, lots of bad songs. At the end of the day, he who has the best songs wins.
Dude--I love the look on your face watching this. You look like a kid on Christmas morning looking at all the gifts under the tree for the first time. So excited. It's awesome. You're appreciation for great music is both extraordinary & fun.
Emmett was so great, he probably would chew anyone up an spit them out technically but what made him great was he was so down to earth and the songs he wrote were inspirational but fun.he was not out to change the world with his lyrics either.
17 year old me was there at the “US” as in “you and me” Festival. I was within 30 feet of the stage for Triumph and Scorpions. Best two bands on that bill. VanHalen went on drunk and stunk it up. Incredible!!
Saw a ZZ-Top show where Billy completely disappointed, then the venue shut em down, and it was actually a very short show, of about 35 min... Beard kicked his floor toms off his riser, lol...
"Never Surrender" from this performance is something you'll never forget once you see it. As a young player just starting out, seeing Rik's guitar work on that song literally set the bar for me as to what rock guitar could be; probably THE defining moment of my guitar journey for the next 40+ years. If you ever come back for another Triumph analysis, check that one out.
Duane you are so correct! Michael definitely needs to breakdown his playing performance doing Never Surrender !! Watching Rik on the Double Neck and during the chorus Rik keeps turning his volume up and down while singing absolutely insane the little stuff like that most people don’t even realize!
TRIUMPH loves youuuuuu!! My favorite band of all time and Rik Emmett is my favorite guitarist/musician of all time. They walked on to the stage that day so calm and professional...and then proceeded to make history. Like Jack Black said in "School of Rock", "One great show can change the world!"... And here we are talking about how incredible they were on that day almost 40 years later. They damn sure don't make 'em like Triumph anymore. Thanks for taking the time to do this reaction video.
We do this almost every weekend in my band. We treat it as a performance staple within our shows, even at bars. We play it straight like the original recording, but no one - and mean no one - can argue with what Rik and the band do. That video, I've seen - to pull that off in front of a crowd that big, with that amount of energy, focus, groove, and precision - you cannot deny the power of what that was at that moment. Triumph was another Candian trio that just blew the roof off, even if there was no roof.
My favorite band. Saw them live only twice, but man, did they give me chills live! Rik went on to have a long solo career that covered almost all styles of guitar, but it never reached the heights of his Triumph days for pure energy and velocity.
Canada has two of the greatest 3 piece bands of all time in Rush and Triumph! Both amazing in every way. But let's not forget about April Wine and Coney Hatch!!!!
I was there, I've been to literally thousands of concerts, and been playing guitar since 79, this is without a doubt one of the best live performances of any band, a real Triumph for these guys on that Historic Day! Keep hoping for a Reunion Tour, come on Guys, its never too late to Rock!
I was at the US festival; Triumph was the best band of the festival, by far. Truly a great performance. I somehow made it to the front and after hundred of concerts this is still one of my fondest memories.
Some of those you mentioned are not my cup of tea, but I love VH, and they sucked! I’ve seen many great performances for VH but this was not one of them!
Awesome!!! Love this band, Rik, Gill, and Mike and their music Best rock performance at the US festival and possibly ever - period. They were that good
I'd like to mention how under-rated Gil Moore is as a drummer. Triumph was his band, and he owned the recording studio they produced their albums in. The first song in this concert Gil takes lead vocal and delivers what I consider a tour de force of heavy rock drumming. That's a freight train coming mama. Again later he delivers a similar groove and vocals in "Rock'n'Roll Machine."
Listening to Triumph and watching them play live are 2 totally different things, altogether. Rick Emmet usually makes my jaw drop during each solo, at some point or another. Awesome trio. Peace from Toronto
I have listened to Triumph for many years and especially enjoy the positive vibe of most of their songs. This is my favorite song and this live show is an utter masterpiece. Both Ric and Gil are world class virtuosos, and Levine lays down a super bass groove.
An extremely underrated group back in the day. What a phenomenal power trio. Rik's vocals are amazing not to mention his guitar playing. I still have their cassettes laying around.
Michael ...thank you for reviewing Triumph / Rik Emmett!!!!!! He is a MONSTER. Please, please, please do yourself a favor and listen to Fight the Good Fight at this same performance - Live at the US Festival. You will be changed forever. I promise you... you will NOT see a better live performance by a band. Rik is a beast on this song. I guarantee you'll be shocked or your money back. It would be great if you'd post your reaction to it too. Love some Rik Emmett. Criminally under rated as a guitarist. And... so is Triumph.
Dude! Rik was my primary inspiration when I started playing back around 1981. Triumph deserved way more recognition that they got here in the states. What else can you say? Killer player with a killer voice to boot.
I recall reading or seeing it somewhere where the first guitar solo is a friendly poke at Rush' "La Villa Strangiato". Rik Emmett is such a great player
I was there - 15 years old, in guitar heaven. My father was super liberal as far as letting me go places and do things with friends like this. It was a different time 40 years ago. I LOVE Triumph and have learned many of their songs and played them in bands back in "the day". Rik used a lot of colorful chords in his songwriting/playing - he is an extremely skilled guitaist - still . . . "When are we F'ing and when are we F#'ing?" 😂😂
Glad you like this underrated Canadian band. You reactions are priceless. Rick is amazing in all way. This song should be the new Canada Anthem Watch the entire show, it's a must!
I've worked several all-star concerts where Rik was a guest player. And having spent a reasonable amount of time just talking to him at rehearsals and in the green room, not only is he actually that incredibly good at whatever style of music he plays, he's also funny, charming, and one hell of a nice guy.
That second rift after the drum run come out of Zeppelin's "whole lotta love". 9:50 Canadian bands mash-up songs all the time. Red Rider and April wine did this too. I love it
I think Rik is taking a bit of a shot at Zep with that guitar break even doing the last one with Page’s famous hip shake. Having a bit of a laugh at Zep’s expense.
Triumph were just amazing musicians. They could sing and play extremely well at the same time. Rik Emmett was one of the greatest singer/guitar band leads of all time. Their live performances were a clinic on how to kill it.
Triumph is such an under-rated band. I remember listening to Rock and Roll Machine and Just A Game over and over on cassette back in the day. Such an awesome band!!!
Just a Game record and 8-track in the car for me. Seen them live twice and are one of the best live bands i ever saw with The Scorpions not far behind.
Saw Rik Emmett perform a duo show at a great little venue outside Philly called the Sellersville Theater. He played all the Triumph tunes. Very interactive show. Funniest thing he said was “if I had known I’d still be playing these songs all these years later, I’d have sung them in a lower key. What was I thinking” He transposed every down about 3 steps.
Rik is the coolest guy. I played on a ball team that used to play against a team where he lived. He used to show up all the time. Awesome guy. Geddy even showed up once or twice.
I was there in ‘83 and I remember Triumph being on fire that day, but watching all of the videos available from that day, without doubt they were the best act, and totally nailed it. I think Rik had maybe the best recorded day ever in live music history with his playing and amazing voice.
Triumph , the one and only time I got to see them was the best experience of my life as far as enjoyability was concerned and I simply loved Rik's guitar playing.
You're not mistaking, he did switch it up some from the Album, this was a huge event and they wanted it to be fresh. I saw them in 1985 at Alpine Valley outside of Milwaukee, absolutely killer show, that night was pure magic, I had a hard time believing three guys could create a wall of sound like they did, very symphonic !
All Triumph performances from US festival were great. They stole the show. Fight the Good Fight was great as well as Magic Power. My favorite band during the early 80’s
I was there and then 20 years later interviewed Mike the bass player at a hotel in Hollywood for the DVD release of this performance. Very nice guy. First saw Triumph in 1980.
None of the licks were in the original version or in many of the concerts I went to, but this was definitely new stuff and totally off the rails. The whole band was on fire this concert.
I was at this concert... all 3 days, it was awesome.. still recall the Triumph performance as if it was yesterday, along with what seemed like a 5 minute one handed solo blew us away, they were incredible. Rik Emmett hasn't lost a step, to this day he's still got the voice.... the only sad part of this event was one of my top 5 greatest band of all time, Van Halen they were so bad we walked out along with what I would say half of everybody there....unfortunate they screwed up,, too wasted to perform, but overall nothing has matched this event...
I wasn’t there but I watched the van Halen performance from this festival and I would have to agree. Way too high and drunk which is a shame such a good band and probably my favourite guitar player of all time too. I’ve seen them later in life and they were incredible. Mostly with hager. David is horrible live he always was in my books. Great entertainer just horrible singing live. And if I’m not mistaken didn’t VH set a Guinness book of world record for the highest paid live act at the time.?
I felt your reaction it was wonderful. Thanks for pointing out the drummer, I never noticed how relaxed he was keeping up with a heavy metal rift going on. In the zone fa sha.
A lot of people didn't realize about this band is that the drummer could hit higher notes vocally than the lead singer. This band was way under rated for talent and musicianship.
Triumph one of my favorite all time bands, sport of kings, and surveillance I must have listened to 100s of times One of my favorite songs ,"headed for nowhere" rik Emmett and Steve Morse trade licks in the solo ,unreal!!!
When rock shows were real rock shows. There are of course a few who still rock this hard live. Foo Fighters, The Darkness, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, etc. I got to see Triumph in Nashville in 1979 in a very small theater. Serious rock. Rik had a wall of white Marshalls. 🤘
This was Triumph's Apex moment. Their set here at the US Festival is one of the great guest sets ever. They were so ON and Rik was out of his mind great this day.
Saw them twice. A lot of people never saw the best of these guys. Their studio albums are too polished and almost subdued compared them in concert. Live Triumph was always where it was at.
I know this has been up for a while and I just stumbled on it. Rik is a virtuoso not only on guitar but in his singing as well. I will tell you, nothing was doctored afterwards. I've seen Rik many times. His voice is flawless as his is playing. It's mind boggling how great they were, especially live.
Woo woo: love this. Stadium rock (like you taught me.) I totally missed this era. I was embedded in bluegrass. When you call out the chords like that I can shred-along on my ukulele. (😂). Welcome home. 💕🙋🎶.
Give a listen to the solo acoustic piece "A mid-summer's day dream". I'm still trying to play it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wc1t78Hj4Mo.html
Rick Emmett has always been one of my favorite guitar players.. he can play anything.. you need to go to 30 minutes into this triumph show at the US festival and listen to his solo.. your brain will melt... His playing at that part of the show blows away what you just showed.. if that's possible.. and it is.. you will not be disappointed.. and the fact that he plays that good as a lead singer is amazing 🎸🎸🎸🎸👍🤗
Rik Emmett is in his 70's and is still rocking it and his voice is still Great with impeccable guitar playing, he is truly like a fine whine getting better with age. This & Magic Power showcase his singing & guitar playing, he is the consumite singer/songwriter/guitarist.
im so damn glad i lived that era and saw all these bands live and in person so many times throughout the 80s.....i wouldnt trade all the money i spent on concerts from 1979 till 1988 for anything, those experiences and live shows were so damn good and formitable to my life i still to this day have nothing really but oldschool 80s metal as my playlist
Great appreciation and knowledge of a great band and song. Emmett can hold his own with any other great guitar player. Plus no one can sing like him. Love Triumph !§!
Thank god someone did this. Such an underrated band, with amazing guitar parts and insane melodies. I started playing guitar about 9ish years ago, and lots of the new wave players (around me at least) have slept on this band. A shame that new guys aren't seeing this stuff, the songwriting is immaculate.
This was some performance I usually watch it a few times a year. This band had serious energy around this time. Loved your intro Michael some nice bending !
I feel old now lol, I actually watched the US Festival live back then no HD TV i seen Triumph twice once in my home town Toronto, and other the old Buffalo Auditorium absolutely beeping incredible live, seen the live show on tv from Hamilton Place around 1979 , Triumph fans screamed for years for a big tour with the band, Rik Emmett incredible guitar player, really enjoy thing breakdown ,
