Toto is for sure not an unknown name among music lovers! Through a 30-year long career they have delivered 21 releases, a wide number of hit singles, and massive tours all over the world. They’ve always been loved by the public, but have always been hated by the media … don’t know the reason for that! A band that has such qualities as Toto should not be a target for so much bullshit! Anyway, Toto convinced every soul in the crowd this Saturday night. They performed a show that will be remembered in many ways!
It was over a year since the band released their latest studio record, called Falling In Between, and this summer they went out on the road again. The tour also brought them to Norway, where they played 4 venues. Among those places was the city of Trondheim. Toto were headliners for Olavs Festdagene, a festival that takes places every year in August. It became a great night, though there were less people there than expected, about 6000.
Toto entered the stage at 22.00, highly welcomed by the audience. The band seemed to enjoy the stage and this infected the audience as well, though the crowd didn’t retain the enthusiasm all the way through the concert. Toto sounded terrific all night and played one hit after the other. Among the first songs in the set was the song “Stop Loving You” from the 1988 release The Seventh One. They did a very nice version and even began to show off a little during a jam at the end of the song. It was really interesting watching such great musicians jam.
This night they had a legendary bass player filling in for Mike Porcaro, none less than Leland Sklar. He did a great job for sure and made the foundation of Toto’s music float together with drummer Simon Phillips. He is mostly known for his work with many musicians, such as Phil Collins, BB King, and David Bowie. More fantastic songs followed this one, like the tune “Pamela” that appeared on the same album, and the newer “Caught In The Balance.” The title track from their 2006 release; Falling In Between, was also played to the joy of the crowd. The version of “Don’t Chain My Heart” should not be forgotten! The catchy melody and chorus did really hit the crowd and a little sing-a-long erupted. Then the band faded into another jam, which started to feel a little redundant so far out in the set … after all, there had been a jam on every previous song!
“Rosanna” is known to be one of the band’s greatest hits and was much awaited among the 6000 strong crowd. Once again, the band showed off what great musicians they are during a very remarkable version of the song that will be remembered for sure! The first verse was dominated by a very special Jazz chord progression, and the only way you could figure out what song they actually played were through the lyrics. Coming into the second verse, they started playing the old version, which should be a real satisfaction after the weird first verse, but it wasn’t! The song was too slow and the amazing drum groove that made this song so special didn’t work out at all. No offense to Simon Phillips and his drums skills, because it was the slow tempo that ruined the classic drum groove. Anyway, it must be said that messing with a classic like this is unforgivable. Sure it’s quite understandable that playing the same song for 25 years can get boring, but after all, the audience didn’t come to hear a version they can’t recognize.
One of the last songs was nothing less than “Hold The Line,” and people started singing. A great choir filled the air over the venue at Trondheim Torg and began to bring forth the concert feeling. The song that would end the show was “Africa,” which wasn’t unexpected. This is one of the greatest songs that have come from the band’s 30-year long career, and it was welcomed among the audience with great applause. Quite ironically it started to rain during the chorus. It resulted in a very unforgettable moment as well! Like so many songs earlier in the show, this tune did also degenerate into a long jam.
All in all, this was a concert that should be remembered by the audience in a positive and negative way. It was too experimental to the people that came to hear the songs and not the long jams. Anyway, Toto has always been the band for the musicians, and it was quite interesting listening to the great musicianship within the band through their instrumental show offs. Though even for the musicians in the crowd, it became too long. The band didn’t only jam during the songs, they even put in a 15-minute long instrumental jam halfway inro the concert. One important thing that definitely should be mentioned is that the volume was not exactly loud and that was a relief, actually, because you could discern the details of the music. But, on the other hand, you didn’t get the same “punch” that a Rock concert should give you.
Line-up:
Steve Lukather – Vocals/guitars
Bobby Kimball – Vocals
Greg Philinganes – piano/keyboards/vocals
Leland Sklar – Bass guitar
Simon Phillips – Drums
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