REO Speedwagon played their final Central Illinois show Saturday with special opening guest Loverboy. The band has said they'll stop touring at the end of the year, due to irreconcilable differences between lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Kevin Cronin and bassist Bruce Hall, who took a leave of absence for back surgery and has yet to return.
The multi-platinum American rock band has deep Central Illinois roots. Hall is from Champaign and joined the band 10 years after Neal Doughty started jamming in the basement of his residence hall at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Cronin grew up outside Chicago. He joined REO Speedwagon in 1972 and apparently hasn't looked back.
Now 78 years old, Doughty is still on the roster, but he stopped touring last year. On a recommendation from Rick Springfield, Derrick Hilland has been filling in for Doughty on the road, playing piano and Hammond organ. Elton John's bassist Matt Bissonnette has been filling in for Hall.
“The people of downstate Illinois — we owe it all to you,” Cronin said to a near-capacity crowd at Grossinger Motors Arena. “So, excuse me if I get a little nostalgic.”
Cronin was, indeed, nostalgic, making several references to Central Illinois and Peoria native Gary Dean Richrath, REO's late lead guitarist and songwriter. Dave Amato replaced Richrath in 1989 and, as Cronin said, had big shoes to fill.
Drummer Bryan Hitt joined the same year as Amato and rounded out Saturday's roster. Amato, Hitt and Cronin are all in their 70s; Cronin said at 73, he still feels 23. And quite honestly, the band sounded just as good as it always has.
Sensing the friendly [almost] hometown crowd, Cronin recalled playing at the Red Lion Inn in both Champaign and Bloomington, imparting a message of unity with Golden Country, Richrath's 1972 song protesting the war in Vietnam. He wrote it, Cronin said, when we were “just a little bar band from downstate Illinois.”
They're not a little bar band anymore, but REO Speedwagon is emblematic of a bygone era. They travel with a set of risers and painted backdrop—likely not updated in decades. It's a decent enough production value but nothing compared to the massive tours of today's standard-bearer pop stars. For REO Speedwagon, it's about the music. It's always been about the music. And this wasn’t clear enough, this is not a cringey, geriatric version of a band that should have hung it up years ago. They sounded amazing.
What happens next for REO Speedwagon is still a little unclear. Cronin saddled up to the piano for the night's two encores: Keep on Loving You and Roll with the Changes, literally leaping from the piano's riser and stood at the edge of the stage.
“I've always loved Illinois and I always will,” he said. “And we're not done yet...”
How mysterious! Will we get 20 years of farewell tours like the Eagles? Probably not. Touring holograms like KISS? Who knows. All I can say is, if this is the end REO Speedwagon, thousands of fans at Grossinger Arena can say they were there. And it rocked.
Loverboy Set List
Notorious
Lucky Ones
Queen of the Broken Hearts
Take Me to the Top
The Kid is Hot Tonite
Lovin' Every Minute of It
Hot Girls in Love
Turn Me Loose
Working for the Weekend
REO Speedwagon Set List
Don't Let Him Go
Take it on the Run
Keep Pushin'
Live Every Moment
Tough Guys
I Wish You Were There
Music Man
Can't Fight This Feeling
Son of a Poor Man
Golden Country
Time for Me to Fly
Ridin' the Storm Out
Encores
Keep on Loving You
Roll With the Changes
