As we wait inside New Brunswick, NJ’s State Theatre auditorium this Monday, April 15, 2019 evening, we talk to several audience members excited to experience a live performance from the legendary band which will soon appear on this very stage tonight — Chicago!

First, we chat with Dave from Port Richey, FL, who is having his photo taken at the foot of the stage holding a sign that reads “This is my 55th Chicago Concert.”

Explains Dave, “I’ve seen Chicago 54 times, but this is the first time I’ve ever had seats in the front row,” adding, “I’ve been a fan for a lot of years — I first heard their original album around 1968 or 1969 when I was a college student.”

When asked why he loves the group so much, Dave replies, “I like Chicago’s songs — I know most of the words to them — and their horns are fantastic. Whenever I hear their music, I get fired up!”

Next, we converse with Gina and Mark from Raritan. Recalls Gina — who’s wearing her tie-dyed Chicago T-shirt — “I’ve been a fan since I was 10 years old. At the time, some of my friends told me to listen to ‘25 or 6 to 4.’ I didn’t know what the lyrics to the song meant, but I loved the music. Since then, I’ve gone on to see them at least 10 or 12 times.”

Acknowledges Mark, “My wife got me into Chicago, and I’ve been a fan now for 40 years. One of my favorite songs is ‘Make Me Smile,’ but when Gina and I got married, ‘Colour My World’ was our wedding song.”

Here, Mark lifts his pant leg to reveal a large tattoo on his leg which — right next to Gina’s name — says “Colour My World.”

Lastly, we chat with Dennis and Matt, a father and son from Berkeley Heights.

Recalls Dennis, “I’ve known Chicago for 50 years. I first heard them back in 1969 when they were the warm-up act for Iron Butterfly. I brought them over to play at my high school in Scotch Plains, and I’ve been friends with the band ever since.”

Revealing, “I have 10 kids and whenever I see Chicago, I bring one of them,” Dennis jokes, “The kids fight, arguing, “It’s my turn!” Noting he loves their music because of the “variety,” he explains, “They can play hard rock, ballads, and jazz-rock — and they always switch things up.”

Dennis’ youngest son, Matt, tells us, “I was born into this — it’s the only music I ever heard my dad listen to,” going on to conclude, “Over the years, I’ve developed my own love of the music. In my opinion, there’s nothing else like it.”

Prerecorded music plays as the lights dim and the ten current members of Chicago take their places on the stage — Lou Pardini on keyboards, Wally Reyes, Jr. on drums, Ray Yslas on percusion, Keith Howland on guitar, Brett Simons on bass, Ray Herrmann on sax, Neil Donell on vocals, and founding members Robert Lamm on keyboards, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, and James Pankow on trombone.

A large screen behind the band begins to present a stream of colors and images as the Chicago musicians open with the funky horn-inspired number from their debut album, Chicago Transit Authority, appropriately titled “Introduction.” Robert Lamm takes a spot center stage playing a portable keyboard strapped around his neck known as a keytar.

On this blockbuster opener, trombonist James Pankow, saxophonist Ray Herrmann, and trumpeter Lee Loughnane impress the packed house with their trademark Chicago horn section sound. As the number progresses, Pankow comes downstage to take a killer trombone solo before he’s joined by a thoughtful and mellow Loughnane trumpet solo. The pair is followed by a rambunctious Keith Howland guitar solo which is backed up by Lamm on keytar and Brett Simons on bass.

The crowd rises to its feet cheering as the group launches another tune from their debut album — their first single, “Questions 67 and 68.” Following its triumphant horn intro, Neil Donell handles the lead, his high tenor strong and clear, as he croons the famous “Can this feeling that we have together/Ooh, suddenly exist between” lyric on this exciting rendition. The horns wailing high and powerfully, the experience is perfectly enhanced by a myriad of lights and images which flash onscreen.

Neil Donell and Lou Pardini lead a happy vocal duet on the group’s 1972 Top 25 hit, “Dialogue (Part I and II).” Hands clap overhead as images of flowers and rainbows float around them. Clapping along to Keith Howland’s ‘70s-era wah-wah guitar sound, the audience joins in singing on the “We can make it happen/We can change the world now” coda before Howland rocks out on guitar.

Robert Lamm welcomes the crowd saying, “We can make it happen, New Jersey — you guys all look beautiful!”

Following up with the bouncy “Wake Up Sunshine,” Lamm’s breezy lead puts smiles on the faces of the crowd and James Pankow’s electrifying trombone solo elicits excited cheers.

Moving on to the group’s 1974 Top Ten Latin-influenced hit, “Call On Me,” brilliant harmony vocals ring out on the well-known, “I love you/You know I do/You love me, too” refrain before the song’s cool trumpet/tenor/trombone instrumental break and its infectious “You can count on me, oh/You can count on me” samba ending.

Neil Donell’s voice is featured on the classic 1974 hit, “(I’ve Been) Searching So Long.”

Opening with the beam of a search light shining on the crowd, the Chicago horns play slowly and sweetly as they fill the space between the heartfelt “I’ve been searchin’ so long to find an answer/Now I know my life has meaning” lyric, and the crowd sings along on the “Good things in life/Take a long time” coda before responding with heartfelt cheers and applause for this nostalgic ’70s tune.

Hands clap overhead on “Mongonucleosis,” a Latin-influenced arrangement which features Ray Herrmann on sax and Lee Loughnane on trumpet.

Performing together in the center of stage, the rhythm section deftly supports the duo on this high-energy instrumental.

The mood changes, however, as a scrim is lowered and begins to reflect swirls of light and color on an unplugged rendition of “If You Leave Me Now.” Neil Donell and Keith Howland strum acoustic guitars to accompany the song’s well-known “If you leave me now/You’ll take away the biggest part of me” lyric.

The crowd reacts with heartfelt applause and cheers before Lou Pardini takes a seat at a keyboard set up in the center of the stage. Opening with a slow and jazzy keyboard intro, he performs a solo rendition of “Look Away.” As the song progresses, he’s joined by acoustic guitar and bass before the scrim is removed to reveal the entire band all singing and playing along on the mighty “If you see me walkin’ by/And the tears are in my eyes/Look away, baby, look away” chorus.

Audience members leap to their feet and the group responds by launching into their final performance of Act I — a live rendition of James Pankow’s “Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon,” a song cycle written for the group’s album Chicago II. Opening with their 1970 top ten hit, “Make Me Smile” — a number which features five-part vocal harmonies — it also features the band’s ever-popular ballad, “Colour My World,” beautifully sung by trumpeter Lee Loughnane.

At the conclusion of this spectacular medley, audience members stand for this talented group of musicians.

Following a short intermission, Act II opens with Chicago launching into “Alive Again,” its world-class horn section playing short and sweet as they punctuate this rhythmic rocker.

The audience reacts with whistles and whoots before the group performs a true crowd-pleaser — their 1970 Top Ten hit, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is.” Right from the start, the iconic horn intro immediately gets the audience clapping and dancing. Sounding great, Robert Lamm handles the lead, taking many in the audience back to a simpler place and time.

Photographs of old-time Chicago flash across the screen on the band’s nostalgic hit, “Old Days,” as members of the audience sing and sway to the “Old days, good times I remember/Gold days, days I’ll always treasure” lyric.

The crowd roars its approval and James Pankow takes a moment to thank the audience declaring, “We’re so glad to see all of your smiling faces. Without you, it doesn’t mean a damn thing!”

The group’s 1984’s Top Five hit, “Hard Habit to Break,” is up next. Neil Donell trades vocals with Lou Pardini on this compelling number singing, “Now being without you/Takes a lot of getting used to.” The music builds in intensity before the powerful horns enter on the bridge and transform this slow dance number into an electrifying power ballad.

The audience cheers when they recognize the keyboard introduction to the group’s 1984 Top Five hit, “You’re the Inspiration.” The crowd happily sings along to the iconic “You’re the meaning in my life/You’re my inspiration” chorus as well as on the rhythmic “When you love someone” coda, and Loughnane, Herrmann, and Pankow punctuate the song with their virtuoso musicianship playing flugelhorn, sax, and trombone

Keith Howland follows up with an electrifying guitar solo, and the crowd again leaps to its feet with applause as fans in the audience yell out, “That was great!”

Moving on to their 1971 Top Ten smash, “Beginnings,” Robert Lamm superbly handles lead vocals while playing 12-string acoustic guitar and is accompanied by Keith Howland on 12-string, Neil Donell on 6-string acoustic, and Bret Simons on bass and backup vocals.

The audience happily joins in singing on the “Oh-oh oh-oh-oh-oh woah-oh-oh oh/Mostly I’m silent” chorus.

After the group vocalizes on the “Only the beginning/Only just the start” interlude, the three founding members of the group — Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, and James Pankow — take their rightful places together in the center of the stage on this nostalgic Chicago classic.

Segueing into a Santana-esque rendition of The Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man,” The Chicago musicians impress as they sing in six-part harmony, “I’m a man/Yes I am/And I can’t help but love you so,” before Ray Herrmann and others rock out on instrumental solos.

Soon, all of the Chicago musicians leave the stage except for drummer Wally Reyes, Jr. and percussionist Ray Yslas who take the spotlight for an extended percussion duet. As fire smolders on the screen behind them, the duo goes back and forth in an energetic musical conversation which features complex polyrhythms.

The audience claps as Reyes yells, “Let me hear you!” before speeding up.

“You want more?” cries Reyes and the crowd responds with whistles and cheers.

The pair continues by singing, scatting, and then trading places — with Yslas moving to the drum set and Reyes moving to the percussion station — energetically and creatively playing to the audience’s delight.

Ultimately, the pair picks up the tempo, and in doing so, whips the audience into a frenzy as the lights pulsate to the music. Before the rest of the band retakes the stage for the dramatic finish, the audience is on its feet with yet another standing ovation.

Moving on to a lesser-known tune from 1979, Chicago performs their disco-influenced “Street Player,” the horn section strutting in rhythm to the music as images of Chicago gangsters appear on screen.

Segueing into another audience favorite — the group’s 1974 Top 5 Billboard hit, “Just You ’n’ Me” — the crowd bops along to Neil Donell’s breezy “Just you and me/Simple and free” lyric, and Ray Herrmann is featured on a mystical soprano saxophone solo during the song’s instrumental interlude.

Ray Yslas encourages people to take out their cellphone flashlights as the group launches into their 1982 #1 hit, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.” Audience members joyfully hold up their phones, shining and swaying as they sing along to the famous “After all that we’ve been through/I will make it up to you” chorus.

Fans in the front row stand as Lee Loughnane plays a fanfare on trumpet before everyone rises and claps to the electrifying sounds of “Get Away.” As Yslas spins around while playing percussion, the brass section wails.

Another highlight of the evening takes place when Chicago performs their 1972 gold record which sold over a million copies — a song which Robert Lamm wrote following a walk in New York — “Saturday in the Park.” During this all-time feel-good tune, the happy State Theatre crowd is on its feet singing, dancing, and clapping as scenes of New York’s Central Park fill the screen.

And if that isn’t enough, the audience remains on its feet as Chicago concludes its powerful line-up of hits with their 1973 Top Ten smash, “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day.”

With spotlights on the audience, the crowd claps in double time, the upbeat horns blaring before they end with a Beatle-ish “Got to Get You Intro My Life” horn flourish.

With the crowd still cheering on its feet, Chicago leaves the stage, but returns for an encore of their 1971 Top 20 hit, “Free.” As keyboardist Lou Pardini and the band sing, “I just wanna be free,” the horn section stands in a semi-circle and plays their hearts out on this timeless rock and roll anthem.

Stage lights blink as the group concludes with one of the concert highlight performances of the year, a better-than-you’ve-ever-heard-it-before rendition of Chicago’s 1970 Top 5 hit, “25 or 6 to 4.”

Great on the recording but far superior live, the horns and vocal harmonies are powerful, spot-on, and “in the moment” on this song about a specific time of day — just 25 or 26 minutes before 4 in the morning — leaving the entire house rocking, clapping, cheering, and standing in appreciation for a magnificent performance.

After bowing and shaking hands with fans in the audience, drummer Wally Reyes, Jr. hands a set of drumsticks to a pair of women at the foot of the stage before Pankow says, “New Jersey — you are amazing! We hope you had as much fun as we did!”

As music lovers begin to file out of the auditorium, we chat with several members of the crowd who share their opinions with us regarding tonight’s concert.

First, we chat with Matt — the son with whom we spoke earlier — who comments, “They’re just fantastic! Every time I see them I have such a great time.”

Next, we chat with Nanette from Long Valley who exclaims with a smile, “We got drumsticks!” explaining, “Before the last song, we went down front and I was air drumming and, at the end of the song, the drummer came down and gave me sticks!”

Her companion, Suzie from Shrewsbury, nods in agreement before adding, “And when I said, ‘Where are mine?’ he told us to share them. So we each have one stick,” before noting, “That double drum solo was awesome!”

Nanette concurs acknowledging, “This was my first time seeing Chicago and I was very impressed. They’re great — they play so many hit songs and they really connect with the audience!”

Concludes Suzie, who’s seen the group before, “There’s no question they are amazing musicians. I grew up with this music, and I can tell you, they were as good tonight as they ever have been.”

Nannette’s husband, Robert from Long Valley, chimes in, “We really enjoyed Chicago tonight — they played so many incredible hits.”

Lastly, we chat with Pam and Ron from Manalapan. Whereas Pam sums things up with a single word — “Amazeballs!” — Ron concludes by calling Chicago’s performance tonight “Freaking awesome!”

To learn more about Chicago, please go to chicagotheband.com. For information on upcoming performances at State Theatre New Jersey — including Joe Jackson on May 18 and the Happy Together Tour 2019 featuring The Turtles, Chuck Negron, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, The Buckinghams, The Classics IV, and The Cowsills on May 29 — please click on stnj.org.

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Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

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Renaissance Quartet Brings Bold Innovation and Classical Mastery to McCarter Theatre on Thursday

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Prepare to be captivated by the Renaissance Quartet, featuring violinists Randall Goosby and Jeremiah Blacklow, violist Jameel Martin, and cellist Daniel Hass. Graduates of the Juilliard School and mentored by the legendary Itzhak Perlman, the Quartet brings a unique blend of classical mastery and innovative flair to McCarter Theatre on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 7:30pm. Known for reimagining chamber music traditions, this New York based ensemble combines technical excellence with a bold, forward-thinking approach that appeals to a diverse audience.

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State Theatre New Jersey presents Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with support from New Breed Brass Band