Went to the Kansas concert last night in Mesa, Az. Wow! I was absolutely blown away by how good they were. It was a religious experience for me. They performed for over two hours. They have such a distinctive sound, always have. Everything was superb. The performance execution was outstanding. The sound quality at the Mesa Arts Center venue was much better than most big concerts when compared to sports arenas like Chase field.

Rich Williams, Guitar - is one of the only remaining original Member still with Kansas since 1973. He of course was featured on the legendary guitar part on Dust In The Wind.

Phil Ehart, drums is the other remaining original member. However, Eric Holmquist - the Kansas drum tech is currently substituting for Phil Ehart who is currently recovering from a major heart attack. Eric was super solid, and precise.

Ronnie Platt - Vocals, Keyboards since 2014 is a very strong singer and an excellent replacement for the original lead singer Kerry Livgren. If you closed your eyes, you might not be able to tell the difference in vocals between Ronnie and Kerry.

Tom Brislin - Keyboards, vocals - since 2018, is an outstanding classically trained piano player captured the iconic Kansas keyboard parts originally conceived by Steve Walsh, an original founding member.

Joe Deninson - Violin, guitar, vocals - since 2023 absolutely blew me away with his violin playing. Every violin note he played was perfectly in tune. I talked to several people last night who think Joe stole the show!

Dan McGowan - bass, vocals - since 2024 did a great job playing bass, occasional guitar and also did some lead vocal work as well.

Zak Rizvi - Guitar, vocals - since 2016. It was fun to watch the two "bookend" guitarists (Rich Williams on the far left side and Zak on the far right). They did that typical Bostonian thing where they play leads in harmony together. Very cool.

Upon reflection, some of the songs had a slight Celtic quality when the violin took the lead. At other times, the sound took on a legitimate classical tone particular when the piano was featured.

The band Kansas started off as a garage band in Topeka, Kansas in the early 70s. But now, after 5 decades of seasoning and excellent musical training, decisions and personnel choices, they are one of the most sophisticated, technical, and aesthetically pleasing Rock bands from that era. This band is another example that good music stands the test of time and that musicianship can last a whole live and often gets better with age. And yes, they did perform all their hits. Point of No Return, Hold On, Carry On, etc...

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