Not the old CTA, but glad I went
by Liz Centerfield on 8/7/25Leader Bank Pavilion - BostonRating: 4 out of 5From the first notes of "Introduction"I knew Jimmy, Lee & crew were there to do it all, even with only two original members left. Early stuff, '80s... I had my preferences but ultimately they gave everyone in the audience something to love.
Eight songs in, they tackled their most ambitious composition: "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon"- played perfectly. Kudos to the sax/flute player and to Lee Loughnane for singing the "Color My World"segment with understated emotion. This a challenging 13-minute piece and by itself worth the price of admission.
Twenty-two songs in all, 2.5 hours running. Most of what you remember, some you might not, and enough of the "early"material to keep people like me happy. The bass player has a good voice for Robert Lamm's songs ("Saturday in the Park"etc.) leading to my first quibble: The band websites implied that Lamm would be along on this tour, and although I was smart enough to not quite believe it, was still disappointing.
Other quibbles: Ten players is a lot, the mix sometimes seemed off, but you could always hear the all-important horns.
The jacket&tie singer's voice was a bit shrill, and the keyboard player also sang in Pete Cetera's range. Together, they sounded like Cetera harmonizing with himself... which he often did, but the pressure to have Cetera-hits spelled the end of the band we loved, in my opinion.
Aaand the ballads... they sold a lot of records but in a concert situation it felt like hitting the brakes. Unless it was your wedding song, in which case... lots of nostalgia. Old couples sneaking kisses. So cute.
And ~80 year-olds touring like this is INSANE! I played a horn myself in high school; I have some idea of the effort involved.
Plusses: 25 or 6 to 4 might have been the end of the show, but they were still going strong. Without Terry Kath to tear up a guitar solo, they instead innovated a drum solo. I am not a drum solo gal, but this one was good - the kit player and a percussionist together - obviously well-planned. "Free"and "I'm a Man"toward the end, and even the finale to "Feeling Stronger Every Day"for the rockers in the crowd.
Of course we all wished the remaining healthy members would somehow join Lee and Jimmy for one last tour, but I couldn't have asked for a better band to do justice to the originals.