As a former DJ, I was excited to see one of my forever fav's, Chicago. But they were a little disappointing - maybe I was expecting too much? Show blows open the curtains with a stage full of talent as both groups team up on three of their best. Then Chicago leaves the stage and EWF kicks off a "don't dare sit down" hour-long set. On my 1-10 forever scale, EWF was a 4.3. They are now a 7.8. It was a well produced, excitingly executed show for them and the 3 remaining 40-year original veterans were definately the stars. Philip Bailey still has an incredible range from bass to ceiling-crashing falsetto. But "Mr Personality" for the show was fellow vet Verdine White. He and his incredible bass guitar were dancing all over the stage while pounding out those tummy-rumbling low notes.
After a 30-minute intermission, Chicago opened with lots of lights and glitz, but a little lean on tight production and crowd involvement. They never stopped to introduce themselves to the audience, whereas EWF really gained points with that pause. With so many hits to choose from, I was a little disappointed with their song selection - they dipped a little too deep into the 3rd and 4th cuts on their albums. I really was expecting an hour of #1's.
The show ended 3-hours later with a very well-produced "shadow behing the curtain" routine that got the audience all worked up before the combined groups even started playing. Very strong finish with 3 more powerful tunes - then both groups shed their instruments and started glad-handing the front row folks while doing a "broadway play" point and hug finale.
We opted to not sit on the floor - my 30 year old son advised that floor folks are forced to stand for most of the show - that was true. We had row-9 seats in the first elevated section directly back from the stage, but at about 250-feet away, we should have brought the binoculars. Most of the crowd seemed to be our age or a bit younger with a good number of 30 and 20-somethings enjoing it all too. We got to HP Pavillion about 30-minutes early and had no trouble with crowds, but shouldn't have rushed because the show started almost 20-minutes late.
If these guys decide to do it again with tour #4, I'd go in a blink. An incredible show!!