{"id":6988,"date":"2026-08-16T17:37:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6988"},"modified":"2026-08-16T17:37:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:37:23","slug":"review-one-of-best-live-bands-in-all-of-classic-rock-just-played-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6988","title":{"rendered":"Review: One of best live bands in all of classic rock just played Bay Area"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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It\u2019s hard to beat Toto on the live stage.<\/p>\n

The group is just filled with so many fantastic musicians \u2014 led, of course, by all-time-great guitarist Steve Lukather \u2014 and they find such powerful synergy together. They are best known, of course, for a small handful of expertly crafted pop-rock singles, but their concerts \u2014 like their full-length studio records \u2014 are painted from an exciting mix of prog, soul, pop, blues and jazz sounds.<\/p>\n

Read more Oakland man shot in suspected carjacking attempt<\/a><\/p>\n

Put that together and you certainly have an outfit\u00a0 that qualifies as one of the best live bands in all of classic rock right now. As that list continues to shrink, I\u2019d say Toto deserves to be in the Top 5. (In case you were wondering, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is still No. 1.)<\/p>\n

Toto once again delivered the goods in concert on Saturday night (Aug. 15), delighting a crowd of some 7,500 at the 22,000-capacity Shoreline Amphitheater with a 100-plus-minute set that drew from eight of the band\u2019s 14 studio albums. (Sadly, the group did not draw anything from the 1984 \u201cDune\u201d film soundtrack, which just one spin will, for sure, change the perspective of anyone who thinks of Toto as merely a radio-friendly pop-rock act.)<\/p>\n

Yet, before we\u2019d get to Toto we first had the pleasure of going through the two acts \u2014 fellow yacht rock favorite Christopher Cross and edgy early-\u201980s power-pop purveyors The Romantics \u2014 who combined with the headliner to form one of the finest tripleheaders of the summer concert season. (The trek also was scheduled to stop at Toyota Amphitheatre in Wheatland on Sunday, Aug. 16.)<\/p>\n

\u201cMountain View, California \u2014 This is your Saturday night wakeup call,\u201d said Romantics lead singer Wally Palmar as people were still taking their seats at right around the advertised 6:45 p.m. start time. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a great night ahead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmar would certainly do his part to make that prediction come true as he led his Detroit-born act through a quick-paced 40-minute set. The quintet kicked things off with \u201cRock You Up\u201d and \u201cDo Me Any Way You Wanna\u201d \u2014 a pair of tracks off the band\u2019s sole Top 20 offering, 1983\u2019s \u201cIn Heat\u201d \u2014 and then continued with \u201cWhen I Look in Your Eyes\u201d from its 1980 eponymous debut.<\/p>\n

As expected, the highlights were the two calling-card singles \u201cTalking In Your Sleep\u201d and \u201cWhat I Like About You\u201d \u2014 the latter of which has aged far better than the former \u2014 which combined to end the set.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Next up was Cross, who made history by becoming the first artist to win all four of the general field Grammys \u2014 Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist \u2014 in 1981. (He\u2019d hold that record all to himself until Billie Eilish finally tied for the honor in 2020.)<\/p>\n

Cross\u2019 voice has weathered the years quite well and, to a remarkable extent, he still sounded like he did when he was cranking out the soft pop hits 40-plus years ago as he opened the set with \u201cAll Right\u201d and \u201cNever Be the Same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the sound system problems that began during the Romantics set (and would actually continue during Toto\u2019s performance) hit their height of annoyance while Cross was on the stage. The sound just completely cut out \u2014 twice \u2014 while Cross was in mid-song, forcing him to stop the show and then try to figure out what to do next.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really sure what to do. I guess we could go see a movie,\u201d the 75-year-old Texan suggested in his regular deadpan humor style. \u201cI don\u2019t want you to miss one note of my amazing performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Oakland pedestrian dies after being hit by car<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Yet, instead of going to taking the 7,500 fans to go see \u201cSuper Troopers 3\u201d at the Cinemark right up Shoreline Boulevard, Cross and his 7-piece backing band were able to finish up the set and deliver pristine versions of \u201cI Really Don\u2019t Know Anymore,\u201d \u201cSailing,\u201d Arthur\u2019s Theme (Best That You Can Do)\u201d and other crowd favorites.<\/p>\n

The Romantics and Cross nicely set the table for Toto, which came in and immediately took the evening to a whole other level with its headlining set. The seven-piece group raced right out of the gate with one of the biggest highlights of the show \u2014 a fast-paced \u201cGoodbye Elenore\u201d from Toto\u2019s third album, 1981\u2019s \u201cTurn Back,\u201d which gave Lukather his first of (approximately) 423,515 times to shine on guitar during the night.<\/p>\n

The SoCal outfit then completely knocked it out of the park with a head-turning take on the Grammy-winning single \u201cRosanna,\u201d which took a took a radio-friendly pop-rock single that most of these fans have heard a zillion times and turned it into an exciting, new jammed-out colossus that would impress even Phish.<\/p>\n

The good times (and astounding musicianship) just kept right on rolling as Toto turned to the title track of its sophomore outing, 1979\u2019s \u201cHyrdra,\u201d and cranked up the prog\/art rock several notches. It\u2019s a tune like this that really makes a Toto show, allowing this band of aces \u2014 guitarist-vocalist Lukather, vocalist Joseph Williams, multi-instrumentalist Warren Ham, drummer Keith Carlock, bassist John Pierce, keyboardist-vocalist Dennis Atlas and keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte \u2014 to really flex its collective muscle.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably unavoidable \u2014 and, actually, highly desirable \u2014 that Toto concerts often feel like \u201cThe Steve Lukather Show.\u201d That\u2019s just what happens when you have one of the greatest guitarists on the planet in your band. And he certainly swung his axe with mighty precision and impressive power time and time again during this show.<\/p>\n

Yet, the other members also get plenty of opportunities to wow the crowd \u2014 Williams sounded strong each time he rocked the mic; Carlock was a powerhouse on the drums; Thistlethwayte and Atlas were an impeccable duo on the keys; Pierce locked down the grooves with such funky precision; and Ham, as Lukather point out, maintained his role as the band\u2019s \u201cSwiss Army knife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atlas, in particular, impressed with a dizzying prog-heavy solo on keys midway through the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came over to my house and stole all my ELP and Gentle Giant records.\u201d Steve joked at the conclusion of Atlas\u2019 solo.<\/p>\n

The band zoomed towards the finish line with a rip-roaring \u201cHold the Line\u201d before closing up shop with the omnipresent \u201cAfrica.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toto setlist:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u201cGoodbye Elenore\u201d
\n2. \u201cRosanna\u201d
\n3. \u201cHydra\u201d
\n4. \u201cGeorgy Porgy\u201d
\n5. \u201cI Won\u2019t Hold You Back\u201d
\n6. \u201cEndless\u201d
\n7. \u201cKingdom of Desire\u201d
\n8. Keyboard solo
\n9. \u201cPamela\u201d
\n10. \u201cI\u2019ll Be Over You\u201d
\n11. \u201cI\u2019ll Supply the Love\u201d
\n12. \u201cTaint Your World\u201d
\n13. \u201cHold the Line\u201d
\n14. \u201cAfrica\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Bay Area high school football 2026: Where to find our preseason coverage<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toto, Christopher Cross, Romantics bring concert tour to Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View, Toyota Amphitheatre at Wheatland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: One of best live bands in all of classic rock just played Bay Area - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6988\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: One of best live bands in all of classic rock just played Bay Area - 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