Toto “40 Trips Around the Sun” at Uptown Theater

Uptown Theater Presented Toto Live in Concert on September 27, 2019

As the “40 Trips Around the Sun” tour took its final turn, legendary rock band Toto made one last swing through Kansas City with a live concert performance at Uptown Theater on September 27, 2019. Blessing us with back-to-back stops in town after several years away, the crew delivered the most nostalgic night imaginable. The band and the music combined with the perfect setting transported multiple generations of fans to a whole other place and time.

Led by the founders Steve Lukather (guitar/vocals) and Steve Porcaro (keywords), Toto featured classic members Lenny Castro (drums) and Joseph Williams (lead vocals) plus touring members Warren Ham (saxophone/vocals), Shannon Forest (drums), Shem Von Schroeck (bass guitar) and Dominique “Xavier” Taplin (keyboards). The band took fans through four decades of music all the way back to the start with “Hold the Line” (1978) and shared its greatest hits “Africa,” “Rosanna,” “I’ll Be Over You” and “Stop Loving You.” Mid-set even consisted of a string of seated acoustic tunes as members shared the stories behind them.

Fans were mesmerized throughout the night, hoping it would last forever. The Toto members surely looked as if they could play that long too, seemingly not wanting to go home. The endearing sounds and extended instrumentals curated by the industry’s greats relentlessly vibrated through every bit of mind, body and soul for two straight hours. Better than a dream, it was simply one of the moments in time where everything is so incredibly vivid and just how one would imagine life should be.

Setlist for Toto at Uptown Theater on September 27, 2019:

“Devil’s Tower,” “Hold the Line,” “Lovers in the Night,” “Alone,” “I Will Remember,” “English Eyes,” “Jake to the Bone” and “Rosanna” ~Acoustic Storytellers: “Georgy Porgy,” “Human Nature” (Michael Jackson), “I’ll Be Over You” and “Stop Loving You”~ “Girl Goodbye,” “Lion,” “Dune (Desert Theme),” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Make Believe” and “Africa”; Encore – “Home of the Brave”