Author: Urban Bolta
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Area Festeggiamenti / Majano / Italy
Concert date: July 31, 2012
Attendance: 4,000
Ticket price: 46€ (advance) / 40€ (day of show)
Every year at the end of July and the start of August, the little Italian town of Majano, not far from Udine, hosts a local festival with live music every day on the sports field in the middle of town. The festival has all the makings of a classic Italian community bash, so there’s loud music coming from every direction, fast-food stalls and, of course, drinks of every alcoholic and non-alcoholic shade. The scene in the center of Majano was pretty much like walking into an amusement park, which made for an oddly atmospheric spot for a show by the legendary American band Toto, who dropped in on the town festival on the last day of July 2012.
Toto had kicked off a month-long European tour just two days earlier with a gig in Lucca, Italy. Clearly, even after Steve Lukather said their story was over, playing live and hanging out together is still too tempting for them to simply call it quits. Toto fans are obviously not complaining about Lukather’s broken »vow«, and they welcome the band back with open arms every single time. Majano was no different, with a crowd of a few thousand waiting for them.
Toto hit the road with the standard trio of Steve Lukather (guitar), David Paich (keyboards) and Steve Porcaro (keyboards), longtime drummer Simon Phillips behind the huge drum kit, and Joseph Williams handling the vocals. So, in line with last year’s European tour, you could expect the set list to lean heavily on the albums »Fahrenheit« (1986) and »The Seventh One« (1988), since Williams worked with Toto on exactly those two records from the second half of the eighties. On bass, the ailing Mike Porcaro is still being replaced by a musician of serious standing, Nathan East, who has worked with names like Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder and Phil Collins, while the lovely Jenny McRae and long-haired dreadlocked Mabvuto Carpenter gave the band harmonious backing vocals. With the opening song of the night, Only The Children, kicking off at exactly half past nine, this eight-piece of technically razor-sharp musicians made it clear they have no intention of giving up the sonic perfectionism that is the trademark of the Toto magic.
Hydro, the title track of the 1979 album of the same name, was sung as usual by Paich, hunched behind his keyboards at the far left of the stage. As has long been the custom with Toto, the vocal duties were split up, with frontman Williams, and a decent slice of the pie going to Lukather and Paich too, who along with the dependable backing vocalists helped Williams get through the show at a satisfying level. The lead vocal is, after all, the one weak spot of Toto’s live shows in recent years, and the very reason why Bobby Kimball’s tired throat was replaced two years ago by Williams, who is some fifteen years younger. His voice doesn’t reach the highest registers anymore either, so the 51-year-old went into the show with an extreme dose of caution, trying not to make any similar slip-up and earn himself needless dark looks from Lukather.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXc0_xPB48
Compared to last year’s tour, Toto clearly shook up the set list and worked in a few tunes they hadn’t played in ages. Combined with the rock-solid repertoire of hits, they served the crowd an unforgettable selection from Toto’s rich eighties legacy. In St. George and the Dragon they showed themselves to be a superbly tight vocal unit, and Rosanna followed as the first commercial peak of the night, even without a solo from guitar guru Steve Lukather. The perfect sonic picture, in which the sounds of the flawless rhythm section, guitar and both keyboards were playing off each other, was disturbed during the romantic Lea (»Fahrenheit«) by a loud hum, which the folks at the mixing desk luckily managed to tame fast.
Most of the crowd were thrilled by the focus on playing material from the late seventies and eighties, with How Many Times from 1992 the only exception. This time all the possible »medleys« and drawn-out solo spots were dropped, so the songs, true to their studio originals, set off one blaze of enthusiasm after another among the in-high-spirits Italian crowd. The precise execution of the vocal harmonies gave you goosebumps, and looking for mistakes was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
The middle of the show, with the gentler melodies of Could This Be Love, We Can Make It Tonight and Pamela, boosted the band’s sentimental feel and was tailor-made for all the lovebirds in the crowd, while the more upbeat rhythms of Manuela Run, and Hold The Line just before leaving the stage, now and then woke up the romantic side. For the latter, the lovely Jenny McRae stepped out from the background to join Williams, shaking off the shadow of the backing vocalist, and with her deep, charismatic voice she opened up a whole new dimension in one of Toto’s biggest hits. The reworked take left absolutely no one cold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUVhqbM__Ug
When the band came back on stage, there was a surprise, especially for the visitors from Slovenia! The members of the Slovenian vocal group Perpetuum Jazzile spread out across the big stage structure, signaling that the time had come for the song many in the crowd had been waiting for most, Africa. But lo and behold, when announcing it, David Paich stereotypically blew it, calling Perpetuum Jazzile a Croatian group and instantly earning the wrath of the Slovenian part of the audience. Never mind, geography has never been Americans’ strong suit, so the piano master can be forgiven one slip. Paich then sang Africa from under his trademark top hat, but unfortunately Perpetuum Jazzile were almost inaudible in the overall sound and were reduced to the role of extras. It must be an incredible feeling to stand on stage alongside your musical idols, but this first collaboration between the two groups could definitely have squeezed out more. Next came a mass handshake session with Lukather, and for the farewell Toto gave it one more go with another »The Seventh One« tune, Home Of The Brave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66l8wgtw088
Staggering technical chops, pure joy in performing and a relaxed vibe once again added up to an unforgettable night with Toto. These musicians are simply born for the stage, for performing! Watching them play, complex compositions that rule over a whole palette of musical genres seem childishly easy. That’s just how effortless it is when we’re talking about rock giants like Toto!
Setlist
1. Only the Children
2. Hydra
3. St. George and the Dragon
4. Rosanna
5. Lea
6. Could This Be Love
7. I Won’t Hold You Back
8. We Can Make It Tonight
9. Pamela
10. Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover)
11. Manuela Run
12. How Many Times
13. Carmen
14. Stop Loving You
15. Hold the Line
—————-
16. Africa
17. Home Of The Brave
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