Location: Vienna / Gasometer / Austria
Date: 09.02.2016
The Gasometer hall in Vienna was bursting at the seams this time, because a show by the legendary Toto isn’t exactly something that happens every year, which meant true music connoisseurs couldn’t miss it at any price. That’s exactly why it was no surprise that the crowd included plenty of people from the countries that grew out of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Besides the locals, you could spot a few seriously fired-up Slovenes, and there were Croats and Hungarians too. Toto are simply a one-of-a-kind live attraction that still delights old and young music fanatics alike, even though for a while now the crowd has been dominated by people who are, physically speaking, well into their mature years, but are still young at heart. The American champions of melodic rock, who are currently in truly phenomenal form, treated us that evening to an outstanding setlist, in which, as expected, songs from the latest studio album “Toto XIV” (2015) took up a big share. That album gave the band a major boost, since it came out at just the right time, when they stood at an important crossroads in their career. With it, the new Toto successfully proved to themselves that they can still make a record that stands up to their greatest triumphs from more than twenty-five years ago.
Toto opened the show with the “Toto XIV” energy catalyst “Running Out of Time”, which sent the crowd into delirium in an instant, even before the eternal classics and unforgettable hits came around. Despite the respectable age of the four core members, Toto remain incredible instrumental perfectionists, while all four of those ‘old tomcats’ still share the superb vocal lines like seasoned pros: lead singer Joseph Williams, guitar grandmaster Steve Lukather and the two keyboard wizards, David Paich and Steve Porcaro. Porcaro took over lead vocals that evening on the (unexpected) song “Bend”, which originally came out as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the latest studio album. Keeping the rhythm for the seasoned foursome were Shannon Forest, who confidently took his place behind the drum kit after the departure of the unforgettable Simon Phillips and his short-lived successor Keith Carlock, longtime live percussionist Lenny Castro, and the cult returnee on bass, Leland Sklar, who came back to help out after the (second) departure of original Toto bassist David Hungate.
Longtime fans were especially happy about the return of the all-round ‘Santa Claus’ Sklar, whose bushy gray beard radiated charisma from a mile away while he laid down all sorts of bass lines with incredible precision and tightness the whole night. Backing vocals for the four Toto veterans were once again handled by Mabvuto Carpenter and Jenny Douglas Foote, who did their job with distinction and earned a well-deserved storm of applause from the crowd. Mabvuto ‘rescued’ the still very good Joseph Williams vocally more than once, while Williams good-naturedly competed with Lukather and Paich over who would squeeze more stage charisma out of themselves that night. Jenny Douglas Foote first really shone during the classic “Georgy Porgy”, where she masterfully took over the lead vocal for a while, and without her vocal assistance it’s hard to imagine a modern Toto concert anyway. We didn’t have to wait long for brilliant renditions of the classics, either, as Toto and friends soon delighted us with an outstanding version of “I’ll Supply the Love”, while this time we especially enjoyed “Stranger In Town”, which, thanks to the relative neglect of the album “Isolation” (1984), is always more than welcome on the setlist.
“Hold the Line”, which usually turns up toward the end, was played very early this time, while all the couples in love in the hall got their moment with the romantic classic “Pamela”. Williams, who had the passionate vocal backing of the thrilled crowd throughout, sang it in truly superb fashion. Lukather, who of course didn’t forget to put on a dapper little shirt, was in an exceptionally good mood on guitar, pulling elaborate, subtle solos out of his ‘sleeve’. As far as mood goes, the same could be said for the other eight musicians on stage that night, since every one of them gave the show their absolute maximum. Paich’s keyboard solo spot was, as expected, in a class of its own and a real treat for the ears. The good-natured keyboardist, who in his old age looks more and more like Comrade Stane Dolanc, would surely do himself a favor by hiding his new ‘hipster’ haircut under a top hat for as long as possible. One of the evening’s highlights was definitely the closing song from the new album XIV, “Great Expectations”, which contained a motif from “Can You Hear What I’m Saying”. This time Toto picked “Bridge of Sighs” for the cover, a classic by cult British blues-rock guitarist Robin Trower (ex-Procol Harum), which was a fun twist on the evening and into which Lukather injected a killer solo. It was also lovely to see that Toto didn’t forget to pay tribute to the recently departed bassist Mike Porcaro, who said his final goodbye to his loyal fans last year.
One of the bigger surprises of the evening was definitely the performance of “The Road Goes On” from “Tambu” (1995), while “Holy War” and “Orphan” showed off the excellence of the latest studio album, which can easily be compared with the ‘golden years’. The American masters of melodic rock closed the regular part of the show with the big hit “Rosanna”, which of course can’t be missing from any concert, even if Lukather had some trouble with the vocals this time: the years go by quietly. The encore, which we didn’t have to wait long for, brought a fun medley, “On the Run / Goodbye Elenore”, into which they cleverly slipped a short motif from “Child’s Anthem”, while the grand finale was pretty, pretty predictable, but nobody in the room was bothered by that. Quite the opposite. It’s truly incredible what kind of euphoria Toto’s biggest hit “Africa” still sets off in the crowd after all these years, and with the generous vocal support of the warmed-up audience, they always stretch it beyond its usual length at the end of the show. Even though Toto have played it ‘countless times’, they still thoroughly enjoy playing it, which couldn’t be said for some other cult bands of their generation, who play their biggest hits through gritted teeth, and only so that the loyal audience won’t ‘lynch’ them. As always in cases like this, the Toto party was over too soon, even though the show was actually neither too short nor too long, but just the right length to follow it with full focus from start to finish.
Toto age like fine wine: the older they get, the better they are. Well, at least in the instrumental sense that definitely holds true across the board, while the vocal magic, with the help of the extra backing voices, isn’t fading anytime soon either and is just as it should be. There’s hardly any need to stress the excellent sound, since such sonic perfectionists leave nothing to chance. At the Gasometer we witnessed the sonic perfection we expected, the kind that only Messrs. Lukather, Paich, Williams and Porcaro and their supporting crew can conjure up with their instruments and vocal cords, spoiling us from the start to the end of an exquisite show that will stay with us as a beautiful memory for a long time. Toto have reached the point where any show could be their last, so fans like us know to cherish every chance to still catch them live, whenever one comes along, all the more.
author: Peter Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Running Out of Time
2. I’ll Supply the Love
3. Burn
4. Stranger in Town
5. I Won’t Hold You Back
6. Hold the Line
7. Georgy Porgy
8. Afraid of Love
9. Bend
10. Pamela
11. David Paich (keyboard solo)
12. Great Expectations
13. Without Your Love
14. Bridge of Sighs (orig. Robin Trower)
15. Holy War
16. The Road Goes On
17. Orphan
18. Rosanna
—encore—
19. On the Run / Goodbye Elenore
20. Africa
