Kansas
Steve Walsh
Phil Ehart
Richard Williams
Steve Morse
Billy Greer
David Ragsdale
Greg Robert
August 23 1991, Empire Club, Cleveland, OH, USA
Howlin' At The Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Hold On
Dust In The Wind
All I wanted
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Medley: Mysteries And Mayhem / The Spider
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale
August 24 1991, Holiday Star Theater, Merrillville, IN, USA
Howlin' At The Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Hold On
Dust In The Wind
All I wanted
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Medley: Mysteries And Mayhem / The Spider
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale
October 3 1991, Paradise Island, Orlando, FL, USA
Howlin' At The Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Hold On
Dust In The Wind
All I wanted
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Medley: Mysteries And Mayhem / The Spider
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale
October 5 1991, Sunrise Music Theater, Sunrise, FL, USA
Howlin' At The Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Hold On
Dust In The Wind
All I wanted
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Medley: Mysteries And Mayhem / The Spider
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale
November 9 1991, Zivko's Ballroom, Hartford, WI, USA
Howlin' At The Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Hold On
Dust In The Wind
All I wanted
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Medley: Mysteries And Mayhem / The Spider
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale
November 19 1991, JJ Hot Rocks, San Diego, CA, USA
First Show
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Dust In The Wind
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale
Second Show
Howlin' at the Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Dust In The Wind
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Mysteries And Mayhem
Play The Game tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Kansas Proves It Can Still Pack Them In With '70s-Style Rock
Like so many of their progressive-rock contemporaries of the '70s, the band Kansas tried to
find a comfort zone between boogie and Bach, placing a little more emphasis on the former than
did their British models-Yes, Genesis and Gentle Giant.
Indeed, Kansas' rockier foundation shielded it from some of the critical fire leveled at the
prog-rock sub-genre for the alleged pretentiousness of its complex structures and classical-
jazz-rock machinations.
Fifteen years after prog-rock's swan song, there exists a large underground of recalcitrant
proggers who keep a lamp lit for the form's spirit of musical adventure. On Tuesday night,
nearly a thousand of them showed up when the latest incarnation of Kansas played two shows at
the 550-capacity J.J.'s Hot Rock club in South Bay.
For the most part, the current Kansas lineup does not lack for either skill or authenticity.
Although the group's main songwriter, Kerry Livgren, departed long ago to devote his time and
talents to born-again Christendom, lead vocalist Steve Walsh, drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist
Rich Williams remain from the original sextet, whose biggest hits were the late-'70s radio
staples, "Carry On Wayward Son," "Point of Know Return" and "Dust in the Wind."
In playing ability, keyboardist Greg Robert and violinist David Ragsdale are capable
replacements for Livgren and Robby Steinhardt, respectively. Bassist Billy Greer and well-
known ex-Dregs guitar hero Steve Morse remain from the lineup that recorded the unheralded
1988 album, "In the Spirit of Things."
Realistically, with melodist Livgren unavailable to the band, Kansas' future lies in
plundering its past, which it did to fine effect Tuesday night before an enthusiastic early-
show crowd of 400. A feverish reading of "Point of Know Return" pushed the set into overdrive,
and even a crowd-pleasing rendition of the maudlin ballad, "Dust in the Wind," with Greer and
Williams on acoustic guitars, couldn't kill the momentum that lasted through the single encore
an hour later.
As the star "ringer," Morse-some of whose own fans made their presence felt, or at least seen,
with T-shirts bearing his likeness-played an unusually subservient role. His few solos, were,
as one might expect, textbook examples of fusion-ish virtuosity, and an improvisational duel
pitting Morse against Ragsdale (a much more proficient violinist than Steinhardt)
simultaneously showcased the technical elitism of prog-rock and Kansas' rock 'n' roll-jam
palliative for it.
Otherwise, the band's performance emphasized an accurate re- creation of the Kansas catalogue,
and not individual talents. Still, inasmuch as Walsh's high, fibrous voice was the group's
signature, he proved the key component. Walsh has lost nothing off his fastball, and his
arcing, impassioned vocals on "Miracles Out of Nowhere," the baroque-flavored "The Wall" (both
from 1977's double-platinum "Leftoverture" album) and, especially, on 1975's 10-minute suite,
"Song for America," reclaimed their piquant charms from the rock dustbin.
If Walsh had a failing, it was his inability to gracefully transform his grandiose, arena-
oriented showmanship into something suitable for a middle-size club. At their most over-the-
top, the original Kansas suggested an unfortunate marriage of Foreigner's hook-hammering and
Styx's junior-high melodrama. In Tuesday's concert, Walsh personified those excesses with
grasping, theatrical gestures and spread-legged stances better left to low-budget, Shakespeare-
in-the-park presentations.
Aside from that irritation, however, the new Kansas comported itself well. The musicians are
sufficiently talented, and, apparently, motivated to inject life into even so overplayed a
chestnut as "Carry On Wayward Son," an abbreviated version of which earned them a standing
ovation late in the program.
More significantly, the overriding sense of sincerity that permeated the band's performance
compensated for the fact that, to '90s ears, the quasi-classical conceits in the Kansas
repertoire sound less pretentious than, simply, dated.
- The Los Angeles Times, Nov 21, 1991
November 30 1991, Rheem Theater, Moraga, CA, USA
Howlin' At The Moon
Paradox
Point Of Know Return
Song For America
The Wall
Hold On
Dust In The Wind
All I wanted
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
Medley: Mysteries And Mayhem / The Spider
Play The Game Tonight
Carry On Wayward Son
Down The Road
Magnum Opus Finale