Another Toto Review!!!! San Juan Capistrano

[Rockinreggie]

Reggie Boyle - Toto at The Coach House
Thursday 24 March 2005 18:28
You don't want to do the same old thing over and over again!
Tonight was just more proof how great of a band Toto is. I was lucky enough to experience a Toto soundcheck for the first time. The running joke was how you put such a world class arena rock band on such a small stage.

The venue held only 500 people. It was packed to the rafters with no elbow room at all. That was lucky for the fans but unlucky for Toto. The stage presented problems before the show with no room to move. The band's attitude was that's just the way it is and let's move on. The line up for this night was Steve Lukather (g,v), Bobby Kimball (v), Simon Phillips (d), Mike Porcaro (b), Tony Spinner (g,v) and Greg Phillinganes(k,v).

David Paich was there in body and spirit but on the sidelines for this gig. Paich was nodding approval & gave the band the big thumbs up in sound check as Greg sang lead on Paich's signature song Africa. Greg who's played with Stevie Wonder, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton & Steely Dan asked Paich "Did I pass the test?" Soundcheck was a treat to see Luke up close & being the true professional that he is. They worked out whatever sound problems they had as Luke ran through Toto tunes and a Hendrix interlude before the gig. Paich told me as he leaned up against the sound board that "I'm now a fan of my favorite band Toto"! Luke wasn't completely satisifed with sound check but he said "bad soundcheck, GREAT gig!" And later in the evening he proved that to be true.

Luke told me "we have 5 or 6 songs on the new record finished & it sounds great! It's a little jazz fusion, well no more progressive but with that big Toto sound vocally still there. You don't want to do the same old thing over and over again". The show itself was another page in the Toto history books. This band exudes such high quality musicianship from top to bottom. Luke told the crowd "We've been in the studio for a long time now and this is our first gig in awhile". But it's hard to tell the difference with this band. The two hour set once again left people shaking their heads. No one dared to leave before the end of a long night.

The band pulled out Pamela from the vaults which sounded just as good as ever. It was interesting to see Greg sing lead on Africa in front of a live crowd and he pulled it off without a hitch. There are so many highs in a Toto show but my highlight is seeing them sandwich two classic ballads I won't hold you back and I'll be over you around a rip roaring rocker like Girl goodbye. There aren't many bands especially now that can do that. They hit you soft, hit you really hard and hit you soft again.

This is proven once again in what has become an important part of any Toto show, the medley. The medley changes from show to show so it gives you a different spin. Other highlights were Lukes knock down drag out guitar solo on Africa that was a head shaker for many in the crowd. Simon and Greg also shined in their moments in the spotlight with Greg's solo turning into an interlude of 99.

Setlist: Only the children, Pamela, I won't hold you back, Girl goodbye, I'll be over you, Africa, Greg's solo (99 interlude), Better world, Luke solo, Medley: Angel don't cry/ Carmen/ Dave's gone skiing/ These chains/ Mushanga , Simon solo, Rosanna, Gypsy train, Encore: Hold the line

stevelukather.net, March 24th 2005 For a picture go to:
http://www.stevelukather.net/Review.aspx?id=49