The Band Chicago review from last nights concert

madmmac · madmmac's Garage

I have seen the 70's, 80's, missed the 90's, 2000's and now the 201's versions or iterations of Chicago. Last night at our local fair(10th largest in the world), they just nailed it.

2+ hours of non stop music and fun. Only break some of them had was during a great drum duet during "I'm a Man". They really seemed to enjoy themselves on stage and had the crowd moving and shaking from the opening. Sat center stage, 7 rows back. They had the sound dialed in within a minute of the opening song and never looked back.

Highly recommend if you have a chance. They will be down in Napa, Ca tomorrow.
Events - Chicago The Band Music Community
Here is from last year with Earth, Wind and Fire.

Oh Haha · 09-14-2011, 01:21 PM

Cool!!

Thanks for sharing.

Chicago was one of the first "rock" bands I heard. I used to play my drums along with the album when I was young. Danny Seraphine was a huge influence on me and I can hear it in some of our recordings.

VINMAN · 09-14-2011, 01:48 PM

I've seen them a number of times over the past few yrs with EWF. Without a doubt, some of the best concerts I have ever been to.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Jason Scheff (vocalist/bassist with Chicago) did a clinic one of the nights at camp. Nice guy. Talked about keeping things going once you've "made it" (he joined Chicago in '85 at age 23 replacing Peter Cetera). At some point he realized that he had to be totally disciplined and do voice exercises every single day. He also is really into "positive thinking" and is a fan of Maxwell's "Failing Forward" book.

Kick arse version of 25 or 6 to 4. EW&F totally rocks.

R K T · 09-14-2011, 02:40 PM

Great band. Saw them on their first tour to LA, before they became "just" Chicago.....
They were billed as Chicago Transit Authority.

gshase · 09-14-2011, 02:44 PM

I saw the show a few years ago and what a shock when they all took the stage together, what a mix of talent.The best part was when Chicago put their style on the EWF songs and EWF threw their style to some Chicago songs. It was cool to hear some of the band members from both bands went to High School together.

DanielDudley · 09-14-2011, 02:49 PM

Whoa !!! Impressive clip !

I would check them out for SURE !!!

Oh Haha · 09-14-2011, 04:14 PM

I watched that again.

Tris Imboden really drives the song and stays pretty true to the way it was written.

Something I noticed I have to comment on, though.

The 3 distinct sounds/tone from the different guitars is way cool and the guitar player for Chicago on the "Strat" sounds like he has some country experience.

I'm a drummer so I usually wouldn't even pay attention to something that minute.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Verdine White is also manic live. He was constantly in motion for 2 straight hours when I saw them back in '06. Interesting to hear the slightly different feel between the 2 horn sections. Add ToP to the stage and you've got the trifecta...

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

Sounds like a great concert!

madmmac · madmmac's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by nostatic

Verdine White is also manic live. He was constantly in motion for 2 straight hours when I saw them back in '06. Interesting to hear the slightly different feel between the 2 horn sections. Add ToP to the stage and you've got the trifecta...

I'm an old t-bone player, so I love my horns. Already got my Tower of Power tickets for October 20th at a local Casino.

Out of State when Eric Burdon was there. Another, don't miss while you can.

Rot 911 · 09-15-2011, 05:23 AM

To me this is the best Chicago song ever; out of so many great ones. I love the interaction of singers, the music, the power of the words. Everything.

jshape · jshape's Garage

Saw them at Interlochen (Michigan) earlier this summer - my third Chicago concert. By far this was the best!!!

Highly recommend>

jluetjen · jluetjen's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

Cool!!

Thanks for sharing.

Chicago was one of the first "rock" bands I heard. I used to play my drums along with the album when I was young. Danny Seraphine was a huge influence on me and I can hear it in some of our recordings.

Ditto! (except for the part about recordings. I've been a recovering drummer for about 25 years and usually only play the steering wheel nowadays.)

My first reaction to seeing that video was that I really, really, needed to search to find the original CTA members on the stage -- until I noticed that they were playing with EWF, so I'm OK with that. While the performance was spot-on, to me it felt like it could have been done by any number of studio players. I guess I'm old school.

The first and last Chicago concert that I saw was about a year before Terry Kath shot himself. That really yanked the heart out of the band since he was guy who seemed to identify with all of the different factions and kept them focused in one direction. I can respect Pete Cetera leaving to do his own thing. But when they fired Danny Seraphine, every other drummer they've had has sounded like a plug-and-play studio player to me. Nobody seems to have the same lyrical quality to their playing -- they have all sounded like they're "playing time". Since then it's been just be a hollow shell of the original band.

To give you a sense of how deep the talent was of the original in the original line-up, all that you need to do is listen to "A Song for Richard and His Friends". While admittedly not an accessible pop piece like "25 or 6 to 4", it shows where the band could go if they wanted to. A Ballet for a Girl in Buchanan was another piece that showed the band's abilities.

Nowadays they sound like a cover band when playing some of this stuff.

Time moves on for everyone, and some things like the original Chicago, the Beatles, James Brown -- all that we'll ever have are the memories, and thankfully the recordings.