Toto, Christopher Cross And Men At Work Kick Off Tour In West Palm Beach

Expectations were high for the return of these veteran artists to the tour stage, and they did not disappoint.

It seems of late that many artist are kicking off their tours at the iTHINK Amphitheater on West Palm Beach, Florida. From metal to melancholy, there is so much variety there. One thing remains consistent, the quality of talent passing through has been worth the price of admission. This latest show was no exception.

Men At Work, well to be completely accurate the latest version featuring Colin Hay, opened with a great lively set. While the crowd was still filing in on the early Friday evening, by the time they got to their hits bigger hits, The Amp, as everyone calls it was nearly full. Colin, who smiled a lot more than I recall from seeing him much earlier in his career, can still belt out the tunes, and it was a great deal of fun. His white suit was perfectly Floridan as well.

Christopher Cross, when some of his biggest hits were written, was an unlikely rockstar. Yet, as he continues on, he looks and sound fantastic. He most assuredly could be titled the Father of Yacht Rock and it is not a bad thing. His melodies make you feel worry free and all around happy. When he plays through his list you being to realize he had many more hits than you remember hearing. He looks fantastic, we should all be so lucky, and he sounds even better. His vocals were on pint and he has surrounded himself with a tight group of musicians and singers to keep true to his craft. no backing tracks here.

Finally, Toto took the stage for a very long awaited return. They lead off with quite a few big hits, including playing “Rosanna” early on. I prefer to have bigger hits sprinkled in that way. It keeps the energy of the crowd consistent and on their feet. Not everyone stood the entire time, but most for a good portion of the show. While again, most late 70’s early 80’s groups have lost members, they have also. It’s a sad reality. You can’t really consistently avoid the losses, either by health or personality conflicts, but it is an homage to those lost to relive the songs.

As i sat there, it was also sad to know, someone I worked with many times, who loved the song “Africa” left us not to long ago. He would have been delighted to see them back on the road again and to experience what I was experiencing. Hearing those hits live. This is how we honor people. By remembering them, the music that shaped our lives and bringing that joy with us instead of sorrow and longing.

This entire show was very well put together. It didn’t rely on super technology. In fact not one of the artists used LED backgrounds. They went with traditional stage scrims, if at all. There was no pyrotechnics. This show was less about flash and more about pure music. It was delightful. Highly recommend.