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Struck Rich With TOTO
The Straits Times
By Loh Keng Fatt
February 13th, 2004
TOTO's 25th Anniversary show in Singapore was a tour de force of virtuoso musicianship.
Everyone was a winner on Wendesday at Suntec City. All 3000 of them. The money was on the American pop-rockers to deliver and they did. Unlike the Toto lottery draw, the sextet rolled out more than six winning numbers. Odds-on favorites like Rosaanna, Africa, and Hold The Line all paid handsome dividends, with the veterans cheered on to romp home in a thunderous flourish.
Other songs like I Won't Hold You Back and Stop Loving You gave the guys a chance to wrap their arms around their dates. And just like the hoo-ha over the recent $10 million Toto Hongbao draw, no one among the the mostly middle aged audience could sit still. They had no choice really. Not when Steve Lukather, after the first song, wanted everyone to party and come right up to the stage. They did - Japanese businessmen, Caucasion woman with white hair and just about anyone else fast enough to dash to the front. And there they rocked for 90 minutes or more, finding the reserve and energy from Bobby Kimball's lusty vocals, Mike Porcaro's monster bass lines and David Paich's snaking magical mystery tour on keyboards. Guitarist Lukather? Well, if there's a School of Rock, a class could be devoted to his craftsmanship. Devotees will say his joyful playing, was scintilillating.
At one stage, Lukather said: Well "We are not on MTV. Hell, MTV was not even around when we started. "We are musicians, not actors." The guys were true to their word, dropping all small talk and fancy stage props. There was a time out for solo runs from Lukather and drimmer Simon Phillips, but, unfortunately, not Porcaro. Seeing him playing alone- he attacked his bass guitar like a hungry lover - would have been like striking the big Toto jackpot for me.
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