New Kansas POKR Tour (SPOILERS)

[Harry's Hand]

Just saw the setlist for the new tour that started last night. I hope it's real because this is an absolute hardcore fan's dream.

Playing Lonely Wind, Hope Once Again, Cold Grey Morning, Musicatto, Taking in the View and ****ING Wheels!

As well as Two Cent Worth!

I was going to skip the Chicago show but I can't miss this.

[DocProgger]

Setlist SPOILER ALERT





You buried the lead--they're doing the whole POKR album too! And the Atlanta setlist shows Mysteries and Mayhem, which is pretty rare. Some of those tunes you listed are apparently in an acoustic set they do at the beginning.

[rushfan]

An amazing show, was at the opener last night. I recommend it to all the hardcore fans....

[Sean]

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I was there at the debut show too and really enjoyed it. It was nice to catch the first show of the tour so everything was a surprise. I kept saying "I never expected to hear THAT!". This is very much like the recent Leftoverture tour. A 2.5 hour show, which is something we only dreamed of ten years ago, full of all shorts of deep cuts. The opening unplugged set is a nice touch. I like that Billy uses a real bass too, those acoustic electric basses always sound kinda shitty so this fills out the sound much better. They trotted out some rarities last time like the full Lamplight Symphony and a smoking Journey from Mariabronn last tour along with all of Leftoverture and a big chunk of their new album at the time.

This new tour is structured the same way, but with plenty variety. It was cool to have more focus on some of the albums made after the 70s, that made this year's show full of surprises. Two Cents Worth was a cool slice of Masque never played live before either. Nobody was expecting that. They played Song For America for the first time in five years too. Of the POKR set the best tunes for me were Closet Chronicles, Nobody's Home and Hopelessly Human, all three epic prog masterpieces. It was cool to hear The Spider too.

So, yeah! Don't miss this tour, it's the perfect bookend to the recent Leftoverture tour. The band is sounding killer and HUGE. Ronnie Platt just keeps getting better and sounds more like vintage Walsh than ever as of late, as close as one could get anyway.

Acoustic
People of the South Wind
Hope Once Again
Hold On
Refugee
Lonely Wind

Electric
Cold Grey Morning
Two Cents Worth
Mysteries and Mayhem
The Wall
Song for America
Wheels
Summer
Musicatto
Taking in the View
Miracles Out of Nowhere


Point of Know Return
Paradox
The Spider
Portrait (He Knew)
Closet Chronicles
Lightning's Hand
Dust in the Wind
Sparks of the Tempest
Nobody's Home
Hopelessly Human
Encore
Carry On Wayward Son

The moment in the middle of Lonely Wind when the drums and whole band comes in was a great segue into the electric portion of the night too...

[Fracktured]

Two Cents Worth is a song I always liked but never heard them perform it live


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[DocProgger]

Two Cents Worth is a song I always liked but never heard them perform it live


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And ironically, that is a Walsh song and one (along with It Takes a Woman's Love...) that Kirshner wanted pushed as a hit.

[Top Cat]

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I was there at the debut show too and really enjoyed it. It was nice to catch the first show of the tour so everything was a surprise. I kept saying "I never expected to hear THAT!". This is very much like the recent Leftoverture tour. A 2.5 hour show, which is something we only dreamed of ten years ago, full of all shorts of deep cuts. The opening unplugged set is a nice touch. I like that Billy uses a real bass too, those acoustic electric basses always sound kinda shitty so this fills out the sound much better. They trotted out some rarities last time like the full Lamplight Symphony and a smoking Journey from Mariabronn last tour along with all of Leftoverture and a big chunk of their new album at the time.

This new tour is structured the same way, but with plenty variety. It was cool to have more focus on some of the albums made after the 70s, that made this year's show full of surprises. Two Cents Worth was a cool slice of Masque never played live before either. Nobody was expecting that. They played Song For America for the first time in five years too. Of the POKR set the best tunes for me were Closet Chronicles, Nobody's Home and Hopelessly Human, all three epic prog masterpieces. It was cool to hear The Spider too.

So, yeah! Don't miss this tour, it's the perfect bookend to the recent Leftoverture tour. The band is sounding killer and HUGE. Ronnie Platt just keeps getting better and sounds more like vintage Walsh than ever as of late, as close as one could get anyway.



The moment in the middle of Lonely Wind when the drums and whole band comes in was a great segue into the electric portion of the night too...

Thanks for the great review Sean. They are coming to Clearwater in December but I was thinking of taking a pass on it based on my dislike for the Live and Beyond cd's I have. The compression on that thing is horrible(at least to me), so bad I can't even listen to it, plus it felt like everyone in the band had consumed 10 bottles of Red Bull before going on.
I've been listening to Kansas since the 70's so I know they're a high energy band, but that album is a bit much. I do enjoy Ronnie a lot, and I really like Prelude Implicit and his vocals on that.
Based on your review, I'm reconsidering and pick up a couple of tix.

I have to ask you something, at this concert did you find the crowd noise brutal?

[Sean]

I found the use of auto-tune much more offensive, on that live album. Brutal, even. But yeah, this is like KS on steroids, this lineup, and sometimes it comes across a bit heavy handed. Song For America the other night suffered from that in spots. I'd still check it out though!

[Top Cat]

I found the use of auto-tune much more offensive, on that live album. Brutal, even. But yeah, this is like KS on steroids, this lineup, and sometimes it comes across a bit heavy handed. Song For America the other night suffered from that in spots. I'd still check it out though!

Yes, the auto-tune is a big issue, which to me is a shame they used it because Ronnie has a great voice and I don't think he needs it.
Did you notice them using it again?

We only got to see Kansas live one time, and that was with the Steve Morse lineup. I thought Steve had a lot of energy, but these guys are pumping it up a notch.
Although Live at the Whisky is one of my favorite Kansas shows. I think Steve did more handstands on his keyboard than I've done my whole life.

[Sean]

I don't think the use it live, I think it was a post-production addition.

[BravadoNJ]

nice setlist. although FON is not a favorite, those tracks are great. even Wheels.
a great trip back in time and POKR is my favorite Kansas album.
but i'll pass because without Steve & Robby, it won't be the same.

[DocProgger]

Are they still staging/presenting Song for America as some kind of patriotic anthem, as opposed to what the song is really about, the environmental 'rape of the land' as originally written? I love the song, and always cringed when they started doing the tune that way, ala Trace Adkins or something. You're better than that Kansas, you don't need to play the "patriotic card".

[SteveSly]

This show is coming 10 minutes from my house and I can't go due to a work conflict........after seeing the setlist I am even more bummed than I was when the show was announced......

[The Crimson King]

Are they still staging/presenting Song for America as some kind of patriotic anthem, as opposed to what the song is really about, the environmental 'rape of the land' as originally written? I love the song, and always cringed when they started doing the tune that way, ala Trace Adkins or something. You're better than that Kansas, you don't need to play the "patriotic card".

Why not? It gets tiresome to always be lectured and guilted by "artists" about left-wing causes. Let the music be celebratory!

[Sean]

I don't think they ever touted SFA as a patriotic anthem, some people just took it that way because they weren't really paying attention to the lyrics. Not unlike Earth, Wind and Fire loving couples that call "Reasons" 'their song'. It seems like it would be musically, it's all sultry and stuff, but then you read the lyrics and it's like "I'm in the wrong place to be real with you" and "our reasons all were lies".....

[DocProgger]

Why not? It gets tiresome to always be lectured and guilted by "artists" about left-wing causes. Let the music be celebratory!

Because if the song is turned into some kind of faux patriotic anthem simply because the title was (purposefully and ironically) called
Song for America, it's not authentic and skews the song's meaning.
Also don't agree that wanting to protect the environment for future generations is simply a "left wing cause". On top of that Kansas also already usually pays tribute to the troops when they play Icarus II I think.
Are you going to chastise them for that too?

My memory of the way the song was presented in the last few decades is mostly what Greer would say introducing the song, and the emphasis on the flag, I just got the impression they were trying to turn it in that direction and a lot of casual fans bought it that way.

[flatliner]

Thanks for the great review Sean. They are coming to Clearwater in December but I was thinking of taking a pass on it based on my dislike for the Live and Beyond cd's I have. The compression on that thing is horrible(at least to me), so bad I can't even listen to it, plus it felt like everyone in the band had consumed 10 bottles of Red Bull before going on.
I've been listening to Kansas since the 70's so I know they're a high energy band, but that album is a bit much. I do enjoy Ronnie a lot, and I really like Prelude Implicit and his vocals on that.
Based on your review, I'm reconsidering and pick up a couple of tix.

I have to ask you something, at this concert did you find the crowd noise brutal?

Thought I was the only one that thought Live and Beyond sounds compressed. It’s awful! Especially the second disc...I rarely listen to it because of this. Don’t understand why so many releases are this way now. Is there anybody that likes that sound quality? It’s actually painful to me...

Otherwise, the concert was incredible!!! Too loud! But still incredible! Best of theirs in many years!

[ThomasKDye]

Are they still staging/presenting Song for America as some kind of patriotic anthem?

The lyrics are rather obviously not a patriotic anthem. I don't know how that would be possible.

Earth, Wind and Fire loving couples that call "Reasons" 'their song'.

Let's not even get into the Police's "Every Breath You Take."

[Craigory]

I can do without "Lonely Wind," bit I'm stoked to see Power and Freaks of Nature getting their due. This is a fantastic setlist that just needs some In The Spirit Of Things to perfect it.

[Sean]

The Spider^^^from opening night in Atlanta....

[Rarebird]

Interesting. POKR was the first Kansas album I heard and owned.

[dgtlman]

Never could understand why they never played The Spider on past tours.

[Garion81]

Hmm a bit disappointed with this. Don't care at all for most of the 80's albums and Freaks is just okay. Would rather they played the songs from the first three albums that are underrepresented most of the time. How about this contained songs like The Pinnacle, Incomudro and Apercu?

[Finch Platte]

The lyrics are rather obviously not a patriotic anthem. I don't know how that would be possible.



Let's not even get into the Police's "Every Breath You Take."

Or Springsteen's Born In The USA.

[Top Cat]

Great interview with Rich Williams about the POKR here:http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/...ew.php?id=1285