Somewhere about halfway up my concert bucket list was Kansas. During the 70s, the band remained in the periphery of my mind, probably because their progressive rock roots were an acquired taste, joining several others of the genre (Pink Floyd, ELP, Genesis, and Rush). Like most people, I loved their crossover hits Dust In the Wind and Carry On Wayward Son but knew nothing of their deep-cut album tracks. Over time, I learned to appreciate the sophistication and technical musicianship of Kansas ... and I knew I had to see them perform.
Time was running short. Robby Steinhardt, the band’s iconic violinist died of pancreatitis in 2021. He played a key role in defining Kansas both in recordings and on stage. Founding member Kerry Livgren said Steinhardt was “the link between the band on the stage and the audience.” He was ultimately replaced by Joe Deninzon, a classically-trained jazz violinist from St. Petersburg, Russia.
Kansas launched their 50th anniversary tour in 2023 with three of their original members, including guitarist Rick Williams (the dude with the eyepatch). But in February of 2024, drummer Phil Ehart dropped out after suffering a heart attack. His drum tech, Eric Holmquist, replaced him. A few months later, bassist Billy Greer retired after thirty-nine years with the band. He was replaced by Dan McGowan. The attrition had left only Williams.
The band was looping back through Florida in early 2025, and we purchased great seats for an outdoor performance at the Seminole Casino Outdoor Center in Immokalee. Unfortunately, a historic blizzard throughout the Southeast dropped nearly a foot of snow along northern Florida and the Appalachians. Rick Williams’ cabin in North Carolina was snowed-in and he was not able to make the show. The 50th anniversary Kansas tour was now being performed by none of the original members. Crap.
So our expectations were low as we arrived at the casino two hours early. We figured we should add to our melancholy by dropping some money inside. But as we stepped out of the car, we could clearly see (and hear) the band across the parking lot doing a soundcheck. They did a complete performance of Dust In The Wind while we stood beside the stage. It sounded phenomenal!!
The concert began at 8:01 pm. The elevated platform featured a wrinkled canvas Kansas logo backdrop and perfunctory stage lighting. Seven musicians took their positions among risers full of drums, keyboards, and other technical gear. Lead singer Ronnie Platt greeted us and introduced their first composition, The Point Of Know Return. From the sixth row, we were swallowed-up in the sound of synthesizers, drums, guitars … and violin. It was immediately clear that these guys were very, very good.
Deninzon captured everyone’s attention, switching frequently between violins and guitars. Often strapping both on at once. His outstanding playing added the archetypal character to many of the pieces. The guy who stood in for Williams was Scott Bernard, veteran guitarist with Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald.
Watching Kansas live that chilly evening, I gained a full appreciation of how complex the crafting of that music was. The precision of the performance and the blending of the sound was stunning. Every piece of the fourteen song setlist was compelling, many with unorthodox harmonies and fascinating jazz syncopation. It was all about the composition of the music, not who was playing it. These guys clearly understood that. They defined the term ‘progressive rock’ that night.
Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son
Immokalee, Florida
January 25, 2025
*****
Almost exactly one year later, we got outstanding last-minute tickets for their concert in Sarasota, at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. I was hoping to see Richard Williams on guitar, but sadly, he had semi-retired and Scott Bernard was again in his place. He was more than adequate for the job.
Kansas in an indoor venue is a much different experience. Their music was far more sophisticated and nuanced than in the Immokalee Casino parking lot. We were able to hear individual layers of their instruments, giving the performance a much fuller sound.
From the front row, we could see the outstanding musicians watching each other as they collaborated to create a rich aural experience. The audience appreciated the effort to recreate the almost-symphonic sound of the band's album tracks.
These guys again earned our respect. The sheer concentration and skill that went into creating the band's tightness was amazing. All of them were at the top of their game and the result was excellent!!
Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son
Sarasota, Florida
January 16, 2026
2025 SETLIST:
The Point Of Know Return
What’s On My Mind
Play The Game Tonight
Fight Fire With Fire
Icarus - Borne On Wings Of Steel
Dust In The Wind
Song For America
Can I Tell You
Hold On
Down The Road
Portrait (He Knew)
The Wall
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Carry On Wayward Son
79. THREE DOG NIGHT
March 25, 2011
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, Florida
We had seen a few of those 'oldies but goodies' shows over the years, so our expectations were low. This concert, however, was a blast!! The signs taped to all the entry doors to the Van Wezel auditorium stated that the program would be no longer than 90 minutes. I think that this was done to alert those with prostate issues ... to help them decide to go to the bathroom just prior to the start of the show.
We could clearly see the band (including four original members) take the stage from the front row. As they launched into their first number, Family of Man, they sounded a little rusty ... so much so that most of them (everybody except Danny Hutton) were laughing through the song. Then Corey Wells stepped up to the microphone, smiled, and said, "Hello everybody! We will not be using auto-tune this evening!" This received a huge response from the audience and set the tone for what would be a fun performance. The hit-filled show lasted precisely 90 minutes.
SETLIST: Family Of Man One Man Band Black And White Never Been To Spain Shambala Out Of The Country Easy To Be Hard Old Fashion Love Song You Can Leave Your Hat On One It Ain't Easy Heart Of Blues Liar Sure As I'm Sittin' Here Mama Told Me Not To Come Celebrate Prayer For The Children Joy To The World
78. ELTON JOHN
"The Big Picture Tour"
September 18, 1998
The Palace Of Auburn Hills
Auburn Hills, Michigan
In September of 1998, Elton was swinging through the midwest in support of his twenty-fifth album, The Big Picture. The album reached number five on the Billboard charts, with three singles (Something About the Way You Look Tonight, Recover Your Soul, and If The River Can Bend). The album also probably got a bump because deluxe versions of the CD included Candle In The Wind 1997, his tribute to Princess Diana. Elton dedicated the record to his friend Gianni Versace, who had been murdered a few months earlier. It was clearly a tumultuous time for him.
The Big Picture was heavily orchestrated, undoubtedly influenced by the Disney and Aida production work he had been doing at the time. It was dark, introspective, and ballad-oriented. Drummer Charlie Morgan said it was almost gospel-like. Bernie Taupin said he hated it and called it his least favorite album.
Still, it seemed like Elton was everywhere, winning Grammys, Oscars and Tonys and making endless celebrity appearances. He performed at the White House for Bill Clinton and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth earlier in the year. He was in the the midst of two tours, his own and with Billy Joel. He was enjoying his second peak of fame.
Our ticket broker scrounged up front row seats at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Sadly, this was a pre-cellphone-camera concert, because the photos would have been incredible. Elton opened with Circle Of Life and followed it with Grey Seal. The song selection was one of the best I heard from Elton, including some deep cuts(I’m Going To Be A Teenage Idol, Simple Life, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy). Elton was in great form, maybe put on a few pounds since we saw him last at the Pontiac Silverdome with Joel in 1994.
The audience seemed to appreciate his presence more than ever. He had risen beyond musician and become an icon.
Eventually, I began to notice that guitarist Davey Johnstone started to take an interest in my wife, Tam, frequently looking down and gesturing. More specifically, he was interested in her conservatively unbuttoned blouse. Several times during the gig, he stood right in front of her and motioned in her direction. We thought nothing of it until we got home and she found this guitar pick stuck in her bra. We laughed our heads off!
SETLIST:
Circle Of Life
Grey Seal
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Honky Cat
Tiny Dancer
Levon
I’m Going To Be A Teenage Idol
I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Daniel
Rocket Man
Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
Crocodile Rock
Your Song
Recover Your Soul
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
Philadelphia Freedom
Simple Life
The One
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Something About The Way You Look Tonight
The Bitch Is Back
Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Great Balls Of Fire
Bennie And The Jets
77. DIANA KRALL
"Wallflower World Tour" April 21, 2015 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, Tennessee
Upon arrival, our usher sternly told my wife and me that, "At the request of the artist, there would be no photography, no seating during performances, and no intermission." We were further asked to be respectful of the artist at all times. We both wondered to ourselves if "the artist" had become some sort of diva.
Diana Krall casually strolled out to her piano, along with her six-piece band, onto the elegant candle-lit Ryman stage and without a single word, launched into three songs, played back to back without stopping. Krall's voice was smoky, almost gritty, during those opening numbers. A friend had warned us beforehand that her singing-voice was in bad shape (we later learned that she was still recovering from a long bout of pneumonia, and had been forced to postpone the start of her tour by a month). Fortunately, with occasional sips from a nearby glass and frequent sprays from an atomizer, her vocals improved throughout the evening.
Her set was an eclectic collection of standards, jazz, as well as renditions of pop songs from the the 1960s and 1970s, many of which were featured on her new Wallflower album. Most of the older songs were accompanied by black and white silent film footage that ran in twenty second loops. Both hilarious and fascinating!! By the time she tore into Tom Wait's Temptation, she was hitting on all cylinders. Her band (including guitarist Anthony Wilson, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and drummer Karriem Riggins) was outstanding, and represented some of the best musicianship we had heard in Nashville.
But it was during a brief solo set that Krall really came out of her shell and started conversing and joking with the audience. She was not a diva at all ... she was just quirky. She would play a snippet of Maple Leaf Rag and then stop and chat for while, then play some Duke Ellington for a bit, and then stop and chat some more. It was a wonderful interlude, being carried along in her steam of consciousness. I've never seen an artist personally connect with an audience quite like that.
The musicianship was incredible and the setting lovely. Our hope is that her voice continues to hold out, because we'd like to see her again.
Setlist from the Ryman show:
76. JOHN MAYER / PHILLIP PHILLIPS
"Born And Raised World Tour"
December 4, 2013
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee
I really wanted to see John Mayer in concert. I knew he was a great guitarist and had earned the respect of such peers as Eric Clapton. I had also watched Where The Light Is ... an outstanding concert video he produced in 2008. His reputation was well-earned and I was prepared to witness guitar virtuosity.
When the curtain rose, things looked promising. The stage backdrop was a fascinating three-dimentional recreation of a southwest desert-scape. Behind it was a screen representing the sky that evolved during the gig from day to night. It was a beautifully-conceived setting for a concert. Mayer and his band came out in subdued fashion and started playing. It was tight. It was sonically crisp. It was boring. The next two hours was a moody interlude of extended blues and jazz jams, interrupted occasionally by Mayer's very low key introductions. This tended to tamp-down audience enthusiasm. So much so that there was complete silence at the beginning of many of his songs. Furthermore, his setlist was devoid of several of his hits, in favor of new material. This may have been an effort to reduce stress on his vocal chords, that had recently required surgery.
Still, the gig was weirdly engaging. I walked away knowing that Mayer did indeed have superb guitar chops, but felt I had been to some strange kind of avant-garde art exhibition rather than a rock concert.
John Mayer in Nashville, December 2013
SETLIST: Queen Of California Half Of My Heart I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You) Paper Doll Speak For Me Why Georgia Slow Dancing In A Burning Room You Don't Know How This Feels Stop This Train Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey Neon Wildfire Waiting On The Day Belief If I Ever Get Around To Living Born And Raised Waiting On The World To Change Dear Marie Who Says Gravity
75. KEITH URBAN / GARY ALLAN
"Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy World Tour" Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, Michigan November 2, 2007
Keith Urban was one of those people who was on my musical periphery. I respected his music, but didn't really warm up to it. There was something about his style that threw me off. I have no idea what it was. Maybe he was a little too sympathetic. I little too empathetic, based on the ballads that I had heard. He was also kinda funky in a weird sort of way. I attributed it to him being Australian.
I got over that real quick when I saw him in concert. The dude can rock. I discovered that he is a serious musician, with far greater abilities than I anticipated. His guitar-playing was first-rate (and has gotten even better since), but it was the intensity of his performance that really stuck with me. He really put it out there. He worked for it. By the time he wailed into 867-5309 Jenny as an encore, he had me.
Gary Allan was the perfect opening act. His understated, erudite approach to music complimented Urban's. He was re-emerging from a hiatus with a new album, Living Hard, after enduring the suicide of his wife in 2004. Many of his songs touched on darker themes, but were beautifully written and performed.
GARY ALLAN SETLIST:
A Feelin' Like That
Tough All Over
Nothing On But The Radio
Alright Guy
Smoke Rings In The Dark
Life Ain't Always Beautiful
Best I Ever Had
Learning How To Bend
Watching Airplanes
Songs About Rain
Right Where I Need To Be
Drinkin' Dark Whiskey
KEITH URBAN SETLIST:
Once in a Lifetime
Where the Blacktop Ends
Faster Car/All Right Now
Shine
Raining on Sunday
Stupid Boy
Used to the Pain
Better Half
Making Memories of Us
You'll Think of Me
I Told You So
Drum chorus
Days Go By
I Can't Stop Loving YouTonight
I Want to Cry
Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me
Somebody Like You
Got It Right This Time
Better Life
867-5309 Jenny
Everybody
74. JOHN WILLIAMS AND THE BOSTON POPS
"100 Years Of The Boston Pops"
July 20, 1985
Blossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Boston Pops, conductor John Williams took the BP Esplanade Orchestra (a freelance ensemble) on a short tour of fifteen cities. On July 20th, one of the concerts was performed at Blossom Music Center as a fundraiser for other orchestras and symphonies in the Cleveland area.
Williams opened with the fanfare from the 1984 Olympic Games, followed by the score from Fiddler On The Roof. His setlist was also sprinkled with other masterpieces of modern cinema, including Oscar-winning hits Moon River, The Way We Were, Over The Rainbow ... and of course, his own Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi, of which he played virtually the entire score. It was a spectacular Saturday evening of glorious music.
For me, there was a 'sweet spot' in James Taylor's career that emerged in the late 1980s, starting with the album Die Young and running for about ten years through the release of Hourglass. It was a span of time where his musicianship, songwriting, and fabulous voice all came together to create some of his best work.
This concert captured the essence of James Taylor at his best. The auditorium was old and small and added a quaintness and intimacy to the concert that perfectly suited his style. Most of us knew that Taylor had recently emerged from a more difficult period of his life, and it was great to see that he had come out the other side joyous and optimistic. We all left feeling good.
James Taylor - Never Die Young Tour (1988)
SETLIST: Song For You Far Away Something In The Way She Moves Where You Go Looking For Love On Broadway Riding On A Railroad Machine Gun Kelly Every Day Summer's Here Walking Man Millworker Western Plain The Twist Steamroller Come Together How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You Sweet Potato Pie Baby Boom Baby Never Die Young Love Has Brought Me Around I Will Follow First Of May Up On The Roof Carolina On My Mind Fire And Rain Shower The People You've Got A Friend Your Smiling face The Secret O' Life Sweet Baby James
72. CHICAGO
"Chicago 19 Tour"
April 8, 1989
Hilton Coliseum
Ames, Iowa
The Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University was a thirty-minute drive from where we lived at the time ... Boone, Iowa. Tam was six months pregnant. Chicago had also being enduring some changes. Peter Cetera had split the band (as well as producer David Foster) and Jason Scheff and Bill Champlin were beginning to make their presence felt.
The 1989 tour was in support of Chicago 19, an album with four top ten hits, including Billboard Magazine's #1 song of the year, Look Away.
Basketball arenas are notorious for being lousy concert venues, especially with sound systems back then. This was no exception, especially considering the band's bright brass tone.
It was the 80s, so there was a lot of big hair going on. But the thing I remember most, however, was the wild spandex sleeveless bell-bottomed jumpsuit that James Pankow wore that revealed his 'guns' while played his trombone. He was the 'fashion-forward focal point' of the band, no doubt.
SETLIST:
We Can Last Forever
Look Away
You're Not Alone
I Don't Want To Live Without Your Love
Old Days
Baby What A Big Surprise
Stay The Night
Will You Still Love Me?
Saturday In The Park
Make Me Smile
Hard To Say I'm Sorry
Color My World
25 or 6 to 4
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
Questions 67 & 68
Beginnings
Feeling Stronger Every Day
Just You n Me
Wishing You Were Here
(I've Been) Searching So Long
You're The Inspiration
Alive Again
71. RONNIE MILSAP
"A Conversation With Ronnie Milsap" February 7, 2015 CMA Theater Country Music Hall of Fame Nashville, Tennessee
We weren't sure what to expect from this event. When we entered the CMA Theater, we noticed no piano or other band set-up. Just two chairs, with a small coffee table between them. We were among two hundred museum members who attended the intimate event. Peter Cooper, newly named museum editor, opened the program with a few remarks about the life and accomplishments of Ronnie Milsap before introducing him to us in person:
* 40 Number one hits on the Billboard country music charts, placing him third, behind George Strait and Conway Twitty.
* 8 Country Music Association awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year three times, and Entertainer of the Year in 1977.
* 6 Grammy awards.
* More than 35 million albums sold.
Milsap received a standing ovation as he was ushered into his chair. He was in great spirits, having been recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He started at the beginning, blind at birth and abandoned by his parents, he attended numerous boarding schools. His childhood was difficult, but he learned that he had a gift for music, particularly the piano. He eventually landed in Memphis as a session musician, where he recorded with Elvis Presley, most notably on Kentucky Rain in 1970.
In a chance encounter with Charlie Pride, he was persuaded to move to Nashville, arriving on December 26, 1972. His first gig in the Music City was as headliner at the King of the Road Hotel, where he became an immediate sensation. Ronnie recalled several hilarious stories involving liquor and guest performers such as George Jones, Tom T. Hall and Charlie Rich.
We were rolling in the aisles!!
And the rest is history. He lightly touched on his massive success throughout the next two decades, but he was even more enthusiastic for the future. He was continuing to make music every day of his life. Several times throughout his talk, he gave credit for his ongoing success and happiness to his wife, Joyce, to whom he had been married since the beginning and who had been, quite literally, the guiding force in his life.
No. It was not a concert per se, but to hear such enthusiasm and contentment from this legend was music to our ears.
"Wallflower World Tour"
Ryman Auditorium
"Born And Raised World Tour"
"Chicago 19 Tour"
