Big bands have a blast sharing stage
Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago show there’s plenty of life in old songs
There were 21musicians from Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire who took over the stage at the start of the bands’ BMO Harris Bradley Center show on Thursday.
But there was one person whose absence initially loomed larger than the presence of any individual — Maurice White, Fire’s founder and chief songwriter, who died Feb. 4 at 74.
When the time came for Fire to pay tribute during its 65-minute set, no one in the band said a word.
Instead, pictures of Maurice White in his heyday — before Parkinson’s disease forced him to quit touring in 1994 — appeared on the screens above the stage over muted music. The fans’ warm cheers said it all.
And so did the song that followed, “That’s the Way of the World.” Because what’s the need for a band member to say a few words when Maurice White, in essence, can speak for himself through his lyrics?
“You will find/Peace of mind/If you look down/In your heart and soul,” Fire vocalist Philip Bailey sang. It was one of several songs Thursday whose optimism, accented by spirited funk arrangements, was so unflinching, it could overcome anything — even loss.
Credit is due to Maurice White for crafting songs that endured, but the 12 Fire musicians Thursday ensured they sounded as fresh as they had in the beginning. “Boogie Wonderland” morphed into a shaking samba, and Bailey’s falsetto, with its silky coos and opera-worthy cracks, was remarkable all night, especially during a rousing “Reasons.”
It was a hard set to top, even for a band like Chicago, slated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next week. Its musical dexterity is as celebrated as its hits, but the songs aren’t as flashy, resulting in a few sagging moments Thursday.
Lou Pardini and Keith Howland’s melodramatic singing was borderline hammy. But Tris Imboden and Walfredo Reyes Jr. seemed almost superhuman jamming on drums and percussion for an extended outro to “I’m a Man,” while Ray Herrmann had a standout moment with a jazzy baritone sax solo in “Street Player.”
But the show was at its best Thursday when Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire joined forces at night’s beginning and end. Aside from the sheer force of so many people, and horn players in particular, rocking out together, the pairing forced the musicians to play at their best, or else risk being upstaged.
That resulted in a nimble bass duel between Chicago’s Jason Scheff and Fire’s Verdine White for show opener (and Chicago song) “Beginnings,” and a meaty guitar battle for Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” at show’s end. Chicago co-founder Robert Lamm, keytar in hand, loved singing along to Fire’s “September,” while Bailey and his Fire singers offered buttery falsetto harmonies to Chicago’s “Free.”
At the end of a breathless 25-minute finale that also covered Fire’s “Sing a Song” and Chicago’s “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” the bands channeled every last ounce of energy into a highflying free-for-all. The bands’ horn sections danced madly and puffed their chests. Philip Bailey Jr. wigged out with a tambourine. Verdine White ripped into his bass while grooving like a crab at a country hoedown.
No doubt Maurice White would be beaming.