It’s hard to believe, given my love for live music that until last night I had never seen TOTO in concert. They have been around for the better part of my life and I fully remember when HOLD THE LINE hit huge back in the late 70’s – early 80’s. They are just one of those bands that had eluded me – thankfully I have been able to correct that error.
I have always – and still today – find it difficult to categorize TOTO’s musical style – they seem to throw genres to the wind and just make music – and damn fine music it is.
The band hit the stage with a few of their big guns – GIRL GOODBYE, HOLD THE LINE, and 99 and I can’t think of three better songs to not only set the mood for the show, but to also highlight the statement I made in the last paragraph. All three songs completely different musical styles, yet all 100% TOTO.
Steve Lukather is a highly underrated guitarist. I was amazed by the prowess of the man – and at no point was his expertise more evident than during the bands cover of the Jimmi Hendrix classic LITTLE WING with Lukather putting on a clinic on how to make those six strings sound magical. It was jaw-dropping.
The stage was set uniquely with two keaboards set up stage right – a percussionist / sax player in the middle, drummer stage left – leaving the center open for the bass player, Lukather and lead singer Joseph Williams plenty of stage to wander. TOTO is not a flashy band – not a lot of flashing lights and no fog or explosions – everything that was explosive took place on the instruments.
Time for a little confession – I had completely forgotten that I’LL SUPPLY THE LOVE was a TOTO song – and it was a high point of this show. The definition of a sing a long classic. I love this song and it’s even better when you singing it was a couple of thousand other people.
Just for good measure the band threw in another cover late in the show and brought the house down with their version of The Beatles WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS and as you may have already guessed – closed the show with ROSANNA and the song most in attendance came to hear – AFRICA.
The biggest takeaway I got from this show is that TOTO is one of the best touring bands on the road right now and if you witness and lose yourself in pure musicianship – your next stop should be a TOTO concert because these gentlemen are world class.
It’s always a treat to see a band of this nature at a smaller venue – and there are not any venues better in the CLE then the Center Stage at the MGM Northfield.
Here’s the bands setlist for the night – and if you are reading this and are in one of the towns the band has yet to play – make it a priority to make that happen. They’ve also been shows opening for JOURNEY – talk about a high class double bill.
1. Girl Goodbye
4. Make Believe
5. Jake to the Bone
6. Burn
7. I’ll Be Over You
8. Stop Loving You
9. Little Wing
10. I’ll Supply the Love
11. A Thousand Years
12. Dying on My Feet
13. Home of the Brave
14. With a Little Help From My Friends
15. Rosanna
16. Africa
