S took me to see Earth, Wind and Fire at Irvine tonight. I'd never seen them before, but I love their music, having played along with tracks like September and Getaway more times than I can count. The band did not dissapoint. Philip Bailey can still hit the ultra high notes, the horn section is slamming, and Verdine White never stops moving. Never. After about 4 or 5 numbers (with a hit or two), the rest of the night was pretty much non-stop songs and medleys that anyone who is between 30-50 years old knows. Great stuff. Lots of positive vibe, the crowd was dancing and appreciative, and it fired me up even further to play more music.
The opening act was Chris Botti, who I'd never heard of, but will again. Great trumpet player. And his band was just sick. Mark Whitfield on guitar (my ex-roomates hero), Billy Childs on piano, and the highlight, Billy Kilson on drums. Seriously. If I had to pick a dream drummer to work with, it would be a toss up between Keith Carlock and Bily Kilson. He's that good. And his set got me fired up to play different music for different reasons. So now I guess I've got to just go do it...
