ST. LOUIS—We got to take a little time off on Tuesday, August 20, and make a quick trip to St. Louis, not to see our usual Broadway touring show or Celtic Thunder, but to see the legendary rock band, Toto.
This is absolutely my favorite band and has been since 1978. They’re on their 35-year tour and the venue closest to us was St. Louis. Last month, on the day they announced ticket sales, I watched the seats at the River City Casino selling very quickly on Ticketmaster, so I told Jack “We buy em now or we’ll have to drive all the way to Ohio.” He told me to get three, we’d find someone to go with us. That someone was Jade, my beautiful kid. And in a minute, you’ll see what a wise decision that was.
Steve Porcaro on keyboards
We were allowed to take cell phones in to the theater and could take video and snap photos. The only thing that we observed wasn’t allowed were the larger, professional-type video cameras; they were too big and bulky, security explained, and were obstructing the view of the stage.
Bass player Nathan East
Cell phone cameras aren’t the best things to be taking photos with in a theater and at a stage that had an incredible light show going on, with strobes, moving spots, cels, etc. Still, we took quite a few pics, as you see here.
A shot of the whole band during “Hold the Line”
Toto has been around since before 1978, but they actually formed as a band in that year, and released the self-titled Toto. That was followed in quick succession by Hydra, Turn Back, and the amazing Toto IV that won tons of Grammys in 1983…the last year the Grammys had anyone worth a damn winning the awards. Music has taken a downward turn since the mid-80s, and bands like Toto found themselves competing for airplay with the likes of trash music like Madonna and the various rap artists that seemed to take over in the 90s.
My one shot of the amazing drummer Simon Phillips (hard to take a pic of someone who moves as fast and as often as he does), this during “Stop Loving You” from The Seventh One
LUKE…
Toto has undergone a number of changes over the years. The initial albums featured the mainstays of the band, guitarist/vocalist Steve Lukather, keyboards/vocalist David Paich and keyboards/synths Steve Porcaro. Bobby Kimball was an early vocalist, later replaced on Fahrenheit (the sixth album) by Joseph Williams, who is in the above photo as the lead vocalist on this tour. Bass player Mike Porcaro is no longer able to perform, as he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Replacing him on bass is the incredible Nathan East, who is also a gifted vocalist. And of course, the third Porcaro, Jeff, died in August of 1992, something the band feels to this day. But joining them shortly thereafter was Simon Phillips, who is an amazing drummer and likely one of the few in the field comparable to Porcaro.
Steve Lukather and Nathan East during “Home of the Brave”
The band is an absolute sensation overseas throughout Europe. Europeans seem to have a taste for the better music America produces, while Americans eschew their best bands. Apparently America would rather listen to bobblehead acts like Lady Gaga, and let the most incredibly talented musicians, singers and songwriters languish in relative obscurity. However, you wouldn’t have thought that of last night’s concert. The audience was on their feet most of the time, and when they weren’t singing with nearly every song (at least I was; there wasn’t one they played that I didn’t know….but then I’m a major fan of 35 years) they were screaming with their support. Granted, we were a bunch of 50- and 60-somethings, but we know how to rock.
Nathan and Luke again
I finally got up from seating and went to the stage, as I believed “Home of the Brave” from The Seventh One was going to be the last song, and it was.
Lukather during “Home of the Brave”
At the stage, I was able to get some better shots than I’d been getting all evening. Jade came down to join me, kind of on a whim. And when that happened, she caught Steve Lukather’s eye. So he sent a guy out with backstage passes.
Yep. One for both of us.
Jade and Mr. Lukather
They were staying at a downtown hotel and asked if we wanted to come up for a drink; so we tooled on over there and sat down with Lukather and Porcaro, both of whom were entertained by our paper. We left a copy of last month’s issue with them and they made their way back to their rooms at about midnight, because they had to get on a bus at 7 this morning to get to the next destination.
Mr. Lukather and myself
But not before we took pics.
Me and Mr. Porcaro
Nice guys, more talent than can be described, an amazing show….wish they toured the U.S. more often. But they have my undying gratitude for a fantastic evening of entertainment that we needed in the midst of all the stress and turmoil we have to endure on a regular basis. Thanks, guys…you really are the best.