Kansas has been touring in support of their 50th year as a band and the release of a retrospective compilation Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas (InsideOut Music). The album contains songs from every album the band has released and after 50 years it takes three full CDs to accomplish that. It should be noted that CDs did not exist when the band started playing music. They also predate the Sony Walkman, the internet, Apple Corporation, MTV, and the MP3. Kansas’ music has a sound that includes hints of Bad Company, The Tubes, Foreigner, and even Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. The question is who influenced who?
A band doesn’t last 50 years without a few changes. Phil Ehart on drums and Rich Williams on guitar are the only two remaining original members but newer member Billy Greer on bass has been with the band since 1985. Ronnie Platt on vocals, Tom Brislin on keyboards, and new this year, Joe Deninzon on violin round out the group. Regrettably, original violinist Robby Steinhardt passed away in 2021 and due to a shoulder injury, Phil Ehart has been sharing stage time with Eric Holmquist who is more than up to the task.
Every musician on the stage is a master of his craft and incredibly talented, but what makes them a band is that they clearly are having a great time playing together. What accounts for their longevity is a lot more than the popularity of a few hit songs. ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ and ‘Dust In The Wind’ are triumphs of composition and justifiably popular, but they are also reflective of the band’s catalogue as a whole. Every song has the potential to be a massive hit and it is a wonder why they aren’t.
Recently Kansas did a two-night stand at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA. The theater itself has roughly 1400 seats and is on the National Register of Historic Places having opened in 1928 as a movie house / Vaudeville. It remains mostly unchanged and its Tudor revival style betrays the predominantly German heritage where it is located just Northwest of Philadelphia. Plenty of parking and restaurants line the street making this a great location for a night out.
As the crowd was filing in, an announcement was made asking to have the flash on cell phones turned off and that the show would be starting in ten minutes. Exactly ten minutes later the lights dimmed and a pulsing rhythm rang out from the low end of the keyboard. The cell phone announcement turned out to be unnecessary as the mostly older crowd sat quietly enjoying the show and not feeling a need to record every moment. The rest of the band progressively joined in and the first song ‘Belexes’ got the evening going. High energy and with a violin part reminiscent of an Irish reel, it set the tone. These guys were not just resting on their laurels, they came to play. Next up was one of the band’s biggest hits, ‘Point Of Know Return’ and they progressed through a twenty one song set. A three-song acoustic set in the middle; punctuated by the hauntingly beautiful ‘Dust In the Wind’, was the only concession given to even thinking about taking a break. As the acoustic set came to an end, Eric Holmquist tagged out and was replaced with original drummer Phil Ehart to enthusiastic applause.
Wrapping up the evening was the encore and song number twenty one ‘Carry On Wayward Son’. This was definitely the biggest hit for Kansas and as such the obvious encore. The audience was not disappointed and erupted in cheers at the first strains of the song. Filing out, the usual grumbles of I wish they had played X were not present. A marathon evening was coming to an end with fans satiated on their diet of a decades-long catalogue.
While the Northeast portion of the tour is coming to an end, the rest of the country is still to come. Dates will continue through the end of January 2024. Ample opportunity remains to catch what has proven to be an incredible evening of music.
Kansas setlist:
Belexes
Point Of Know Return
Play The Game Tonight
Fight Fire With Fire
Icarus- Borne On Wings Of Steel
Icarus II
A Glimpse Of Home
The Pinnacle
Bells of Saint James
Throwing Mountains
People Of The South Wind
Dust In The Wind
Reason To Be
Lonely Wind
Song For America
Can I Tell You
Hold On
Down The Road
The Wall
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Carry On Wayward Son
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WRITTEN BY MATTHEW KOCHEK
PHOTOS BY KIM HANSEN / @pharmadiver