White Concert Hall
Topeka, Kansas
02/07/09By Jeb Wright
Set List:
Magnum Opus Intro/Howling at the
Moon | Belexes | Point of Know Return | Song for America |
Musicatto | Ghosts/Rainmaker | Cheyenne Anthem | Hold
On/Peaceful and Warm | On the Other Side | Nobody's Home |
Icarus II | Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel) | Incomudro
Intro/The Wall | Fight Fire with Fire | Miracles Out of Nowhere
| Dust In the Wind | Carry On Wayward Son | Down the Road
A full moon loomed eerily over
Washburn University's White Concert Hall on the evening of
February 7th. The hazy skies, lit only by the yellow
orb, greeted Kansas' biggest fans as they shuffled into the
arena to witness a special one-off performance being recorded
for an upcoming DVD release. If one listened carefully, one
could literally hear the Kansas faithful pausing before
entering, and howling at the moon.
The cause for excitement was
twofold. The prodigal son's had returned home for a sold out
performance commemorating their 35th anniversary. In
addition to this, the fans were going to be able to witness
former members Kerry Livgren and Steve Morse share the stage
with the band during the filming of the DVD. When the lights
went down, and original members Richard Williams, Phil Ehart and
Steve Walsh took the stage, along with stalwarts Billy Greer and
David Ragsdale, the crowd responded with the first of many
standing ovations.
The band opened with "Magnum
Opus" and "Howling at the Moon" from Kansas' multi-platinum
release Leftoverture. The orchestra kicked in under the
guidance of conductor Larry Baird and it became clear just how
special this concert was going to be. The Washburn University
Orchestra all donned tuxedos, but instead of bringing a stuffy,
classical music atmosphere to the event, they came to rock.
Kansas performed "Belexes" from their 1974 debut album.
Sandwiched in between the song was an instrumental passage of
"Lightning's Hand" from the triple-platinum Point of Know
Return. That albums title track followed. The popular
tune, spiced up with a rambunctious arrangement from the college
kids, had everyone singing along with every word.
"Song For America," a complex
composition with many complicated passages, was performed
flawlessly. Technical difficultly in the recording process,
however, demanded that after the show the band and orchestra
redo the intro, which they, once again, did without flaw.
Former Kansas guitarist, and current Deep Purple axe-slinger,
Steve Morse, joined his former group onstage performing the
blazing "Musicatto" from 1986's
Power
album. Morse stuck around for the emotional rendition of two
songs, performed intertwined with each other, from the band's
underappreciated In the
Spirit of Things album.
"Ghosts" and "Rainmaker," both penned by vocalist/keyboardist
Steve Walsh, Steve Morse and legendary producer Bob Ezrin, were
one of the highlights of the evening. Walsh sang his heart out
on the song and the emotional refrain of 'Rainmaker' filled the
arena with energy.
At the end of the song, Morse
waved to the crowd and left the stage. Guitarist Rich Williams
leaned over his stationary acoustic and began strumming the
opening chords to the haunting intro of "Cheyenne Anthem." The
song starts slow but bounces and bounds through many different
movements before returning to the somber acoustic. Steve Walsh,
then, introduced original Kansas member, and chief songwriter,
Kerry Livgren. The band kicked into "Hold On" from 1982's gold
selling Audio Visions.
Livgren smiled as he blasted out the distorted solo. Anytime
Kansas plays with Livgren it is special, but on this night,
Kerry joined the band for a total of four songs instead of the
usual "Dust in the Wind" and "Carry On Wayward Son." Once "Hold
On" was finished, however, the mustachioed musician disappeared
stage right and did not return for several songs.
Kansas began "On the Other Side"
with an intro written for band and orchestra but it was Walsh
who stole the show on this tune. The song, lyrically spiritual,
is a musical feast of all Kansas has to offer. A rarely
performed song, "Nobody's Home," was given a beautiful
orchestral arrangement while "Icarus II" and "Icarus: Borne on
Wings of Steel" followed. Both
Icarus'
are fan favorites, with the
previous representing Kansas' last studio album,
Somewhere to Elsewhere,
and the former bringing back memories from 1975's
Masque.
Kerry Livgren sneaked back on
stage and played pipe organ for an excerpt of "Incomudro" from
Song For America.
The song segued into the classic "The Wall." At the end of the
tune, Livgren, once again, disappeared. The poppy "Fight Fire
With Fire" was given an orchestral treatment and while the song
didn't work as well as hoped for, the arrangement was bold and
daring.
Another Kansas staple, "Miracles
Out of Nowhere" was up next. Kansas would need a miracle just
to get through this one. After building to a climax, just past
the point where Greer hits two harmonics on his bass guitar, the
song fell apart. In a normal live concert, the band would have
sucked it up and went on, doing their best to get through the
rough spot. But tonight's performance was being recorded for
posterity. After the mistake, the song slowly clumped to an
awkward end. Steve Walsh could not help but laugh out loud at
the mishap. After a few moments of confusion, and silent chaos,
Walsh hit an elongated note on his keyboard, allowing the
editors a suitable place to splice together the first half with
take two. When Greer and band got to the very spot the train
wreck originally occurred, they smoothly sailed by it while the
crowd cheered in delight and gave them a mid-song standing
ovation. It was a unique and warm moment between the band and
fans. One never knows what will happen during a live
recording. Seeing Kansas overcome an embarrassing mistake and
carry on was inspiring.
After the song, Livgren, once
again, joined the band on stage, this time donning an acoustic
guitar. Williams and Livgren played the intro to "Dust in the
Wind." The surprise of the evening came during the violin
solo. Tonight, the Kansas faithful were treated to a duet on
the violin between David Ragsdale and Steve Morse. Morse,
looking much less confident with a small piece of wood and a bow
than he does with an electric guitar, played standing next to
the accomplished Ragsdale. The evening ended with a rousing
version of "Carry On Wayward Son." This is not a song one would
think would go well with an orchestra but Baird and Kansas made
it work. Instead of softening the song with strings, the
orchestra kicked it up a notch and played with the same power
and fury on their unplugged instruments as Williams, Ragsdale
and Livgren did on their electric guitars.
After, yet another, standing
ovation, it was announced to the crowd to stay put, as there
were some technical difficulties during the evenings recording
process. The band returned and went through a few minor
adjustments for the benefit of the cameras and crew. Just when
it appeared the evening was going to end, drummer Ehart began
banging out the beat to "Down the Road" from
Song for America.
The surprise addition was just what was needed to end the
evening on an upbeat note, satisfying the fans desire for yet
another musical surprise.
Kansas returned to White Concert
Hall, in their hometown of Topeka, a venue where they performed
before they ever signed a recording contract, and took the
audience on a musical journey, performing at least one song from
every album (sans Vinyl
Confession). The band
thrilled their audience by having ex-members sit in with them
and playing songs not expected to make the set list. The energy
between audience and band was in abundance, raising the level of
awareness for the musicians on stage, whether they played
electric or classical instruments.
At the end of the day, there were
no tornadoes, witches, munchkins or wizards. However, Kansas
proved you don't need red ruby slippers to know there's no place
like home.
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