“This band started on the south side of Chicago!” exclaimed Styx keyboard player Lawrence Gowan earlier this month on stage during a homecoming performance at Allstate Arena. “You are the people that have kept this music alive for decades now and we love that. So, let them hear you out on Lake Michigan right now!”
Amidst a co-headlining tour set to resume Saturday, August 22 in Oklahoma, one scheduled to run into early September, the Rosemont, Illinois tour stop acted as a homecoming of sorts for hitmakers Styx and Chicago as they set off on the current “The Windy Cities” jaunt.
With both famously forming in the Chicagoland area, Styx songs are responsible for a staggering 54 million albums sold worldwide over the course of more than five decades. Chicago, on the other hand, has sold in excess of 100 million, with both groups standing today as two of the biggest rock acts of the 1970s and early 80s.
“When we started here in [the city of] Chicago, we started out in the clubs like everyone else,” explained co-founding Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane on stage, setting up the group’s take on the timeless Jackie Wilson song “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (a cut recorded largely in the city of Chicago). “In every balcony that there is, stand up and sing it!”
While Loughnane stands as Chicago’s sole remaining original member joining the group on the road today, Styx touts a core trio which includes bassist Chuck Panozzo, guitarist J.Y. Young and longtime guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw.
“One more piece of Styx history,” said Gowan on stage in Rosemont. “It started in the basement of the family Panozzo,” he continued. “How’s that for a hometown welcome, Chuck?” said Gowan of the raucous crowd response while setting up “Come Sail Away” late in the Styx set.
Out of keys tickled from atop a rotating riser by Gowan, Shaw offered up the acoustic intro to “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” with four guitarists soon marching together to the foot of the stage as showman Gowan drove the track to completion via soaring synths.
“That was from our newest release,” remarked Gowan soon after as Styx wrapped up “Build and Destroy” from last year’s studio album Circling From Above, the group’s 18th. “That’s the kind of noise we expect outta you!”
The crowd response would only grow louder as Styx followed with the Dennis DeYoung-penned “Lady,” a performance which featured five of the group’s seven voices on harmony throughout.
With the crowd supplying the necessary claps, Shaw led Styx through a ripping take on “Too Much Time on my Hands,” bringing the crowd back to its feet. Drummer Todd Sucherman soon pounded out the earliest moments of “The Grand Illusion.” A spotlight found itself on Shaw, who soloed away during the title track to the band’s 1977 classic.
Gowan’s brother Terry Gowan handled bass on “Rockin’ the Paradise” while Shaw added banjo to “Our Wonderful Lives.”
Following “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” Lawrence Gowan kicked off “Come Sail Away” as Styx headed to encore, cruising toward completion with a murderer’s row of hits. “Too much technology!” came the familiar lyric as Styx tore through “Mr. Roboto” en route to the poppy rock stomp that is “Renegade” to close the 90 minute set.
“Thank you so much,” said Shaw in the set’s closing moments just outside Chicago. “I mean it.”
For nearly two hours, Chicago songs reminded fans just how many hits the band has created over the course of nearly six decades.
“Thank you, Robert Lamm for another one of your great songs!” read the screen flanking Chicago as the group completed “Dialogue (Part I & II)” on stage at Allstate Arena.
Lamm wrapped up a 58 year run on stage with Chicago last year. But the current 10-piece ensemble masterfully recreates the group’s canon of hits each night live on stage.
While newcomer Rudy Cardenas does the heavy lifting in terms of lead vocals, six members of the group share in Chicago’s rich vocal harmonies each night.
“We brought some guest artists as you may have noticed. The Cover Girls!” said saxophone player Ray Herrmann, introducing the five-piece female string ensemble who helped flesh out cuts like “If You Leave Me Now.” “So, enjoy the night and have a good time!”
Hermann moved to flute as Loughnane nailed a late solo, fueling a jazzy interlude during “Make Me Smile.” Slide trombone shined later during “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”
Loughnane paused for a moment to recognize woodwind player Walter Parazaider who passed away this past June. “He stood next to me for 45 years,” said the trumpet player. “But, because of you, our audience, this band has had hits in so many different decades. So, let’s pick one!”
Moving toward the 80s, Chicago rolled out the David Foster-produced “Hard Habit to Break,” with bassist Eric Baines joining Cardenas on the vocal. Continuing with the Foster hits, guitarist Tony Obrohta, left leg up on the monitor, unfurled a scorching late solo as Chicago continued the look back with former bassist Peter Cetera’s poppier side in “You’re The Inspiration.”
Vintage photos of the Chicago Theatre ran on screen as “Old Days” rang out in Rosemont just about a mile north of O’Hare Airport. But the biggest pop hit as photos of Demon Dogs appeared, a legendary Chicago hot dog stand owned by former Chicago manager Pete Schivarelli that was located on Fullerton Avenue near DePaul University (where Loughnane and several band members first crossed paths in 1967).
“Here’s another one we used to do in the clubs,” mused Loughnane late. “This one didn’t even make the first album!” he continued, referencing the group’s infamous 1969 studio debut as Chicago Transit Authority while setting up the group’s take on Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m A Man.” Percussion that would make Carlos Santana smile was front and center on the cover as Obrohta added tambourine to dueling cowbell, with percussionists Wally Reyes Jr. and Ray Yslas repeatedly swapping seats while maintaining the beat throughout an on stage clinic in rock percussion.
“Thank you Jimmy Pankow for that great song!” read the screen as Chicago continued the hit parade with “Just You ‘n’ Me,” remembering the co-founding trombone player who remains in the fold despite recently wrapping up touring duties.
As the crowd waved a combination of phones and lighters in the air, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” gave way to “Get Away,” with Chicago tearing through a rollicking retelling of one of Cetera’s more resonant ballads.
With no shortage of hits, Chicago continued the look back with “Saturday in the Park,” ultimately returning from encore with “Free” (with the crowd clapping along during the former).
But saving the best for last, Obrohta offered up a spot on rendition of one of the most stolen, and criminally underrated, guitar riffs in rock history, channeling the late Terry Kath as Chicago wrapped up on stage in the Windy City with the gritty, jarring, beautifully rocking intro to “25 or 6 to 4.”
“Chicago! What a night for live music. We are so happy to be back home with the legendary Styx!” exclaimed Hermann early. “We started here, we’re playing here,” added Loughnane later. “Thanks for coming tonight.”