Kansas preview

Kansas
Eyes To The Skies Festival, Lisle
Friday, July 4, 2008

“Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky,” go the lyrics to Kansas’ career-defining hit, “Dust In The Wind.” Well, there’s one other thing in addition to the earth and sky . . . a Kansas concert.

Casual Kansas fans going to the Lisle Eyes To The Skies Festival might be tempted to pick up the just-released Two For The Show: 30th Anniversary Edition in order to polish up on some of that old material you haven’t heard in so many years. Don’t. It will just discourage you. We know what you’re thinkin’, after all. Head toward the music stage a touch before 8 p.m., grab an ice-cold Bud, Bud Light, or 312, and take in some classic jams like “Dust” and “Carry On Wayward Son.” Maybe even sing along to Point Of Know Return,” right? Don’t feel bad. We, not knowing a whole lot about the band beyond their hits, were once that naive too. Then we listened to Epic/Legacy’s anniversary edition of the 1978 double-live Two For The Show and learned that, apparently, Kansas concerts last abooouuut 20 hours. You do get to hear the three aforementioned songs, of course, but you also get to experience the (then) six-piece (now five) venture into areas of prog-rock pretentiousness thought impossible even by ’70s rock standards.

Are we telling you not to see Kansas in Lisle? Exactly the opposite, actually. It’s our assumption Kansas will have to pull the reins in a little to properly work the street-fair setting. Plus, fireworks are scheduled for 9:45.

Oh, and if a measly 105-minute Lisle live set isn’t enough, the Anniversary Edition comes with a second CD of 10 previously unreleased live songs – including a Phil Ehart drum solo! – that boosts the new Two For The Show to nearly two-and-a-half hours.

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly