SCOTT TADY
MOON TWP. — Thirty songs — most of them hits, and performed with supreme skill — was the treat classic-rock band Chicago delivered to fans Wednesday at UPMC Events Center.
“We’re gonna do our best to get to each and every song you came to hear,” saxophonist Ray Hermann promised after the band’s opening salvo of 1967 Album One/Side One/Song One “Introduction” then the hopeful-in-times-of-chaos “Dialogue,” a well-known 1972 song with lyrics as timely as ever.
The three-man horn section, including founding member Lee Loughnane on trumpet and flugelhorn, gave the sound precision and punch, plus visual fun when they’d stand in a triangle facing each other with trombone and sax in full swing.
Guitarist Tony Obrohta fired off clean, stinging and satisfying licks on picks like “Searchin’ So Long,” which went next level when the three-part vocal harmonies kicked in.
Neil Donell achieved the biggest wows of the night with his towering vocals, including a lengthily held note in “You’re My Inspiration” that earned a post-song standing ovation.
Dividing the show into two sets with a 20-minute intermission, the 10-man band expertly worked the crowd. Chicago members moved around regularly, giving spectators on both sides of the arena scenery changes and photo ops.
The band’s swift pace and relentless energy convinced a few dozen floor-seated spectators to create an impromptu dance floor in front of the stage, which security guards allowed. Front-row, center-stage was Brighton Township’s Bob Trimble sporting a Chicago Bears Gayle Sayers jersey.
Their dancing reached an apex for 1971 chart-topper “Beginnings,” and didn’t wane for a cover of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” which Loughnane prefaced with a reminder there was a time (58 years ago) when Chicago had yet to score any hit songs and they were just another bar band playing Motown covers.
Chicago’s hard-driving rendition of Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man” kept the thrills going, leading to an entertaining double drum solo from Ray Yslas and Walfredo Reyes Jr. At one point mid-solo, and without interruption, the drummers switched kits, as Reyes took over the Latin hand percussion and Yslas whacked away with sticks on the traditional rock ‘n’ roll drums. With hand and facial gestures, they enticed the crowd into extra cheers and played with a passion that sparked an eventual Standing O.
Huge hits “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” and “Saturday in The Park” plus the familiar “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day” with the horn section in full glory kept fans in the feel-good vibe.
While not a sellout, it was still a good-sized turnout for a band still playing at a supreme level.