Touring every year since 1967, it wasn’t a surprise to see Chicago’s name pop up on the 42nd annual Musikfest bill, marking their second appearance at the festival (and I was at the first one, too).
On Tuesday at the Wind Creek Steel Stage at PNC Plaza, Chicago brought the history, the horns and the harmonies to generations of fans proving they still got what it takes.
Formed in 1967 as Chicago Transit Authority, the band Chicago fused rock with a bold brass section to become one of the most successful and enduring acts in music history.
The original lineup featured Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Danny Seraphine, Walter Parazaider, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, and Peter Cetera, each contributing to the band’s signature sound. Over the decades, Chicago has undergone numerous lineup changes, with tragic losses like Kath’s death in 1978 and Cetera’s departure in 1985 for a solo career.
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Today, the band includes founding members Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow, joined by Ray Herrmann, Walfredo Reyes Jr., singer Neil Donell, Ramon “Ray” Yslas, Tony Obrohta, Loren Gold, Eric Baines, and Carlos Murguía. I was surprised not to see Lamm on keyboards last night, but trombonist Pankow and trumpeter Loughnane were on absolute fire.
Opening up with “Dialogue Part I & II” Chicago lit up the stage with the historical backdrop of iconic ’70s to present day political references. Coupled with dynamic guitar playing and masterful brass arrangements we were all here to witness live, the first half of the show also included crowd favorite “If You Leave Me Now” that flowed right into the classic “Make Me Smile.”
I must say I was impressed with the vocals of Canadian Neil Donell who joined the band in 2018 as I walked in a tad skeptical being a die-hard Kath fan. His ability to channel the emotional depth and technical precision of Chicago’s classic hits earned him plenty of praise from us fans, as he sang both Kath’s and Cetera’s songs with effortless ease.
As I looked around at the crowd during the tender ballad “Colour My World” I was relieved to barely see anyone on their cell phones, neither taking pictures or recording. This may have been due to the fact that the crowd was a bit older than, say, a Taylor Swift concert, but that made it all the more special in showing up to actually watch a show instead of peering it through a lens.
Saxophonist Ray Herrmann showed his versatility across woodwinds by adding Parazaider’s iconic flute solo during the song as well. After a short break, the band came roaring back “Saturday In the Park,” which was a surprise as I would think they would use that for a closer. Loughnane went on to tell us about Chicago’s journey being signed with Columbia records in the late ’60s when the band was then called Chicago Transit Authority.
“We were just kids then, and were scared in hoping to even get two albums out after being signed!” he exclaimed with greeted laughter as the band has now released a staggering 38 albums over their career.
The Cetera-Era as I like to call it kicked in next with prom night hits such as “Hard Habit to Break” and “Inspiration.” Loughnane continued describing their past beginnings as a cover band performing in small bars and being booed off stages if they began to play any originals, which led us straight into their soulful, horn-driven makeover of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” which was a fan-favorite concert moment.
A sweet Fender bass solo took us right into my favorite Chicago song, “I’m a Man,” which is actually a fiery reinterpretation of the 1967 hit by The Spencer Davis Group, written by another favorite of mine, Steve Winwood and Jimmy Miller.
With their dual-drummer setup, Reyes and Yslas performed a rhythmic spectacle solo filled with choreographed fills, accents and polyrhythms, even walking around the drum set mid-performance and trading places to play off each other’s energy.
The encore included the punchy brass-forward song “Free” from their 1971 album Chicago III written by Lamm and originally sung with gritty soul by Kath.
Chicago didn’t just play their hits, they unleashed them, with the crowd raising their voices in unison and strangers dancing like old friends. I left Musikfest with a full heart and hoarse voice, as Chicago proved yet again, they truly are a hard habit to break. Well done, guys.
Jenny Talbot is a freelance writer.
