Chicago's 55th anniversary concerts — VoicePlay live performances
The rock band Chicago released their debut album "Chicago Transit Authority" in the spring of 1969, and their horn section immediately made them stand out from the crowd. For over half a century, they've been a staple on American radio stations and live stages around the world. When the time came to celebrate this major anniversary, they decided to gather a lineup of other fine musicians and make it a real party. For two nights Chicago rocked Atlantic City, sharing the stage with singers Chris Daughtry, Robin Thicke, and Judith HIll, a cappella group VoicePlay, and guitarists Steve Vai, Robert Randolph, and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.
It might seem a bit strange for such a heavily instrumental band to enlist an a cappella group to perform some of their hit tunes, but VoicePlay were more than up for the task. Their inventive arrangement of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" had caught the ear of Chicago's team, who extended an invitation the guys were very excited to accept. They were given a set of four classic songs from the band's ouvre, as well as joining in the finale number with all of the other musical guests.
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Their first song of the set is a rueful ballad about missing a lover while the band is on the road, something VoicePlay is also familiar with. Videographer Huldra added some fun onscreen commentary of her own.
Details:
title: Wishing You Were Here
original performers: Chicago
written by: Peter Cetera
performance date: 18 November 2023
My favorite bits:
their lovely opening harmonies
Omar egging on the audience applause
starting with Cesar's wistful tone
Layne's sweet timbre on the melody before he kicks in the beat
the soaring "instrumental" falsetto from Cesar
jumping from Geoff's depths to Eli's highs in the second verse
Omar's clear, confident lead vocals in the bridge
the accuracy of Layne recreating the crashing wave sound
Lee's little head shake of disbelief during Geoff's second solo
passing the repeated title lyrics down the line at the start of the horn section, ending with Cesar and Geoff's octave harmonies
that tasty final chord resolution
Trivia:
VoicePlay doesn't travel much these days, but their first twenty years of performing together involved plenty of planes, rental cars, cruise ships, cheap hotels, meals at odd times, and — in keeping with the theme of this song — spending extended periods away from their families.
Because the instrumental portions of the original recording were laid down first, Peter Cetera hadn't realized that the melody line was slightly too low for his voice. He handed the lead vocals off to Terry Kath, but still sang the bridge section himself. The two swapped instruments, as well.
The track includes backing harmonies from three members of the Beach Boys, who were also at the studio while Chicago were working on their 1974 album "Chicago VII". The two bands toured together the following year, and again in 1989.
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Their second tune has a much lighter theme, the excitement of new love and the way it can make the world seem like a better place. It's sweet and gentle, and lets the singers shine.
Details:
title: Happy Man
original performers: Chicago
written by: Peter Cetera
performance date: 17 November 2023
My favorite bits:
the sincerity in Omar's repeated ♫ "fallen in love with you" ♫
Eli standing up to be properly seen and heard during the first chorus
the deliciously crunchy harmonies of the trio's syncopated ♫ "being a hap-py" ♫
Geoff dropping into the basement for ♫ "I'd never do" ♫
everything dropping out to let the trio emphasize ♫ "all these words I have stated are true" ♫
Omar and Eli trading delicate riffs as they mosey toward the end
Cesar getting the last ♫ "fallen in love with you" ♫
the fading cymbal effect from Layne
the grins on all of their faces when the audience starts hooting and hollering rather than just politely clapping
Trivia:
This song also first appeared on the band's 1974 album "Chicago VII". It was distributed as a promotional single, but wasn't subsequently released as a commercial single.
It was covered by Tony Orlando and Dawn in 1976 for their final studio album "To Be with You", and Peter Cetera recorded a solo version on his 1995 album "One Clear Voice".
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Once a relationship is established, the hard part is maintaining it. Their third song finds the narrative voice trying to convince his partner to stay and work things out rather than simply walking away.
Details:
title: If You Leave Me Now
original performers: Chicago
written by: Peter Cetera
performance date: 18 November 2023
My favorite bits:
the smooth hand-offs between Omar and Cesar
Omar getting a little breathy with his solo ♫ "stay" ♫
Eli's deft riffing on ♫ "find" ♫ and ♫ "behind" ♫
their sweet legato chords in the bridge, alternating with the instruments
Geoff's beefy ♫ "please don't go" ♫ sliding even deeper at the end
the little smile between Layne and Omar during ♫ "Ooh, my my" ♫
the passion in Eli's final ♫ "Come on" ♫
Cesar's adorable chair dance and Omar asking the audience "Do you love us?" (Enjoy your moment, boys.)
Trivia:
This song was recorded for Chicago's 1976 album "Chicago X", and was released as the lead single. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and is the band's biggest international hit.
It garnered their first Grammy award Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, as well as Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists for arranger Jimmie Haskell and producer James William Guercio.
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Of course, when a romance does end, sometimes moving on is the part that hurts the most. How do you finally let go when the other person you're still holding out hope for finds somebody else?
Details:
title: Look Away
original performers: Chicago
written by: Diane Warren
performance date: 18 November 2023
My favorite bits:
starting with some lush five-part harmonies
the vulnerability in Eli's bare melody
gradually layering in the backing vocals from the bottom up
drawing out ♫ "take the news okay" ♫
the resignation in Omar's voice on the first chorus
Layne kicking in the beat
passing the melody around through the second verse
Eli's wailing ♫ "wanted it to be" ♫
Omar soaring on ♫ "see me this waaay" ♫
all the guys standing up after the key change
those gorgeous harmonies of ♫ "what to say" ♫
that final clear ♫ "I'm really happy for you" ♫
getting handshakes and hugs from the band, and a standing ovation from the audience
Trivia:
This song was recorded for the band's 1988 album "Chicago 19", and was released as the second single with "Come In from the Night" as the b-side track.
The lead vocals were sung by keyboardist Bill Champlin, since Peter Cetera had retired from the group three years earlier to pursue his solo career.
The demo had initially been offered to Cheap Trick and Europe, but both bands had turned it down.
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This finale song is pretty heavily instrumental, but that didn't stop all of the musicians from having a good time rocking out on it. The guest singers clearly enjoyed hanging out on stage together and adding their voices to the wall of sound in the choruses.
Details:
title: 25 or 6 to 4
original performers: Chicago
written by: Robert Lamm
performance date: 18 November 2023
My favorite bits:
the unmistakeable bass guitar hook and horn fanfares
Layne gamely beatboxing along with the other percussionists the whole time, quite a marathon
Chris Daughtry's powerful lead vocals on the first verse
Eli mouthing along with the opening line off-mic
Neil Donnell proving that he's still got the pipes
the excellent guitar jam section with Tony, Robert, and Steve
the singers in the middle row swaying along with the horn section
Omar getting a respectful fistbump from Ray at stage right
Cesar's enthusiastic headbanging in the lead-up to the end
hugs and handshakes before lining up for their final bows
Trivia:
This song was written for the band's eponymous second album, released in 1970.
The meaning of the titular lyrics has been the cause of much speculation over the years. Robert Lamm has since clarified that they were about the disorientation he felt while trying to write a song in the middle of the night at "twenty-five or [twenty-]six [minutes] to four [o'clock]".
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Additional trivia:
The VoicePlay guys split the arranging duties for their songs between Layne, Geoff, and Eli. Because they were performing with Chicago, they stayed pretty close to the original vocals and instrumentation, but still added their own flair here and there.
Eli wore his coat with the fuzzy purple collar that he'd previously worn in their "Nothing Else Matters" and "Wellerman" videos.
In addition to Kathy Castellucci and Cyndi Stein accompanying the fellas on the trip, their longtime sound engineer Paul Kaleka, former group member J.None, Eli's brother, and some of Cesar's friends from Japan were all in the audience.
J.None had learned Eli's parts and was on hand in case the dad-to-be needed to scoot home if the baby arrived early, but this time he just got to hang out with his friends, meet some fans, and enjoy the shows. On his first comedy album, he recounted being invited to get high with Robin Thicke afterward.
Trusty sound guy Paul took over the console during VoicePlay's sets to ensure that they sounded as good as possible. The main audio engineer, Jeremy Hinkston, was happy to relinquish that control, because he was familiar with VP's work from his YouTube music reaction channel.
While everyone was setting up for the first soundcheck, Chicago's drummer asked where VoicePlay's drumkit would be placed. 🤭
VP fans traveled to Atlantic City from around the world to attend the shows. There were several meetups in and around the hotel, some of which the guys dropped in on.
A recorded compilation of the shows was made available to stream online in December, and had two showings in movie theaters the following April.
Since his dad hadn't been able to travel for the live shows, Eli took both him and baby Asher to see the filmed version at a theater close to home.
The audio from the shows was compiled into a limited edition album entitled "Live at 55", and released in January on either 2 CDs, 3 vinyl records, or in a bundle with the video on either DVD or Blu-Ray.
Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" was part of VoicePlay's "Road Trip" medley / comedy sketch that they performed at live shows starting during their 4:2:Five days.
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Additional photos
