Old School Showmanship by The BusBoys and The Untouchables Take The Stage at The Canyon Club

Entertainment — By Buddy Sampson on September 8, 2025 at 4:00 pm

By Buddy Sampson

Well, when you start to get long in the tooth, it takes a lot more to impress than ever before. So, when we got invited to see Brian O’ Neal and The BusBoys, I thought, “these guys are probably going to stand up there and just play tunes.”

And, as a journalist and musician I thought I had seen everything.  Boy, was I incredibly wrong.

All three ensembles at The Canyon Club on September 6, 2025 provided something rarely seen these days- incredible showmanship, without the use of AI, pyrotechnics, or anything extra, except the talent and personalities of all the incredible showmen that took the stage that night.

Opening the show was Kennithe Perrin. Dressed in a shimmery gold outfit, Perrin started the show with old school crooning. His band was tight, and they mixed down home soul music with country rock, which made for an effective combination. It was nice to see a singer that knows what to do to get an audience engaged. His set warmed up the stage nicely for the next group, The Untouchables.

The Untouchables raised the party flag to new levels and their ska/reggae/punk grooves had patrons on the floor with their party flags flapping from the winds of their incredible performance. Sadly, many of the original members of the Untouchables had either moved to other projects or passed away, but one of the original members, lead singer Chuck Askerneese was with the group on a hot night in Agoura Hills. They did a moving tribute to one of their vocalists that died, Jerry Miller.

However, front man Chuck Askerneese was simply exciting to watch. The entire set, in addition to his electrifying voice, featured his on time rhythmic dancing, which had everyone in the audience grooving. The Untouchables were as tight as a well-tuned drum, with a 4-piece horn section that was simply dynamite. The bassist, who played with a pick, drove the drummer of the band to a frenzy and their arrangements, showmanship and unadulterated performance brought joy to the audience. They were simply awesome. By the time The BusBoys got on stage, the stage was so hot, I secretly wondered how anyone could follow their set.

I was wrong again.

 

The audience clearly came to see The BusBoys and they not only burned the stage down, it took incredible ballads by Brian O’ Neal to put the flame out for 10 minutes, but then, they set the stage back on fire. Throughout their energetic set, there was hardly a moment when there was no energy. The curtains opened and there The BusBoys were- frozen. They did not make one move until the crowd was in a frenzy. The singers danced around with joyful abandon, like babies that did not care who was watching them dance. I personally didn’t think the show could get any better, but it did. Of course, they performed many of their hits, but they saved their signature song, “Boys Are Back In Town,” near the end of their set.

 

For their encore, they brought The Untouchables on stage with them and performed an old Sam and Dave song, “Hold On, I’m Coming,” to the glee of the audience.

Youngsters, if you want to learn how to perform without technology, you must see these amazing bands.

Indeed, The Canyon Club featured Old School Showmanship, something that will never go out of style.

Visit The BusBoys website at https://www.busboys.com.