Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire Bring Heart, Soul and Horns to Tampa
The double bill of the Heart and Soul tour of two of America’s best bands that have been on the music scene for over fifty years sold out the Mid-Florida Amphitheatre over the weekend! A combination of over forty hit singles and over 200 million records sold, both are in the Rock & Roll Fame, both started in the windy city of Chicago, and both are pioneers in using horns in rock and R&B bands.
Earth, Wind, and Fire hit the stage first opening with their #1 hit, “Shining Star.” The stage is a multi-level setup to house both of these large groups of musicians. There are a total of twelve players in EWF. Starting with original members Verdine White on bass & vocals, Philip Bailey on percussion and vocals (he had a hit with Phil Collins in 1984 with “Easy Lover”), and Ralph Johnson on vocals & percussion. B. David Whitworth since 1996, Myron McKinley on keys, John Paris on drums, Morris O’Connor and Serg Dimitrijevic on guitars, and Philip Doron Bailey (Philip’s son) on vocals. The horn section is Gary Bias on sax, Bobby Burns, Jr on trumpet, and Reggie Young on trombone. The audience was up dancing from the first tune. The 17-song set included a great bass solo from Verdine White. A musical & video tribute was touching to band founding member Maurice White with “The Way of the World.” The smooth hit “After the Love is Gone,” and by the end of their set, it was a “Boogie Wonderland” all over the Amp with “Let’s Groove Tonight” and the iconic “September.”
Chicago’s ten musicians opened with “Introduction” and “Dialogue Part One & Two’” which was excellent. Reader, I am a fan of the 70’s Chicago in a big way. Robert Lamm’s songs and the late Terry Kath’s vocals and guitar made for some great music. It took me over fifty years to finally see Chicago live and hear some of my all-time favorite songs, along with 15,000 other fans who were singing and dancing along. Original member trombonist James Pankow wrote a mini-rock opera called, “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon” It consists of seven songs both instrumental and lyrical including the haunting “Color My World”, Lee Loughnane trumpet player and original member sings the lead vocal. This is part of the show with colorful big-screen graphics adding to the sound. The setlist continues with hit after hit from “Hard Habit to Break”, to “Beginnings”, “Saturday in the Park” and closing their set with “Feeling Stronger Every Day”.
As if this hasn’t been a great show already, don’t shortchange yourself and leave after the Chicago set is finished, or you will really miss out! Joining together in an encore of each other’s tunes with over twenty musicians on stage together, everyone was on their feet! Just a couple of the crowd favorites included EWF’s hit “Sing a Song,” with the singers trading lines, and Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is.” This is one of the best tours of the summer! Check out Chicago the Band and Earth Wind and Fire.
Vicky Sullivan Photos