I took a flyer and bought tickets to see Toto and Michael McDonald at a theater in the Dells, not thinking Id see much more than some over the hill guys collecting a check, slogging thru old hits. Another of the bands I loved but never got to see back in the day because I was gigging 6 nights a week. Wrong. Toto, with the entire original lineup (excluding J Porcaro, of course), came out smoking. A good chunk of the show was new material, and the band was on fire. By the second song, the crowd, surprisingly young and apparently from Chicago, had rushed the stage, and it was crazy for the next 90 minutes. The arrangements were musically both complex and melodic, and plenty funky as well. Everybody got to stretch out musically, including the back up vocalists, and everybody sounded great. They worked the crowd like mad, even including posing for selfies with fans across the front of the stage. Definitely one of the most exciting and musically satisfying shows Ive ever seen. By the way, the drummer was stupid good. Seems like their drummers have always gotten a lot of scrutiny, and this guy, introduced as the only guy whos seen Taylor Swift naked, was amazing. Also, Michael McDonald hasnt lost a thing. Im not as big a fan, but we stuck around and it was fun. His band is great, especially his long time guitar player, who reminded me a bit of Jimi Behringer from way back when I gigged with him. At the end of the night, Toto came back out and they all played Amazing Grace, followed by some Stevie Wonder covers. If this is a show youve though about seeing, go. These cats mean business; they aint coasting, and Totos new material is as engaging as the stuff from years ago. On the way home, we saw a shooting star while in Wisconsin. Fun night. Yes, Donna planned and promised to drive home but slept instead, because Donna.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:40:15 +0000
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