By Alex Lloyd Gross
New Hope Pennsylvania was the place to be Friday night, December 2 2016 as Rik Emmett from Triumph played an acoustic show at Havana , on Main Street. This was a night to remember. Acoustic/electric shows are always a lot of fun and last night was no exception. Especially when a legend is on stage. These kinds of shows allow the audience to interact with the artist on stage and that’s what happened.
Appearing on stage with Dave Dunlop, an accomplished guitarist in in own right, the duo got right to work belting out Triumph songs like “Lay It On the Line” as well as some solo material like “Clouds Over the Moon” and “Human Race”. When the instrumental songs got played, the crowd was mesmerized, watching just how they got played and possibly trying to remember the combination of fingers on fret board so they may try it at home. You could say the crowd was spellbound. Triumph has a lot of songs and while songs like “Magic Power” got played, other like “Allied Forces” could not .
Dave and Rik get along and would frequently joke on stage. When Dave spotted a box of water bottles on stage, he joked about it, as some late arrivals showed up to claim their seats, Rik joked with them that they had to park in New Jersey. “There’s a box of water bottles down by the stage, help yourself”. During Rik’s on stage banter, he related about how a fan presented him of a photo of him with the “horns up”, and joked about his Gene Simmons impression and long tongue.
The show was set up with reserved tables and people that arrived early could order food. There was no elaborate stage show and the stage lighting was static. Fans of Triumph would remember them for their elaborate light shows. That was not needed here. Just enough to illuminate the two musicians on stage. There was a merchandise table set up where fans could purchase CD’s. Those that got the VIP Meet and Greet could present up to two items to get signed and grab a quick photo with Rik and Dave.
When Rik is not touring with Dave, his new record is called RESoloution9 which is a rock record. Yes, record, it’s available on CD, vinyl, or digital download. you can read a bit more during a recent interview with Rik here. He is at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia tonight. It’s sold out but you may still be able to get in if you get wait listed. A lot of people from the Havana show were going to try to make the Philly show as well. It was that good.