Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Venue: Mesa Arts Center ( https://www.mesaartscenter.com/ )
Date: Friday September 27th, 2024
Tour: Another Fork In The Road 50-Year Anniversary Tour

I have to give veteran rock band Kansas its due credit. Despite numerous lineup changes over many years, they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The overall passion the band still has for the music was on full display during its Another Fork In The Road 50-year anniversary tour that stopped at Mesa Arts Center on Fri. Sept. 27.
I don’t know about you, but I’m still amazed to this day how many great debut albums emerged in 1974. In addition to Kansas, there were “firsts” from KISS, Rush, Bad Company, and Judas Priest just to name a few.
Yes, I’ll concede that I wish I would’ve been 14 or 15 years old when those bands originally “hit the streets”, if you will.
Or put another way, the youngest of the boomer generation were damn lucky to have such fantastic new music at that age. I hope those fans are eternally grateful for that. But enough of my envy though.

On Friday night, it was certainly appropriate for Kansas to commence its 2-hour plus, 20 song set with a song from the band’s first album, that being Belexes — to the crowd’s surprise. Or at least, it seemed that way. Truth be told, I was surprised to see them open with such a (relatively) obscure song.
It was interesting observing the predominantly 60-something audience in attendance. Throughout the night, the crowd only stood up after each song ended! Then they sat down as the next song started. I can honestly say that was a first for me to witness — after 41 consecutive years of attending concerts mind you.

Familiar territory was up next with the title track from 1977’s Point Of Know Return. Lead vocalist Ronnie Platt does a solid job with the classic songs, and it’s obvious he’s extremely proud to be onstage with a band he clearly grew up listening to.
I imagine that it’s not easy singing songs that former lead vocalists Steve Walsh and John Elefante recorded. However, Platt respects both singers’ contributions to the band — to his credit.
It was a little surprising that the third song, Play The Game Tonight (from 1982’s Vinyl Confessions) was played so early in the set — to rousing applause I might add. Even though the song was a hit, I rarely hear it on the radio today — which is a shame. To that point, I’m happy they played it.
Next, Platt asked the audience if they remembered “watching MTV when they actually played music videos?” That led into another hit from the ’80s, Fight Fire With Fire (from 1983’s Drastic Measures).
Then it’s back to 1975 for the band’s third album, Masque, arguably the “lost classic” of their 70s albums. I heard a few “gasps” in the crowd as they began Icarus-Borne On Wings Of Steel.
Two songs from the 21st century made the setlist, Icarus II (from 2000’s Somewhere To Elsewhere) and Throwing Mountains (from 2020’s The Absence Of Presence), respectively.
It was a nice (if not shocking) surprise to hear The Pinnacle, one of the most under-appreciated songs in the band’s extensive catalog. Dare I say, it’s quintessential Kansas — to my ears anyway.

The entire band — original guitarist Rich Williams, guitarist Zak Rizvi, keyboardist Tom Brislin, violinist Joe Deninzon, bassist Dan McGowan, and touring drummer Eric Holmquist (note: he’s subbing for original drummer Phil Ehart) — really shined on this one. And of course, Platt’s lead vocals were also exceptional on a pretty challenging song to sing I imagine.
Of course, it’s inevitable they have to play Dust In The Wind, and rightly so I should say. Song For America could also be considered a “staple” in its own right as well.
I’m glad that this show was “An Evening With…” because, frankly, Kansas doesn’t need an opening act. They struck a good balance between hits and obscure songs, some that Platt said the band hadn’t played “for decades”.
The show’s main set concluded with two fan favorites, The Wall and Miracles Out Of Nowhere from their breakthrough album, 1976’s Leftoverture.
Of course, they can’t leave out mega-hit Carry On Wayward Sun, a predictable (yet obvious) finale to an overall strong performance.
The final verdict? First, given that I’ve never seen any incarnation of Kansas before, I simply have nothing to judge against them.
However, I can understand longtime Kansas fans’ sentiments who saw them in the 70s or early 80s that have a vastly different viewpoint than mine on the current lineup.
Truth be told, I can’t fault them for that either — rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly. That comes with the territory for any band with that kind of longevity.
Be that as it may, I’ll give Kansas’ 50th birthday celebration four out of five stars. They’re definitely worth seeing at least once if you haven’t already.
Kansas
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2024, All Rights Reserved
Kansas set list:
Belexes
Point Of Know Return
Play The Game Tonight
Fight Fire With Fire
Icarus- Borne On Wings Of Steel
Icarus II
Throwing Mountains
A Glimpse Of Home
The Pinnacle
People Of The South Wind
Dust In The Wind
Reason To Be
Lonely Wind
Song For America
Can I Tell You
Hold On
Down The Road
The Wall
Miracles Out of Nowhere
Encore:
Carry On Wayward Son