After nearly 60 years, what more is there for a successful Hall of Fame classic rock band to do?
Well, my financial adviser has been working that long, too, with no plans to retire at age 83. I guess for anything in life, you just keep on trucking if it’s in your blood.
A recent warm night proved that in spades, as the latest iteration of Chicago performed all its big hits and more under a full moon for a large enthusiastic crowd at Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles on September 9, a mere two years after its 2023 concert here.
Starting out as the Chicago Transit Authority in 1968, the band morphed from cover tunes to original songs that quickly became a soundtrack for the post-hippie generation.
After numerous personnel changes, fast-forward to 2025 and the band remains as vibrant as ever, even with just three of its original members. The centerpiece of the nine-piece group is certainly the horn section, which was featured prominently at the nearly sold-out show.
Many rock bands have sax players, but Chicago takes it to another level with a trumpet and trombone.
After a short opening set, the band took a 20-minute intermission break that shocked a young concertgoer next to me who had never seen that before. Kids.
But Chicago hit its stride as the moon timely rose above the stage and the party mood crowd found its groove cheering those many songs they came to hear: “Beginnings,” “Hard Habit to Break,” “Feeling Stronger,” “Saturday in the Park,” and “25 or 6 to 4.”
A pretty cool, festive scene for a Tuesday school night.
My only beef, and everybody’s got one, was the ubiquitous, dreaded 10-minute drum solo with not one but two percussionists. So I gotta ask, does anybody really like them? I did back in 1975 at my junior high assembly, but never again.
I get it: the geezers pushing 80 (I say that very lovingly) on stage during long tours need all the breaks they can get.
Still, for us Central Coast live music addicts, their nearly two-and-a-half-hour show was the perfect midweek entertainment fix.