Universal Studios, Orlando
March, 2020
It’s hard to believe but these Midwestern rockers have been playing together for about 50 years, and as we witnessed at Universal Orlando, they are still delivering memorable performances.
REO Speedwagon is touring this year, as they celebrate the 40th Anniversary of their legendary 1980 release, Hi Infidelity. The rare Diamond Record (10x Platinum), thrust the band into the rock ‘n roll stratosphere during the midst of the MTV craze that vaulted them to the top of the Stadium Rock circuit.
I’ll be honest, I liked REO a lot more before 1984, than afterwards, when they assaulted our ears with an endless string of weak power-ballads like “One Lonely Night” and “That Ain’t Love.” But, I’ve seen the band several times over the past few decades, and they still always produced a solid show. I was curious to see how they’ve held up when they announced their Orlando show.
The verdict? I was impressed.
The current lineup of rock ‘n roll veterans delivered a fun, energetic set. These days, it’s common for legendary bands to “mail it in” – but on this night, REO was into their performance and left the crowd thoroughly satisfied.
Kevin Cronin remains the band’s focal point, as he has for most of the past five decades. The diminutive rocker bounced across the stage throughout the set with a constant smile plastered on his face. His voice sounded good throughout, particularly for a performer closing in on 70.
He was joined onstage by his longtime band mates and friends, including keyboardist Neal Doughty who is the last original member. Doughty founded the band at the University of Illinois in 1967, five years before Cronin joined as the lead singer. Bruce Hall became REO’s bass player in 1977, just before they made their huge commercial breakthrough.
The two new guys, drummer Bryan Hitt and guitarist Dave Amato have “only” been with the band for the last 31 years! After playing together for decades, the quintet proclaim to be tight friends, and they certainly came across that way on stage.
All five musicians played off of each other throughout the set, and appeared to be having a genuinely good time on stage, particularly the Orlando-based Hall. The blonde-tressed bassist interacted with a young fan off to stage right throughout the set, and brought the child onstage to join in on drums for “Roll With the Changes” as the show wrapped up.
Highlights from the set included Hall taking lead vocals on a rollicking version of “Back On the Road Again.” I also appreciated “Son Of a Poor Man,” an autobiographical song, written by original guitarist Gary Richrath who passed away a few years ago.
The crowd loved the singalong moments on the power ballad hits like “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” “Time For Me to Fly” and “Keep On Loving You.” I was more impressed with the harder rock offerings like the songs that opened and close the main set, “Don’t Let Him Go” and “Ridin’ the Storm Out.”
The band ended the night with a crowd-pleasing, two-song encore that started with Kevin Cronin alone on his piano. From the first notes of “Keep On Loving You” through the last chops of “Roll With the Changes,” the crowd was participating full throat, leaving the show thoroughly satisfied.
Setlist
Don’t Let Him Go
Music Man
Someone Tonight
Keep Pushin’
Can’t Fight This Feeling
That Ain’t Love
Tough Guys
Son of a Poor Man
I Wish You Were There
Take It on the Run
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Ridin’ the Storm Out
Encore:
Keep On Loving You
Roll With the Changes
