This band has a huge set up with 7 members on stage that includes Phil Ehart’s double kick bass on a beautiful baby blue kit. Tom Brislin (Meat Loaf, Yes, Patti Rothberg, Camel) has been with the band since 2018. He has at least 6 keyboards that I can see. They have a unique set up with no mic in center stage. Five of the seven members sang. The lead singer was behind a keyboard located beside the drummer for half of the songs. This venue is a seated auditorium so no one was standing. The venue holds 3,217 people. I estimate there were about 2,500 people in attendance. This is an older crowd which is to be expected with more than 50 years of music. My 11 year old son, Max, had to be one of the youngest in the audience.
The first song started with the venue completely in the dark. They gave a short introduction and went right into Point Of No Return. Ronnie Platt, the singer since Steve Walsh’s retirement in 2014, did a fantastic job. He is formally the singer of the rock band Shooting Star which is also from the state of Kansas. Ronnie went around introducing each member of the band. Rich Williams got a standing ovation. He and Phil are the only 2 original members that appear on every album.
Kansas Photo Gallery
They played deep cuts from every album. He Said some of the songs have not been played in fifty years. That was a nice surprise.
Joe Deninzon is the band’s violin player but he switched to guitar and back violin often. Ronnie, Phil, and Rich sat on a stool to start a semi-acoustic part of the show with the song People Of The South Wind. Everyone stood up and clapped for Dust In The Wind.
Song For America brought back the electrified rock and it sounded fantastic. The venue was built with acoustics In mind in 1951 and it sounds just as good today as it did then. An older guy behind me said “I wish I could tell you how many times I played that on my 8-track player!”
Everyone was on their feet and cheering until the encore which was the band’s biggest hit, Wayward Son!
