In 2018, Toto will celebrate 40 years together. They will be releasing a new album and tour to coincide with the special event. In the meantime, the band is currently on the road and stopped by the Paramount in Peekskill, NY this past Friday night.
What makes Toto special is the diversity they present. The first three songs were sang by three separate vocalists: lead vocalist Joseph Williams, guitarist Steve Lukather and keyboardist David Paich. This was a common occurrence throughout as all three took turns singing lead but primarily, Williams had the role for the most part. Lukather dedicated “Lovers in the Night” to all the people in love or the people who will be falling in love. It was nice to see Lukather’s bandmate from the Ringo All Star band in Warren Ham join Toto on this run of dates. Ham definitely adds a nice dynamic on the sax and clarinet. They also had the very talented Lenny Castro on percussion who had an opportunity to show his stuff as well.
The band’s set list was as diverse as the band as it was spread out over their entire career, concluding with two songs off of Toto XIV with “Chinatown” and “Great Expectations.” Lukather had a nice moment and really gave the Jimi Hendrix Experience song “Red House” a refreshing look with only the rhythm section backing him. Lukather has played on thousands of recordings and doesn’t get his just due on how solid he is as a guitarist. Lukather also took liberty with most of the banter between the songs, making jokes like “who still has nostrils left from the ’80s?”
Williams’ voice was solid and hit the high parts when needed and also had perfect pitch and melody for the ballads. Pasich was kidding around all night and dancing around when he was not playing.
When bands do introductions, they often seem to be mundane for the most part. Most don’t know but lots of the guys in Toto have worked on other artists songs as well. A medley of various songs were played when doing the introductions to give the set a little different flavor.
The band ended their set with a few of the biggest hits not only of their career but of the entire 1980s in both “Rosanna” and “Africa.” Overall, it was a solid show put on by a band who has seen it all and done it all. A fun show that must be attended if it comes to your area!
Setlist:
Only the Children
Hold the Line
Afraid of Love
Lovers in the Night
Pamela
I’ll be Over You
Chinatown
Great Expectations
Red House (Jimi Hendrix experience cover)
Stop Loving You/(Hakuna Matata -Lion King movie snippet),( Jaws theme snippet), (Lowdown -Boz Scaggs snippet), To Be Real – Cherl Lynn snippet), (Human Nature – Michael Jackson snippet), and (She’s a Beauty – The Tubes snippet)
99
The Muse
Home of the Brave
Rosanna
I’ll Supply the Love
Africa
We would like to thank Steve Karas from SKH Publicity for the credentials to review the show.
