At 80, Robin Trower Still Delivers Explosive Guitar Firepower (Portland Review)

On Saturday, September 20, 2025, the Robin Trower power trio performed at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon. The 2025 touring band features Richard Watts on bass and vocals, Chris Taggart on drums, and Trower on lead guitar. Strange Vine opened promptly at 7:30 p.m., delivering a thirty-minute set of about half a dozen songs. Their two-man setup, modeled after the White Stripes and the Black Keys, leaned into a sound that ranged from garage rock grit to Southern rock boogie.

Trower’s set drew from his twenty-eight studio albums spanning fifty years, along with material from his collaborations. The last time I saw him was in 2007 when he toured in support of Seven Moons, his project with Jack Bruce. This time, he revisited that partnership, performing “Distant Places of the Heart” from Seven Moons and “It’s Too Late” from 1981’s B.L.T. At one point, Trower tapped his microphone and no sound came through; it took a moment to fix, but aside from that, he kept chatter minimal, limiting his words to greetings and thanks.

Taggart’s drumming was as steady as a hortator on a dragon boat, his driving beat locking in with Watts’ thumping bass. Together, they laid the foundation for Trower’s soaring guitar solos on classics like “Bridge of Sighs” and “Little Bit of Sympathy.” James Dewar, Trower’s original vocalist and bassist, wrote the lyrics to “Bridge of Sighs” with layered meanings. On one level, it refers to the bridge in Venice that once connected the prison to the inquisitor’s courtroom. On another, it serves as a metaphor for life’s struggles and surrender. As Watts sang,

“But that stone just keeps on rolling
Bringing me some real bad news”

Trower’s guitar wailed with stratospheric intensity. Across fifteen songs, he covered decades of music, from 1973’s Twice Removed From Yesterday to 2025’s Come and Find Me. “Daydream” stood out near the end, leaving the audience spellbound as Trower teased and stretched notes from his guitar. The main set closed with “Little Bit of Sympathy” from Bridge of Sighs, sending the crowd off with a final burst of energy.

After the customary applause and cheers, the band returned for a two-song encore. “Rise Up Like the Sun,” from 1994’s 20th Century Blues, gave Taggart the spotlight to show off his fast, double-time drumming. The evening ended with “Birdsong” from 2022’s No More Worlds to Conquer. Its lyrics, reflecting on the passage from summer to “deepest winter,” carried a melancholy edge, underscored by Taggart’s heavy beat and Trower’s expressive guitar — a fitting close to a night defined by both power and reflection.