TOTO 04/05/22 - Staples Center LA

[Marzdog]

Flew from Dallas to LA to catch Paich performing with the band. I wanted one last kick at the can on this to remember him performing with the band. He's in great spirits, but seems a little slow moving. Only wish him the best!

SET LIST
Orphan
Hold the Line
I'll Be Over You
White Sister
I Won't Hold You Back
Georgy Porgy
BAND INTROS - Paich introduced last
Home of the Brave
With a Little Help From My Friends
Rosanna
Africa

This has become the defacto set list. While I LOVE that Orphan (or anything from XIV is being performed) is being played live, I'm not sure it's the song I would choose as the opening song of a show. I think I'd love them to go back to a medley of Child's Anthem + Girl Goodbye, etc., to come out of the gates swinging.

Loving White Sister being in the set, and am shocked that they've dug that deep for such a short set.

I like the "revamped" version of Georgy Porgy. Seems like the band has really enjoyed playing this song in this fashion.

The band itself? What a great combination of players, and to think that X on keyboards just turned 30! WTF?!?!?! Steve Maggiora adds texture and great background vocals, as does Warren Ham. John Pierce is solid on bass, Joe's vocals have been great (including singing Paich's parts on Africa), and Luke is Luke; fucking solid on guitar and more than satisfactory on vocals.

Unfortunately, I feel I Won't Hold You Back and I'll Be Over You have become part of their must plays and everyone ends up criticizing Luke's vocals and that Joe is singing all of the higher parts. To me, the two songs still sound great!

The MVP though, IMO, is Sput on drums. Sput carries on the tradition of having a great drummer in this band. He's extremely good on time, very proficient in his hits, and has changed up some minor parts to show his own flare while not completely changing things.

Obviously, very few should be mentioned in the same breath of Jeff. However, Simon brought amazing chops to the table, as did Carlock, albeit one album and only a tour of Japan under his belt. Shannon did really well and was solid during his time, and, came through on some deep cuts, as shown on the "40 Tours" CD/DVD. Sput is a very welcome add to this version of the band!

What did I like most? Contrary to Journey (Cain is a lazy boob up there), ALL OF THE MEMBERS are engaged in the performance! The only artist(s) I've seen do it better are Counting Crows. I love going to a show and seeing the members playing for BOTH the crowd AND EACH OTHER to deliver a special performance!

I'm looking forward to seeing TOTO again in Dallas this week.

[JohnH]

Great review and I agree! Paich was kind of a bummer really , barely playing , none of his signature little solo licks , even Xavier was playing Paich’s solos at the end of Roseanna and Paich wasn’t doing them. But he sang his Africa parts well. And there’s the Roseanna sax fiasco too which I’ve already fumed here about .

[Marzdog]

If that's the worst part of the show, that's ok with me. Overall, the musicianship stands and I'm really liking this version of the band.

[RonaldDupris]

When did Paich return to performing live? This seems out of nowhere

[Andrew]

When did Paich return to performing live? This seems out of nowhere

He's doing select dates of his choosing.

[Marzdog]

When did Paich return to performing live? This seems out of nowhere

He did all of the California dates on this tour with exception of San Francisco.