Chicago stokes the Interlochen crowd

So the Reliving My Youth Tour continues, from Elvis Costello and Steely Dan to Return to Forever. Wednesday it was Chicago and my high school pal Vince motored up from Newaygo to take in the show. What a great time, and a great band. Vince had seen them twice before, but said this was the most energetic he'd seen them. Certainly the Interlochen crowd had something to do with that, roaring thunderous approval for the hits.

The band started with the suite "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon," including "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World." Surprisingly, on the latter trumpet player Lee Loughnane took the lead vocal. Keyboardist Lou Pardini sang lead on the rest. That versatility was one of the strengths of the band. When the group first started out it had three lead vocalists. Now it has five, including guitarist Keith Howland, bassist Jason Scheff, and founding member and keyboardist Robert Lamm.

And don't forget all the hits. The audience was treated to "Dialogue," "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" "You're the Inspiration," "Saturday in the Park," "Beginnings" and a host more. The band was dynamic and in great form, and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. Scheff was a highlight, singing Peter Cetera's features as if they were created for him, and holding down the bottom end. The horns - trombonist James Pankow, saxophonist Ray Hermann (subbing for Walter Parazaider) and Loughnane - were almost always in sync, no matter where they were prowling the stage.

Maybe they prowled a little too much. The advent of wireless mics for not only the vocalists but the horns allowed, nay, encouraged everyone to wander about the stage. It's great to have stage presence and all, but after a while, all the traipsing around gets a bit distracting. Pankow, creator of many of the band's arrangements as well as writing "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" and other songs, was bouncing around stage so much it appeared as if he nearly missed some cues. When Robert Lamm introduced him, he suggested that for any trombonist to be successful, it helped to be inhibited. He said it in jest, but I've gotta confess, a little inhibition would have been welcome. I found Pankow's antics borderline obnoxious.

Final complaint was the sound. It lacked the definition of earlier shows, such as Elvis Costello or Steely Dan. It seemed as if there was a huge cacophony at a certain frequency, from the upper register of the trombone to the cymbals and even some of the vocals. And the booming bass drum sounds were really unnecessary. I'm wondering if the amplification of the drums and percussion could have simply been taken down a few levels, as the nature of the instrument cuts through everything anyway, and if that wouldn't have improved the sonics throughout.

Despite these criticisms, however, the show was thoroughly enjoyable. Having not seen the band previously, it was a joy to finally hear such classic tracks as "Beginnings" and "Free." I would have loved to hear classic earlier material like "Introduction" and "Questions 67 and 68," though I knew that wouldn't happen, as Loughnane had warned me in an interview a couple weeks ago that that wouldn't be happening. Like Steely Dan, Chicago was a band I listened to incessantly from high school through college, though the sappy Cetera ballads left me cold. Hearing the group live - finally - was a treat.