Although only one original band member was on the Meijer Gardens stage Thursday night, the prog-rock-hued favorite made the most its return to the amphitheater. Review, photos.
Recalling the MTV Era: Ronnie Platt and Kansas at Meijer Gardens. (Photo/Jamie Geybeek)
SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTO GALLERY, SET LIST
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Just after the opening number, the lead singer for Kansas had an important question to ask the audience at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
“How many of you remember MTV?” asked Ronnie Platt.
Plenty of hands went up among the sold-out audience on Thursday evening.
“How many of you remember when MTV played music?” Platt asked again.
Instead of fewer hands, even more were lifted into the air.
It was a reminder that for both entertainers and audience, the evening was entirely about another time and another place — not quite “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” but of the era that made that phrase famous.
As the blockbuster film, “Star Wars,” debuted with those words in 1977, Kansas was at the top of the rock music world with the recently released “Carry On Wayward Son,” followed shortly after by “Point of Know Return” and then “Dust in the Wind,” all rising to the top of the charts.
For that matter, when MTV debuted in August 1981, “Hold On” was still on the charts. Its album “Audio-Visions,” released 11 months earlier, would be the final studio album to be certified as a gold record by the band from Topeka.
Kansas was welcomed warmly in West Michigan on Thursday on a beautiful summer evening that was nearly perfect for an outdoor concert.
“It’s been a minute since we’ve been here,” remarked bass player Billy Greer. “But it’s one of our favorite venues in the world.”
Sure, that’s a greeting that audiences have come to expect. But in the lovely setting of the Meijer Gardens amphitheater, it’s genuinely believable.
Not ‘Dust in the Wind’ Quite Yet: Kansas unleashing its arsenal of favorites. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
Kansas, the album-oriented rock band from the heartland that spent the equivalent of four years on the U.S. Billboard charts, playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums worldwide, returned to Grand Rapids with a sold-out show for an audience that well remembers the 1970s and ’80s.
Only two original remembers remain, and only guitarist Rich Williams was on stage Thursday. Drummer Eric Holmquist is filling in this summer for founding drummer Phil Ehart. Youngsters Zak Rizvi on co-lead guitar with Williams, and Joe Deninzon on violin and rhythm guitar were the exciting soloists who supplied much of the magic for the evening. Platt, Kansas’ lead singer for the past 10 years, makes a capable replacement for Steve Walsh.
Sixteen songs and precisely 90 minutes of music were enough to remind the audience of the expansive power of the progressive rock era. “Point of Know Return” from the album of the same name opened the evening with a crackle of energy in the fading evening light, and “Carry On Wayward Son” ended the show with the crowd on its feet in the dark, with hundreds of cell phones illuminating the scene.
“Song for America,” originally 10 minutes long on its 1975 release, later edited down to three minutes for radio, fell somewhere in between on Thursday, but with sufficient bombast for hardcore fans. No doubt they were pleased as well with “Can I Tell You,” the very first track on Kansas’ debut album, a demo that caught the ear of Don Kirshner with its mixed meters and soaring violin leads, and launched the group’s career.
Though Kansas had several hit singles, the group’s biggest fans also enjoyed the album cuts. Today’s Kansas lineup gave a solid and exciting performance of “Miracles Out of Nowhere” from “Leftoverture” with Platt and Greer sharing the vocals and the entire band contributing deftly on the fugue-derived instrumental interlude.
Billy Greer dedicated the performance of “Down the Road” to original violinist and singer Robby Steinhardt who died in 2021. Steinhardt sang lead on the original recording, one of several earlier members who have since retired or passed away but are warmly remembered by the group’s fans.
Grand Haven’s Elijah Russ – a man, an acoustic guitar and special effects creating virtual background singers – opened the evening with a half-dozen songs, five originals and one cover of the Temptation’s “It’s All Right.” Russ oozed a nice James Taylor vibe with an unadorned style that’s just right for singer-songwriters. His songs “Brilliant Mind,” inspired by a friend who died in her early 20s, and “Smile” about an unexpected breakup on a road trip, were thoughtfully crafted and entertaining.
Classic rock fans expect to hear the hits, and Kansas did not disappoint. With the opening of “Dust in the Wind,” a song that originated as an exercise for finger picking on guitar, much of the audience slowly rose to its feet in silent reverence for the band that has given so much pleasure and excitement to its fans.
Certainly, we’ll all end up as dust in the wind. Just not yet.
PHOTO GALLERY: Kansas, Elijah Russ at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Jamie Geysbeek
SET LIST: Kansas at Meijer Gardens
Setlist.fm
Copyright 2024, Spins on Music LLC
