Sexta-feira 3 Ago 2012, 15h:32

Thu 2 Aug – Kansas at the Picnic Pops

Kansas performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony to end the Picnic Pops season, and what an ending! There was a local warmup band singing classic rock favorites, and about twenty minutes of the Grand Rapids Symphony playing, er "pops."

Kansas took the stage with the backing of the symphony and played an eighty minute, all hits set. I've seen Kansas twice previously, and sadly Steve Walsh's pipes are getting a bit rusty, but as the evening progressed he sounded better. The rest of the band sounded great. Much of their music certainly lends itself to the symphonic treatment, and although they certainly didn't chart any new territory it was a lot of fun nonetheless. The only real clunker of the night was Fight Fire With Fire, which just didn't work with the symphony due to its harder rock beat.

The venue was an open air, lawn seating affair. There's nothing like listening to classic prog rock, eating cold fried chicken and drinking wine. I should have minded the last part a bit better; because it was very hot and sticky I ended up drinking a bottle by myself and am paying for it today!