It started with a flash as the winged-horse curtain disappeared at the first note of Jungle Love when The Steve Miller Band played to a full house Wednesday night at CN Centre.
Miller's a little older, the voice is a little lower, but he still rocked the house with his bang-on beats.
Matthew Curry, the opener, is an 18-year-old guitar blues-influenced rock star. His set with his four-piece band was very entertaining and Curry's guitar talent is to be revered.
As Miller went down his playlist of mega hits, his adaptation of Abracadabra threw me off a bit. It seemed to have a reggae attitude and a calypso beat. But then the hit parade took off.
After playing classics like Space Cowboy and Living in the U.S.A., singer Sonny Charles brought his musical chops, along with his continued fancy footwork as he took the lead in Ooh Poo Pah Doo, and Further On Up The Road. Charles sung backup throughout the concert and wowed many with his dance skills.
Miller took over after that and invited opener Matthew Curry back on stage for a guitar solo. Miller said he remembered a time when he was the new guy opening for bands and how he was scared to do the solo.
We had a campfire set, as Miller called it, when he sat down alone with his guitar to take on Wild Mountain Honey, Gangster of Love, Lovin' Cup and Fine True Love.
After that it got amped up a notch as Miller wanted to celebrate the 40th birthday of his old friend The Joker. A gigantic mask was rolled onto the stage beside him, the prop talked back to him and eventually blew smoke, to match the lyrics "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker." After the song, Miller joked about wanting a cheeseburger and the audience shared a laugh with him.
Many in the audience were on their feet celebrating right along with him.
Being the veteran musician that he is, Miller built up to the end of the show with Take The Money and Run, Rock 'n Me, and Jet Airliner, with an extended Fly Like An Eagle as the encore.
It might be 40 years later for some of those hits but the legend still rocked the house.
