HEART
& SOUL
TOUR '24
Review by The Rocker James West
Photos by The Rocker Chic Danette West
Talk about a Buffet of Bands! The Rocker Chic Danette and I got a taste of everything Monday night at the Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire concert at Simmons Bank Arena in Little Rock!
I guess the best way to describe Chicago would be as a rock and roll band with horns, along with elements of classical, jazz, R&B, and pop music.
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Earth, Wind & Fire is a multi-genre band that also spans across R&B, soul, jazz, disco, funk, rock, and Latin musical styles.
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Put it all together and you’ve got one of the most diverse crowds you’ll ever see at a concert! Multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-diverse in musical tastes all came together to make one sweet buffet of sound for everyone who attended!
To witness such an event, The Rocker Chic and I thought it best to view this unique experience from the back of the Arena to truly capture the vibe from the crowd.
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Parking was easy as usual near the Arena entrance for a quick $20 to the ushers, and we hardly had any wait going through an easy check in and screening process.
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We also were surprised of the reception we received from concert goers on our new Rocker Gods shirts we wore to the gig. Young, old, and multi-diverse musical fans of both Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire all complimented our cool designs that will soon be available for purchase on www.the-rocker.com and www.rockergods.com!
By sitting high up in the back of the arena Danette and I noticed a lot of fog from the fog machines that hindered visibility for folks seated in the back sections of the event. But we did like the cool countdown clocks that came up on the screen to let us know when to take our seats and to get ready for party mode!
Members of both Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago took to the stage through the center of an elaborate scaffold-type set designed for both bands to use. This set-up would come in handy later in the evening for a special surprise after both band performances.
Earth, Wind & Fire still have Serpentine Fire!
Earth, Wind & Fire’s founder and vocalist Maurice White sadly passed away in 2016, but his spirit lives on in the band via his brother Verdine White (a constant member), vocalists/percussionists Phillip Bailey, Ralph Johnson (both since 1972) and B. David Whitworth (since 1996), keyboardist Myron McKinley and drummer John Paris (both since 2001), lead guitarists Morris O’Conner (since 2008), vocalist Phillip Doron Bailey (since 2009) and rhythm guitarist Serg Dimitrijevic (since 2012).
Earth, Wind & Fire put on a great 17-song performance covering their entire band history. Every member of the band played with passion and energy- even 73 year old bassist Verdine White- who had the energy of musicians half his age on stage!
CHICAGO - MONDAY
IN THE 'ROCK
Chicago is one of the most successful American bands in recording and Billboard history (second only to the Beach Boys), and are one of the most successful popular music acts of all time. They got their start back in 1967 with saxophonist Walter Parazaider, guitarist Terry Kath, drummer Danny Seraphine, trombonist James Pankow, trumpet player Lee Loughnane, and keyboardist/singer Robert Lamm. After numerous ins and outs with a variety of personnel over their distinguished history, Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow are the only original band members that remain.
With Chicago also having a similar number of musicians and singers as Earth, Wind & Fire, it was probably a good thing we were capturing pictures of the event from the very back of the Arena just so we could fit everyone into the shot! LOL
We were also able to witness all the really cool background graphics and lighting effects that both bands brought to full display at Simmons Bank Arena. Although, the BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT strobes hurt everyone’s eyeballs and distracted from the performances!
The graphic backdrops worked well for Earth, Wind & Fire, especially their album covers from the 70s and 80s.
For Chicago, the original logo album covers from the 70s along with a special red, white, and blue graphic with logo looked great also… however… I couldn’t understand why a top tier legacy band would resort to using stock footage videos of people looking happy and interacting with each other as a backdrop to some of the band’s top hits. To say it was distracting would be an understatement! All it did was distract the audience from connecting with the band.
Does anybody really know where our sound guy went- does anybody really care- about sound?
Sound-wise, Earth, Wind & Fire sounded great also, but Chicago’s sound was very loud, and the echo was very annoying up where we were at. The guitar didn’t have any punch to it, and all the horn instruments thrown together did not do those incredible songs justice at all. At least they saved it in the end, but we will get to that…
"Colour My World" in "December"!
Seeing Earth, Wind & Fire was on The Rocker Chic’s concert bucket list, and performing “September” was definitely a highlight for her as it’s one of Danette’s favorite songs of all time. Another highlight was the honor of getting to slow dance to Chicago’s “Colour My World” with my beloved wife while the band played! I’m just glad we were in the shadows so no one could see this old rocker’s dance moves! LOL
DOUBLE THE BANDS...
DOUBLE THE FUN!!!
Chicago then took thing’s up a notch (both sound-wise and energy-wise) after a brief break when the road crew came out and made some “adjustments” to the stage and sound to accommodate both bands. Talk about a Family Reunion! They had EVERYONE out on the scaffolds for this one!
I would also like to acknowledge whoever the sound-guy was who flipped the correct switch for Chicago’s sound, as it was AWESOME from this point onward! And just in time also, as I swear I heard the absolute BEST VERSION of 25 or 6 to 4 I’ve ever witnessed last night! I can still hear that opening riff cutting through the Arena atmosphere and played with the same passion and fury that guitar hero Terry Kath delivered over 50 years ago!
The Rest of this “combo” set by both bands was similarly electrifying to hear and witness. It was like both bands said, “Hey, we’re done with our regular setlist thing, NOW WE CAN HAVE FUN AND JAM THE HELL OUT OF THESE SONGS!
No special lighting or backgrounds needed; just great songs performed by great bands having a great time… on a Monday… oh well… does anyone really know what day it is?
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