Here's my review of the Chicago show at Kingsport, Tennessee's 2013 FunFest concert last night. Let me start by saying that the 160 mile drive there is one pretty drive. Once you get past the Pleasantburg Drive / Poinsett Highway shopping sprawl and are past Furman University; the next 120 miles or so are pretty darn spectacular as you drive past and through the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Smokies. I think I read not long ago that these are all part of the Appalachians from up north. Let me say that in July the greenery is spectacular. I took some pictures on my droid but they do not do justice to the majestic grandeur and vista that you see as you drive through.
There's a couple of scenic outlooks that I stopped at that truly caught these moments for me. I was thinking of a saying while parked and looking at these views. The saying was "Hurry Up and Slow Down" and enjoy life. At one lookout there was one car besides mine and at another there were two cars. All the while I am taking in these views I hear the cars buzzing by on interstate 26W and was wondering if the occupants of said cars realized what they were missing by not "Hurrying Up and Slowing Down." Somehow I think not. Oh well their loss.
So I made it plenty early to Kingsport and parked my car minutes away from the high school football stadium and wandered down the street where the "Taste of the Tri-Cities" was set up and had some pulled pork barbecue from one of the local shops. The sandwich was huge and the sauce was excellent. The sides were way overpriced and not all that tasty. I will know better next time to stick with just the sandwich.
Interestingly this whole event was alcohol-free (even the concert) as the city was calling it family friendly. It is what it is. It was weird to see the smokers galore out there walking around in a so-called family friend event. I was prepared as I had a small cooler with beers. LOL.
Anyways onto the show. Gavin Degraw opened up and played a 45 minute set and did a yeoman's job of fronting his band and encouraging the audience. At one point he jumped into the crowd and sang two songs while walking through and high-fiving people. I really don't know any of his music. It seems that he is popular with the 2000s version of MTV listeners as some his tunes have been featured on their shows as well as on One Tree Hill. His band are tight musicians and they did their best with many in the audience being twice their age.
Okay onto Chicago's lengthy set. As trumpet flugel horn player par excellence Lee Loughnane mentioned very early in the show; they would be playing a lengthy set (around 2 hours in all) and they would be covering all the bases and touching upon their over forty years in the music business. Truthfully they did a phenomenal job of picking out a set list. As keyboard and sometimes lead singer Robert Lamm later mentioned; the band has had seventy songs hit the charts. Both Loughnane and Lamm weren't kidding.
The concert started with the aptly name "Introduction" which is the first track off of the first Chicago album "Chicago Transit Authority". This tune performed live shows off what will happen over and over in the set. Some hard rocking, some horns, some ballady soft stuff and then some more horns. The tune was written by the late Terry Kath and is now sung by Robert Lamm. This segued into "Questions 67 and 68" from the same disc. This song is one of those desert island songs for me. CHOM-FM used to play this song semi-regularly back in the late 70s and early 80s and from the first time I heard the horns I was hooked. It was weird hearing it last night with a bunch of people that may not have been very familiar with the non-AM radio songs that Chicago includes in their set. Jason Scheff on bass sang lead with some assistance from Robert Lamm on the deeper vocal parts. This song allows the band to showcase the horns as well as lead guitarist Keith Howland's chops. Great great performance. This led into Dialogues Parts 1 & 2 which comes from Chicago V in 1972. Another rock and jazz song with some catchy choruses as well as a nice vocal interchange between Lou Padrini, Jason Scheff and Robert Lamm. This led into the first recognizable tune for many in the audience which was 1978's "If You Leave Me Now" from Chicago X. As my friend Jeff P. says this is one of those QFM songs. Hehe. It's a pretty song. Then we had "Call On Me" from Chicago VII next which is the one hit song written by Lee Loughnane and ably sung by Lou Padrini who has taken over some of Bill Champlin leads. Then came my 2nd desert island song of the night which was 1973's "I've Been Searchin' For So Long" also from Chicago VII. album. This tune to me is another one of those songs that talk to me. It is one of those songs that encapsulates what life should be about or aboot. LOL. Next up was the instrumental track from the same album named "Mongonucleosis". This is a James Pankow (the eminent trombone player and one of the four remaining original band members) word play song which is a upbeat jazz tune I guess. It has a great Jason Scheff bass line and shows off Loughnane's trumpet skills. A fun tune.
Then came a very nice part of the show. The whole band exited stage left (lol)and then a stage light was directed at a lone keyboard set up front and center. Out came Jason Scheff and he did a solo version of "Will You Still Love Me" from Chicago XVIII on that keyboard. It almost seemed like the couples in the audience moved closer to each other and hands were being clasped. You could hear the soft whispers of people singing the chorus together. I had a brief moment of sadness given my current status but nevertheless was taken in by the moment. It was an impressive performance. Then Jason left the stage and Robert Lamm came out and took Jason's recently vacated spot along with Keith Howland with an acoustic guitar and the immensely talented and vibrant auxillary percussionist Walfredo Reyes Jr. and they performed a mellow version of Robert's song from Chicago X "Another Rainy Day In New York City." This was also well received by the crowd at the show and I liked hearing the lesser played song from that album. They left the stage and out came Lou Padrini to sing an amazingly heartfelt version of "Look Away" from Chicago XIX. Halfway through the song the rest of the band came on and the radio version was played. Great great tune. Not a tune to listen to when you are down on romance. LOL. These solo performances were real nice and a great change of pace.
With the whole band on stage you kind of knew that the tempo was about to pick up. Then the unmistakable opening horn hook of 1970's "Make Me Smile" from the suite of "Ballet For A Girl in Buchannon" on Chicago II. This song is over 40 years old and still has me dancing in my chair. Please don't think of the graphic of a man 6'5"+ and 275 lbs. dancing in a chair. It isn't pretty. Nevertheless Lou Padrini did a great job on vocals until passing it onto Robert Lamm for his bit then to Lee Loughnane's trumpet solo and then before you knew it the unmistakable piano/keyboard intro of the wedding song classic "Color My World" broke out midway in the "Ballet" with Lee Loughnane (yes really) on vocals complete with the beautiful flute solo by another original Chicagoan Walt Parazaider. As the suite continued, there was some more beautiful horn arrangements sequeing back into "Make Me Smile." A nice performance of a song that you normally only hear in the hit song versions.
Then back to Chicago I we went with the immediately recognizable Robert Lamm tune "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is". The ode to the weekend where time, watches and clocks do not exist in Schlewing-land. A nice place to be. This led into the flute intro by Walt Parazaider on the #3 hit from Chicago XVII's "Hard Habit To Break". In 2013 the version features the vocal interplays of Jason Scheff and Lou Padrini. Well done. I know I was singing along to the "I am addicted to you Babe, you're a hard habit to break" vocal. Then again I was singing along to everything. LOL. Perhaps I am biased. Ha! This led into the Peter Cetera penned tune "You're The Inspiration" from Chicago XVII. This was also sung by Jason Scheff who has taken over the Cetera vocals and bass playing and does a great job at it. This is not one of my fave Chicago songs as it is a bit formulaic which is not surprising as it was written with David Foster's help. Not a David Foster fan. At one point he was producing Chicago and telling them that they did not need the horns. LOL. My opinion is that they didn't need the Foster. So there!
Back to Chicago I we go with "Beginnings". Signature Chicago song. Robert Lamm lyrics. Great chorus. Horns in the back mix. Some nice acoustic guitar. Scheff solo. Pankow solo. Loughnane solo. The latin rhythm backbeat provided by Tis Imboden and Walfredo Reyes Jr. All I can say or write is Wow!
Up next we now have us some cowbell! Yes. The Spencer Davis classic "I'm A Man" is up next and the horn section has cowbells and cymbals. I don't think there is a bad version of this song in existence. The drums, the cymbals, the tambourine, the cowbell and the electric guitar has gots to gets your feets tapping. If it doesn't there is no hope for you. I am sorry. You have no cool genes! Anyways back to the live version of the song; about three minutes in we have ourselves a drum and percussion solo exchange between the wonderfully talented Tris Imboden and Walfredo Reyes Jr. If you have a chance YouTube Chicago Freedom Fest 2012 "I"m a Man" great drums and you will not be disappointed if you have a cool gene in your body.
Next up came the great James "Jimmy" Pankow to introduce the next song. He's been using the same line about this song for years but it is still a propos. "First it is song that people get married to and then it is a song that babies get conceived to." Those were Jimmy's words. They are so true in hindsight! Is there a better lyric about being in love than "baby you're everything, I've ever dreamed of"? That's one of the key lyrics from Chicago VI's "Just You'N'Me".
Here we go into the home stretch of the concert. 18th song of the night. All of them hits. All of them singalongs. Well for me anyways. LOL. The key-tar starts and it's the unmistakable opening riffs of "Saturday In The Park" from Chicago V. A common theme in this blog seems to be how many songs that one recognizes within five seconds. They may have not changed the world but they affected my little world and that ladies and gentlemen is the beauty of music. This segued into the keyboard intro of "Hard To Say I Am Sorry" from Chicago XVI in 1982. Once again we have Scheff doing an able job on Cetera's original vocal. This immediately leads into the unmistakable opening guitar riff of Chicago VI's "Feeling Stronger Every Day". Everybody is standing up now. Fists are in the air. Lots of Oh Yeahs. LOL. And that is the end of the concert until the encores. I'm forty feet from stage now having worked my way up as the show has gone along and I am ready for the encores.
The first encore is a quintessential Chicago track "Free" from Chicago III. Some horns. Some guitar. Some latin rhythms. Some patriotism. Some "Free". Then comes the Keith Howland intro to the timeless "25 or 6 to 4". I still don't have an effing clue what that song means. Joey Baranski and I used to select this song on the jukebox at Atomic's Pizzeria in a strip mall located at the corner of 100th and Souvenir. Forty years later I remember this as it was yesterday. Still no clue what it means but on July 20, 2013 that song was fucking amazing!
I can't wait until I see them next year. Dang I may try to get them to come to the Charter Amphitheater so I don't have to drive three hours for a show. I think it would be a money-making venture. Perhaps putting concerts of my favorite bands is in my near future. I really think we are underserved here.
Rock on Chicago lovers rock on!
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