Kansas has been around a while. “We played here back in the 70’s.” Stated Bassist Billy Greer, and with that the band Kansas settled in for a long evening at the State Theater in Minneapolis, on Saturday. The band is currently out on tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of their successful album Leftoverture.
With a discography of fifteen albums, Kansas sought to start acoustically and finish louder. The three set, twenty-four song list contained a little bit from old to new. The band’s final acoustic number Refugee is a featured song from its current album The Prelude Implicit. Kansas has always been thought-provoking in its approach to a song meaning and follows that same formula in dealing with child slavery issues in Refugee.
The second set features the full band and once again takes the audience through a look
back to where it all began. “We’re going to party like it’s 1977” Greer stated again. Jumping into crowd favorites Point of No Return and Dust In The Wind. The set finishes with the song also featured off the latest album, Section 60. Once again another Kansas song with a long history in meaning. Section 60 is the final resting place for United States military personnel that gave all during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no national memorial for those that perished in these wars. Only tombstones tended by family and friends. During the song, the stage was shared with a Marine in full dress uniform holding a folded flag appearing in the spotlight.
The final set features songs of the 1976 album Leftoverture, featuring eight songs, including Carry On and What’s on My Mind. They close with the song Portrait (He Knew).
This was Kansas’ tribute to Albert Einstein. And how he was an under-appreciated genius who knew much more about the secrets of the universe than we thought he did when he was alive.
The band works hard to give it’s dedicated what it came for, but I do miss seeing founding members Kerry Livgren and Steve Walsh in the band. A nice set of rain lights and front spots allowed the audience see the players, but the fabric background was circa 1970’s. This production comes off simple and flat. In an age where digital media can add wonders to a stage production. Kansas missed the memo. The band’s album artwork alone would have been a treat to view see as the song list progressed through the ages. There still was so much to add visually to impact on Section 60 alone at Arlington Cemetery. How about a walkthrough of the past in photos of the history of Kansas. There is history there and by the sound of things, there will be future music from this Kansas band.
The band continues its U.S. Tour with dates reaching out to April listed on its own web page.
