Concert Review: REO Speedwagon, Styx and .38 Special at Starlight

The Can’t Stop Rockin’ Tour, featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx, and .38 Special hit Starlight last night. The tour is what all classic rock tours should be, essentially — it billed itself as “All Hits, All Night.” No new stuff, no solo material to make the guitar player happy — just the hits. The show delivered what your average classic rock audience wants, presenting all killer, no filler. The performers, as well as the audience, weren’t concerned with being cool. You had denim-jacketed frontmen acting goofy with one another, and well-coifed and made-up women dancing just as silly as the 14 year-old girls in the row in front of them.

I imagine that if Styx had been able to convince Dennis DeYoung to rejoin the band, they’d have headlined. As it was, REO Speedwagon did, and played the same set they’ve been knocking out every other summer for the past couple of decades. The stage show was fantastic, and the place was lit up like a Broadway musical — kind of appropriate considering the number of touring Broadway productions that hit Starlight every summer. Kevin Cronin was remarkably energetic, and constantly engaged the audience. Every act did, really. I’m sure the patter was canned, but every frontman over the course of the evening managed to seem sincere when they talked about how much they loved Kansas City or what a good-looking crowd there was out there.

REO Speedwagon set list

Don’t Let him Go

Take It On the Run

Keep Pushin’

Golden Country

Can’t Fight

Poor Man

Fly

Back On the Road

Keep On Lovin’ You

Roll With the Changes

Ridin’ the Storm Out

Can’t Stop Rockin’