As the first snowflakes fell in Central New York – nothing could cool down the excitement of the crowd pouring into the Stanley Theater in downtown Utica NY for the REO Speedwagon show!

Opening up with a quick 15 min. acoustic set was local musician Justin Smithson. Some of you may know him from Showtime, but Justin also does his own solo act. It was a nice way to warm up the crowd.

REO Speedwagon came out with a burst. One thing that I really love about seeing the bands that emerged from the 70’s, is the level of musicianship! They come from a musical time era when they recorded, they really needed the skills to capture their sound and essence, there were no levels raised, no auto tune to get them on key – it was just them and their instruments. And all these years later, they are still strong as ever!!

Live they really put on a great show. Their sound is spot on, sounding just like the albums. And like you can tell that they really truly love what they are doing. They come out with great energy and their smiles are infectious.

Their set list is of course packed with the hits that we all love including “Take It on the Run” “Can’t Fight This Feeling” “Tough Guys” and “Time for Me to Fly.” They did a special dedication of “Golden Country” for their longtime friend and former bandmate/songwriter Gary Richrath who past away in last month. It was a heartfelt, nice touch as they honored him.

One thing I didn’t know, Vocalist Kevin Cronin was telling the crowd that our area of New York State has a special place for them. It was a Rochester radio station that first gave REO Speedwagon their first chance outside the Midwest (where they are from). He said it helped to give them the feeling that they might be able to make it outside the Midwest area. He said that he always thinks of that when he gets up into this area of New York.

They finished out the perfect night of rock with “Roll With the Changes” before coming back on for an encore of “Keep On Loving You” and “Ridin’ the Storm Out.”

Earlier that day, the mayor of Utica declared Oct 17 – REO Speedwagon Day and gave the band a key to the city. Let’s hope that means they will return again soon.

REO Speedwagon will continue to tour North America, returning to New York State on Oct 20 in Port Chester NY and Oct 25 in Binghamton NY.

__________________________________________________________________

PHOTO GALLERIES :

REO SPEEDWAGON :: PHOTO GALLERY :: UTICA NY

__________________________________________________________________

TOUR DATES :

.

OCT 18 – Newport News, VA @ Ferguson Center for the Arts
OCT 20 – Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
OCT 21 – Shippensburg, PA @ Shippensburg University
OCT 23 – Wilkes-Barre, PA @ Mohegan Sun Pocono
OCT 24 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City
OCT 25 – Binghamton, NY @ Magic City Music Hall
NOV 05 – Kansas City, MO @ The Midland
NOV 06 – Newkirk, OK @ First Council Casino
NOV 07 – Effingham, IL @ Effingham Performance Center
NOV 09 – Champaign, IL @ The Virginia Theatre
NOV 10 – Bowling Green, KY @ S. Kentucky PAC
NOV 12 – Tulsa, OK @ The Joint (Hard Rock Hotel)
NOV 13 – St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House
NOV 14 – Durant,OK @ Choctaw Casino
DEC 11 – Bloomington, IN @ Indiana University Aud
DEC 31 – Red Wing, MN @ Treasure Island Resort and Casino

2016
JAN 02 – New Buffalo, MI @ Four Winds Casino Resort
MAR 05 – Walnut Creek, CA @ Lesher Center for the Arts

__________________________________________________________________

LINKS:

REO SPEEDWAGON : reospeedwagon.com

_____________________________________________

MUSICIAN PHOTO JOURNAL :

__________________________________________________________________