Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Peter Podbrežnik
Location: Castello Scaligero / Villafranca (Verona) / Italy
Concert date: July 16, 2011
Attendance: 10
Ticket price: €36.00
Villafranca is an idyllic, slightly sleepy Italian town right next to Verona, with a colorful past and some interesting architectural gems to show for it. Towering above them all with its mighty walls is Scaligero castle, which in modern times has become the main stage for all the major concert events. It’s probably no surprise that the mystical aura hanging over these castle walls, with a huge area built to hold as big a crowd as possible, convinced the legendary American melodic rock band (a very simplified definition of their style) Toto to pick this place to record a live DVD. It’s supposed to come out sometime toward the end of this year.
Since reuniting in 2010, Toto have been running with a really interesting lineup that, besides the original members, guitarist Steve Lukather and keyboardists David Paich and Steve Porcaro, includes drummer Simon Phillips, singer Joseph Williams and special guest Nathan East on bass. The band is also backed by two backing vocalists, Jenny Douglas and Mabyuto Carpenter. Longtime bassist Mike Porcaro, whom the band mentioned several times during the show, sending him their best wishes, sadly couldn’t join the tour because of a serious, insidious illness.
While we waited for the show to start, the rain clouds over our heads threatened more than once to spoil the good mood and the magical atmosphere hanging in the air. And even though it started pouring a few times during the set, as if on cue, it let up again within minutes, so not even the summer showers could ruin our wonderful get-together with the legendary band, who were in great spirits that night. The fact that they were planning to capture the show on DVD surely played its part. Toto made their entrance with the dramatic instrumental “Child’s Anthem”, building it up in as pompous a way as possible and sparking boundless excitement right away, since every song from their legendary self-titled debut still gets an incredible reaction today.
The return of Joseph Willaims, who replaced the tired and vocally noticeably worn-out Bobby Kimball in the band once again, offered a unique chance for Toto to put more emphasis, on this tour, on songs from the two albums where Willaims left his vocal stamp, namely “Fahrenheit” (1986) and “The Seventh One” (1988).
Already on the opener “Till the End”, the charismatic singer, son of the legendary film composer John Willaims, who strolled onstage in sunglasses, a long coat and a scarf that nearly touched the floor, proved that his vocal cords still obey him very well after all these years. Though he preferred to steer clear of the high notes he hit effortlessly in his youth, leaving them to the two guest vocalists. Besides Lukather, Paich and Porcaro, he got plenty of help with backing vocals from the excellent Jenny Douglas, whom fans remember best for her contribution to the album “Tambu” (1995), and from Mabyuto Carpenter, and the two often took over the lead. Their vocal approaches stood out the most on the songs packed with funk, soul, jazz and r’n’b elements.
It didn’t take long, of course, before they turned to their most famous album, “Toto IV” (1982), kicking things off with “Afraid Of Love” and “Lovers in The Night”. They aren’t exactly among the best-known classics from that unforgettable, multiple-award-winning record, but both still drew a roar of approval. In their trademark perfectionist sound, Toto upgraded practically every performance at its end, stretching it out with some special solo instrumental spot or a group jam, which has always been one of the biggest draws of their live shows.
Plenty of us were especially thrilled that night by the unforgettable “Fahrenheit” ballad “Somewhere Tonight”, which they played with extra feeling on the wings of Williams’ vocals, and toward the end they worked in a short reggae jam featuring two interesting takes on Bob Marley classics, “No Woman No Cry” and “I Shot the Sheriff”. During a short solo spot, Simon Phillips confirmed his status as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time and left us with our jaws on the floor at the end of his performance. The superb power ballad “Pamela”, the best-known classic from “The Seventh One”, got a very warm welcome, as expected. A slightly more surprising pick was the “Fahrenheit” ballad “Lea”, which gave all the romantic souls in the crowd one of the most intimate moments of the night. In a set dominated by Toto’s eighties classics, the excellent “Tambu” classic “Gift of Faith” stood out like a lone wolf, with Douglas adding extra spice through her incredible vocal acrobatics. That was followed by a colorful keyboard extravaganza between the two masters of the keys, Paich and Porcaro, whose jaw-dropping moves on electric piano and synths left no one in the crowd cold.
The central, most anticipated moment for most of the crowd came with “Africa”, the most beloved and best-known Toto classic, which needs no big introduction. David Paich, once again not without his trusty top hat, confidently took over the lead vocal here. They stretched the immortal classic out in an interesting way and added a string of fusion flourishes. A sudden downpour added its own bit to the magic and to the impact of the main chorus. Among the more interesting performances of the night was also “Human Nature”, originally a Michael Jackson hit from the album “Thriller” (1982), written for him by Steve Porcaro and John Bettis. And we didn’t have to wait long for the next big hit from “Toto IV” either. “Rosanna”, where Steve Lukather briefly took over lead vocals, once again won over young and old with its timeless chorus. Lukather seemed remarkably level-headed on guitar that night, in perfect harmony with his bandmates. Not once did he get carried away into some drawn-out solo noodling. His troubles with alcohol, it seems, are clearly a thing of the past.
A special treat for all lovers of eclectic music that night was the funk-jazz delicacy “Georgy Porgy”, where Douglas impressed the most with her soul-tinged vocal acrobatics. This was also the moment for bass wizard Nathan East, who stunned everyone present with his solo spot. For many of us, the highlight of the night was the epic “Home of the Brave”, which they stretched out even further with a closing jam.
The encore, as expected, brought the only big hit missing from the main set, “Hold the Line”. Here the band was joined on bass by Sam Porcaro, son of the absent, ailing Mike Porcaro, who slotted right into the closing jam and proved with his performance that he’s yet another representative of the next generation of talented musicians. As expected, the Toto concert in Villafranca turned out phenomenal. We witnessed pure concert magic, the kind that only masters of sonic perfectionism and instrumental subtlety like the members of Toto can create. And the roughly ten thousand people who filled the castle walls to the edges that night were nice proof that even today, despite not having scored a resounding commercial success in a long time, they still effortlessly pack their mostly sold-out shows.
photos: Dušan Sajovic
Setlist
1. Child’s Anthem 2. Till the End 3. Afraid Of Love 4. Lovers In The Night 5. Somewhere Tonight 6. Pamela 7. Lea 8. Gift of Faith 9. Keyboard Extravaganza (solo) 10. Africa 11. Human Nature 12. Rosanna 13. Georgy Porgy 14. Stop Loving You 15. Home Of The Brave —encore— 16. Hold the Line
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