A brief life interruption:My wife and I had a wonderful time in Nashville last weekend. Our mission, initiated by me several months ago, was to finally see a band we both grew up with, namely Toto. Briefly, Toto is comprised of an eclectic group of musicians formed in 1978. Three were brothers who grew up in Connecticut. After moving to LA as kids, they attended high school with two other members of the current Toto lineup. That's over 50 years of friendship still going strong today. This cannot be understated. Former drummer Jeff Porcaro, whose untimely passing in 1992, was quoted in an interview as noting that the band's name was derived from the Latin meaning "complete" or "all encompassing ". Hence, they wanted their artistry to permeate a vast array to musical styles, which they easily accomplished.
Toto treats their fans like family who they have a lot of as evidenced by shows selling out in venue after venue. But I'd like to make this personal and focus in on the venue we attended last week. Nashville's Ryman Auditorium is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. It remains an active 2,362-seat live performance venue to this day. It's classical circular, wooden seating gives you the feeling that you've stepped back in time to an era of country legends. This dovetailed perfectly with the fact that we were about to take a musical journey back in time ourselves. Irony met with reality as the very first song played was the first track on their very first album "Child's Anthem". For many of us old timers, we appreciates the fact the the music was mixed beautifully, and the sound, even for a rock concert, was at a reasonable volume. No ringing ears after this show.
It was fascinating to watch each of these musicians play their instruments with skill and precision, effortlessly reproducing hit after hit from many of their previous 14 albums. And some new songs by Steve Porcaro. I suppose what impacted me most was the respect Toto has for their fans and this particular venue. It was truly a family show, if you catch my drift. One which you could even bring a child to and not be embarrassed about anything said or done on stage. How many rock bands can you say that about?
It goes without saying that music has the power to take us all to emotional places in an instant. Memories of where you were and what you were doing at the moment a given song is played return with a flood of emotion. For the reasons stated above and the fact that my wife was right beside me, it was truly the concert of a lifetime.
James
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