All of the great 80's rock concert clichés are brought out in full force at this show - the overlong guitar solos, the uncalled-for drum solo, the silly between-song banter, and those long, drawn-out, power-endings to each song. Mike Levine does most of the talking during the show, and throws out all of the clichéd lines: "how are y'all doin' out there tonight?"..."does anybody wanna rock?"..."I wanna hear some noise out there tonight!" - you get the picture. If Spinal Tap's Derek Smalls was not based on this guy, then I don't know who was. I fully expected to see him get stuck in a giant malfunctioning pod, or something. He's got the huge mane of hair and matching giant mustache, which he compliments nicely with these bright neck and wrist scarves that make him look like a big, gay Frenchman. Maybe he is French-Canadian.

"Lay It On The Line", from 1979's Just A Game, was the first real classic the band played. This song showcased Rick Emmett's strong falsetto vocals, which are in the same league as early Geddy Lee, or Randy Jackson of Zebra. I was impressed by how he had no problem hitting the highest notes, even while strumming away on his guitar. After this song, Emmett was left alone on stage to perform his classical acoustic gem "Midsummer's Daydream". Although this tune is a blatant rip-off of Steve Howe's "Mood For A Day", it is still a great song, and was wonderfully performed. If you can cut through all of the smoke and dry-ice of this monstrous stage show, you will witness one exceptional guitarist at the top of his game. Rik Emmett is a highly underrated guitarist who wrote and sang most of Triumph's best songs, such as "Hold On", "Magic Power", "Never Surrender", and "Fight The Good Fight". Drummer Gil Moore shared the songwriting and singing duties with Emmett pretty equally, but his arena-rock anthems do not hold a candle to Emmett's more melodic and slightly progressive compositions.

As exciting as this show was at times, I often felt that it was too choreographed and that there was a definite lack of spontaneity. It was like they all had specific steps to follow on the stage in order to avoid getting blown up. Most of the band's actions and facial expressions seemed rehearsed and fake - sort of like a Kiss concert. The concert ended on a very strong note, however, as they led off the encore with Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way". I never realized, until recently, that Triumph originally covered this song on their Rock And Roll Machine album of 1977. Moore's vocals fit the song perfectly, and Emmett really shined on guitar. They closed the show with a rousing performance of their very best song "Fight The Good Fight", which left all ten thousand Nova Scotians begging for more.