One of rock's greatest bands, The Guess Who, have been a constant staple on classic rock radio for decades now. Of all the times the band has toured, one show in particular has stayed in this writer's mind.
In 2001, the group was in the midst of a long-awaited United States reunion tour. They ended up playing in Massachusetts on September 14, 2001, three days after the September 11th attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. When the band took the stage that night, lead singer Burton Cummings talked to the crowd (before even playing one note). Besides sharing his compassion to the US for the tragedy, he stated that the band had considered not playing one of their biggest hits, "American Woman". Cummings explained the song was written decades ago (and about a certain woman) and is certainly not an anti-American tune, so they rightly decided to keep it in the set list. The show ended that night with "Share the Land," while all band members displayed American flags that were connected to their individual instruments.
The Guess Who performed on July 17, 2026, at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts with Don Felder as opening act.
Currently led by Cummings and guitarist/singer Randy Bachman, The Guess Who plowed through a barrage of classics.
They played their first gold record early on, "Hand Me Down World", followed by a stellar version of "These Eyes". After a deep track, "Albert Flasher", Bachman manned the microphone for the Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO) hit, "Let it Ride". The band followed up with a trio of Guess Who standards, "Clap for the Wolfman", "Laughing", and the anti-drug messagings of "Undun".
Another BTO cover, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" lit the audience up yet again. After playing "Bus Driver", the band ended with a vicious set of hits, starting with "American Woman". During the long introduction to "American Woman", they burst out a bit of "Roadhouse Blues" by The Doors (very appropriate, as Cummings was donning a Doors t-shirt all evening). The "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" pairing was superb and the group concluded with an epic version of "No Time."
The band quickly returned to the stage for a moving rendition "Share the Land" and ended brilliantly with another BTO smash, "Takin Care of Business", during which Bachman led a crowd sing-along competition.
Former Eagles member, Don Felder, opened the show with a smart mix of his solo work in between a handful of Eagles hits. Seeing Felder recreate his iconic guitar solo on "Hotel California" literally took the crowd back to 1976.
