Review by Shawn Perry
Good old clichés. The one about there being strength in numbers applies to this review. When you combine the record sales and hit singles of Styx, Foreigner and Kansas, you’re looking at some tall figures. The day has come and gone when these three powerhouse units flooded the charts and filled arenas on their own. Together on the United In Rock tour, however, they are once again playing to full houses. At least that was case at the Gibson Amphitheatre.
Famed L.A. morning radio DJs Mark and Brian got the party started, reminding everyone they were celebrating 25 years together, and that a massive bash was underway backstage. That’s probably something they should have kept to themselves, though half the people in the place seemed to have a pass of one kind or another to worm their way into the lofty confines of VIPs and hangers-on. For my money, the real action was on stage.
Starting promptly at 7:15, Kansas came on for a 40-minute set that sent shock waves through venue. It’s not often an opening act gets this type of reception, but Kansas isn’t your typical opening act. The corn-fed quintet buttered their cob long ago with “Dust In The Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son.” Today, they are primarily a road act whose chops are still impressively intact.
Opening with “Point Of Know Return,” vocalist Steve Walsh reached high for those “how long” notes with ample grace as guitarist Rich Williams, bassist Billy Greer, drummer Phil Ehart and violinist David Ragsdale provided the muscle. A hit-fest ensued as “Miracles Out Of Nowhere,” “Hold On,” “Dust In The Wind,” “Portrait (He Knew)” and “Fight Fire With Fire” were all polished off and put on display.
By the time Kansas finished off their brief performance with “Carry On Wayward Son,” the venue had seemingly filled to capacity and the crowd was on its feet salivating for more. A side trip to “Byzantium” or “Icarus” would have been a welcomed detour for the band to stretch out, but time was limited and Kansas, whose roster boosts the most original members, were done and gone in a flash. You can catch Kansas in all their glory on the 2009 DVD, There’s Know Place Like Home.
A short intermission later Foreigner exploded on stage. Of the three, they seemed to bring out the best in everyone. “Double Vision,” “Head Games,” “Cold As Ice” — they were all beefed up by the predominantly young band. Sole founder and leader Mick Jones has done an admirable job recruiting players into the fold, especially lead singer Kelly Hansen.
It would be easy to call the frontman, with Foreigner since 2005, a Lou Gramm knock-off. Yet it’s hard to imagine Gramm, beset by health issues and now a Christian rock artist, would be able to muster the stamina and youthful enthusiasm to keep up. Hansen was a ball of energy, at one point traipsing through the audience like Angus Young and getting hot and heavy with the 30- and 40-something females in the first ten rows.
Hansen and the other band members — guitarist/saxophonist Tom Gimbel, bassist Jeff Pilson, keyboardist Michael Bluestein and new drummer Jason Sutter — have clearly breathed new life in the once-ailing group. Of the three acts on the bill, Foreigner was the only one to play “new” music — two tracks from their Top 40 2009 release Can’t Slow Down.
Both the title track and “In Pieces” fit nicely into the set, despite sending many in the audience to the lobby for bathroom breaks and more high-priced beer. Jones later acknowledged the lull and stated, going forward, that the band would stick to more familiar territory. “From now on, all you’ll hear is the hits,” he said.
Fortunately, the guitarist didn’t play by the numbers when it came to his solos. He wandered out of the box with a couple of nimble-fingered, heavily distorted tangents that captured the essence of the night. Before taking the lead vocal on “Star Rider,” Jones paid tribute to Ronnie James Dio, who passed away on May 16 (two days before this show), adding that one of Foreigner’s members (Pilson) had once been part of the late singer’s group.
Arguably, the performance’s climax came when the dozen or so youngsters from John Burroughs High School joined in for a stirring rendition of “I Know What Love Is.” So many years later, this song still rattles the emotional breadbasket. Virtually everyone in the place hoisted their Bics and waved their arms. An encore of “Hot Blooded” finished off the 70-minute set.
Styx closed the show with a mixed selection of their most popular tunes and a few deeper cuts. Echoes of “Mr. Roboto” summoned as they hit the stage. The word on the street is that Styx is working on a new album of old songs, and that’s pretty much what they played — “The Grand Illusion,” “”Too Much Time On My Hands,” “Lady” and “Lorelei.” Like all the acts on the bill, they stuck primarily to the favorites without much deviation.
James Young remains the only original member, while Tommy Shaw, with the group since 1975, is the next best thing. Shaw’s clout extended beyond the Styx catalog when he played “High Enough,” a Damn Yankees tune, on a 12-string acoustic guitar. By this time, it seemed like Styx was losing some of the audience — many made a swift exit after Foreigner. The set was sprinkled with a decent variety, but the pace was up and down.
Lawrence Gowan — who replaced founding member and, at one time, de facto leader Dennis DeYoung in 1999 — slipped comfortably into his role, spinning his keyboard and capably singing many of the band’s songs — “Lady,” “Lorelei” and “Madame Blue” — that made Styx famous. He probably sounds more like DeYoung than DeYoung these days. Either way, no one was complaining. Drummer Todd Sucherman, whose abilities surpass the band’s needs, was on fire for much of the night. Meanwhile, bassist Ricky Phillips competed for the bottom end with original Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo, who joined the band on stage halfway through their set.
From there, the momentum took a tremendous leap skyward. “Fooling Yourself” woke the audience up and Young’s “Miss America” got them out of their seats. The energy level continued as Styx finished up with “Blue Collar Man” and “Renegade.” After almost four hours, the evening came to a ear-shattering close.
As a package, the United In Rock tour, which travels all over the States this summer, looks good on paper, and for diehard classic rock fans, even better in person. New music is sparse these days for groups of this caliber, mostly because fans are uninterested. They want the hits. But none of this inhibited the performances at the Gibson which were, by and large, slick as the oil in the Gulf, visually enhanced by the backline’s LED wall, and well executed. In a market saturated with tributes and revivals, all expectations were met.
Indeed, Memory Lane is a congested thoroughfare with little to no maneuverability. For the thousands of fans obsessed with this particular flavor of nostalgia, it makes perfect sense to play it by the book and not take chances. It’s probably best to leave the quirky experimentations to Neil Young and Radiohead.
