Live Review and Photos by Danielle Boise
Kansas took to the road to celebrate 40 years of making music, bringing along Toto in support for an evening of chart topping hits and number one hit songs to Chastain Park Amphitheatre on Wednesday, Aug. 14.
Toto took to the stage first by starting the night off with in a dynamic way with “On the Run” followed by “Hydra,” “Roseanna,” “I Won’t Hold You Back,” “Falling in Between,” and “Wings of Time.”
“This is an old song. We haven’t done it in a while (pause). It’s been rumored that I don’t like this song (pause), which is not true. This is off our second album,” Steve Lukather said going into “99.” Toto continued with “White Sister,” and then their hit song “Africa,” which had the entire venue singing and dancing in their seats. Toto ended with “Hold the Line.”
Before Kansas could take to the stage, the sky opened up and fat drops of rain poured over the Amphitheatre. The weather did not discourage either the patrons or Kansas from enjoying an evening of rock classics. In fact, remarks of flying monkeys were made by band members as they joked with the soaked crowd, which elicited chuckles.
Kansas started the night off with “Magnum Intro” followed by “Paradox,” “Point of No Return,” “Song For America,” “The Wall,” and “Hold On.” The ever emotionally enigmatic “Dust in the Wind” brought tears to my eyes as it hit a cord with me, which was made even more intense by the influx of rain steadily coming down.
After “Dust,” Kansas continued their set with “Cheyenne Anthem,” “Icarus II,” “Icarus,” “Miracles Out of Nowhere,” and ended the regular set with “Portrait (He Knew).” For the encore, Kansas performed “Fight Fire With Fire” and of course no Kansas show would be complete without “Carry on Wayward Son.”