Bands frequently pair up to co-headline concerts to goose ticket sales. But Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago provided a true bonus for a near sold-out Ameris Bank Amphitheatre audience by banding together at the end of the concert like musical Avengers Monday night.
The result: 22 musicians including seven percussionists and six brass performers totaling more than 500 years of collective stage experience.
For folks who left early to beat traffic or to get to bed on a work night, the solo sets alone were certainly worth the price of admission.
But they missed a virtuoso 20-minute musical concoction that was an ebony and ivory combo of two bands from different worlds with more commonalities than meets the eye.
Both emanated from the 1970s, blending a pastiche of musical styles into unique combinations. Each boast hefty brass ensembles and heavy percussion. Both are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for good reason. And each has three original members in their 70s still in touring shape.
Credit: ROB STE
Credit: ROB STE
This is their third time touring together after stints in 2004 and 2015 and it’s clear they love and respect each other. As equals on tour, the bands rotate who goes first. In Atlanta, Earth, Wind & Fire got the honors, hitting the stage first at 7:35 p.m. with “Shining Star” and not letting the energy flag for 70 minutes.
Over 17 songs, the band highlighted its innate ability to fuse the worlds of funk, R&B and dance with a message of unity and love, sampling many of its 38 top 40 R&B hits between 1973 and 1993. The expansive 12-member band played off each other with seamless ease. Original member and bassist Verdine White remains a compelling stage presence, wearing a cape and a perpetual smile on his face. He even did an extended bass solo, wiggling his butt like a man decades younger. Lead singer and percussionist Philip Bailey’s range remains unmatched, his high notes piercing the night sky during “Reasons.” And drummer Ralph Johnson, dressed like a band leader from the 1930s, cut a regal father figure.
Their timeless sound is personified by “September,” a 1978 standard that seems to have only gotten more popular with each passing year, landing a permanent spot on DJ party playlists. The band smartly concluded its 17-song set list with that song, ranked No. 65 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc
Chicago followed up with a trip through their massive array of hits. Are they a progressive, experimental rock band? Are they a jazz group? Are they a soft pop act with a penchant for treacly ballads? Yes. Over 20 songs in an efficient 70 minutes with minimal banter, this ensemble of 10 highlighted all three aspects of the band’s multipronged personality.
There were a few extended improvised jam moments, a long drum solo and all sorts of jazzy interludes. From “Beginnings” to “Old Days” to “If You Leave Me Now,” the 1970s were largely represented. They rocked out hard on a cover of the Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man,” which Chicago first performed in the late 1960s when they were still Chicago Transit Authority. And the crowd embraced the ever joyful “Saturday in the Park.”
Neil Donell, the band’s lead tenor since 2018, doesn’t quite make you forget Peter Cetera, who left the band nearly four decades ago, and evokes a slight lounge singer vibe. But on the bright side, his range is impressive and he hit all of Cetera’s vocal highlights.
The most entertaining member of the band is trombonist James Pankow, 77, who helped start Chicago 57 years ago. His showmanship was on full display throughout the entire set as he played with gusto, then grooving to every beat when he wasn’t actually playing. Fellow original member Robert Lamm, 79-year-old keyboardist and vocalist, carried a bit of a stiff gait but made it clear he was nowhere near ready for retirement.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
The band avoided almost all of its many 1980s hits save for three of the big ballads “Hard Habit to Break,” “You’re the Inspiration” and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” when drummer Ramon “Ray” Yslas amusingly raised his smartphone and waved the flashlight app, the visual equivalent of a Bic lighter back in the day. The audience responded in turn with a sea of lights, singing along lustily to the 42-year-old No. 1 song.
Credit: RDONEY HO@
Credit: RDONEY HO@
The six-song combo finale featured so many musicians, it became a visual cacophony but a musical delight. There was vocalist B. David Whitworth running around with a tambourine, throwing it in the air and always catching it. Lamm whipped out a keytar and jammed with a grinning White. There was a sax off between Gary Bias and Ray Herrmann you never knew you needed.
Sadly, it ended way too soon, finishing with the one-two punch of “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “25 or 6 to 4.” And after numerous bows, the bands were able to get the graying audience out of Ameris before 11 p.m.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
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