Chicago Coming to the Orpheum

Chicago, the self-styled rock band with horns, that throws a little bit of everything at their audience when they hit the stage—tapping into an extensive catalogue of ballads, hard-rockers, and jazz-tinged jams—are coming to Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on April 18. Songs like “If You Leave Me Now,” “Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?,” “Saturday in the Park,” and “Twenty-Five or Six to Four” remain timeless classics in the Chicago song canon and have made the band one of the best-selling American rock groups of all time. Other than The Beach Boys, no American rock band has created as many chart-topping hits as Chicago. Named for their hometown, the group’s concerts traverse decades and styles, as the musicians blaze through their audience favorites, such as “Beginnings” and “Questions 67 and 68.”

Chicago has toured for a long time without it’s famous singer, Peter Cetera, who left the band in the summer of 1985. Cetera had asked for hiatuses after tours in order to focus on his solo work (mirroring that of Phil Collins and Genesis), but the band declined. 

Cetera soon topped the charts after leaving Chicago with the songs “Glory of Love” (which was the theme song of the Hollywood film The Karate Kid Part II) and “The Next Time I Fall” (a duet with Amy Grant). Two more Cetera songs reached the Top Ten: a 1998 solo hit called “One Good Woman” (Number 4) and a 1989 duet with Cher, “After All” (Number 6).

Chicago replaced Cetera with bassist and singer-songwriter Jason Scheff, who was not nearly as popular as Cetera, causing Chicago’s popularity to wane a bit in the late 1980s and early ’90s. In May 1990, more inner turmoil caused original drummer Danny Seraphine to be kicked out of the band, further separating the fans from the original Chicago they loved. Keyboardist and vocalist Robert Lamm and trombonist James Pankow continued to carry the weight for Chicago.

In 2015, Chicago was finally inducted into the rock n’ roll hall of fame and Peter Cetera briefly said he would rejoin the band to play during their induction. As the date of the ceremony approached, a disagreement arose between Cetera and Lamm about the how the horn section in “Twenty-Five or Six to Four” would be played. Cetera dropped out of playing at the ceremony, but once again Chicago carried on without him and put on a wonderful show, playing a blistering live version of “Twenty-Five or Six to Four,” full of loud horns and high-pitched electric guitar solos.

Cetera later criticized Chicago, saying in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock Magazine, “Every idea or suggestion I offered about how it could work musically was either rejected or changed by the show’s producers. While I sent those same emails to the group, the only reply I ever received back from them was a very snarky ‘Take a chill pill, dude!’ Whoa! Really?” Cetera also said that he had no regrets leaving the band after its bestselling album titled17. He has grown comfortable calling the shots in his own career and told the magazine, “At this point in my life I don’t care to reintroduce the same negativity, misplaced egos, and petty jealousies I left behind so many years ago.”

Now, Chicago, get ready to play Boston’s Orpheum. Everyone is waiting to hear those timeless hits played live!

Miele Live At The Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, 3/12/19

Miele Keyboardist Melissa Lee Niles and guitarist Joe Spilsbury

On Tuesday, March 12, Miele played a rocking set at the Midway Café in Jamaica Plain. The musicians in this talented rock band—vocalist/keyboardist Mellissa Lee Nilles, guitarist Joe Spilsbury, bassist Cedric Lamour, and newcomer-drummer Jeff Edwards—are hot on the local club scene. A year ago, they released their first, well-received album Transience.

Miele kicked off the evening with “Spring Rain,” a quiet original that opens and builds up with some very beautiful piano by Lee Nilles, followed by stellar guitar picking by Spilsbury. Lamour's bass guitar work was notable. “It’s a new release and we’re in the middle of recording it right now,” Lee Nilles informed the crowd before dipping into the opening piano chords. Following two more originals, “Anxious Ghost” and “Unfiltered,” Spilsbury broke a string on his guitar with his hard, signature strumming. While he restrung his guitar, the rest of the band went into a jazzy jam with Lee Nilles leading the beat with a piano verse that was incredible.

With the band whole again, Miele launched into “Hold it Together,” one of their best jams that dates way back in Miele’s song canon. It sounded fantastic with Spilsbury’s heavy distortion guitar leading the way, and Lee Nilles voice reaching high levels of wailing in the chorus. “Such an energetic song,” she declared at the end of the tune, and yes, the song has a ton of flow and energy to it!

Other notable songs in the latter part of the set were a politically driven anti-Trump song, “We Don’t Care,” and the popular Miele set closer “Slip Away.” In “We Don’t Care,” the song goes through several cool transitions, beginning with a slow, distorted drive and gradually picking up. The riff by Spilsbury is highly original, and I hope this song gets played at more of their upcoming shows. The song closes with several minutes of incredible musical wails by Lee Nilles—“Ahhh, ahhh, woo, woo,” followed by the music slowing down and then picking up again with Lee Nilles singing over and over again, “We don’t care.”

Miele bassist Cedric Lamour

Then the show wrapped up with Lee Nilles thanking the audience: “Thank you, so much everyone, this is going to be our last song—it’s called ‘Slip Away.’ If you guys like our music we have CDs in the back. Thanks so much to Lockette for inviting us to be here. It’s always fun to play a show with other badass ladies. I want to see more of that in the scene.”

“Slip Away” is one of Miele’s heavier originals with fewer transitions than some of their other songs. It follows a more continuous flow of rhythm. The piano, drums, and guitars all keep a steady rhythm that syncs nicely with Lee Nilles vocals. At the end, the song gets heavier, then slowly fades out with Lee Nilles’ piano, and once again picks up for a final chorus. Spilsbury strums one last powerful chord on his guitar to close it out.

This Boston-based band is what Boston is famous for producing—original and amazing musical talent. The musicians have said that they strive to “celebrate the emotions, spirit, and wisdom that live and breathe in all of us, as well as the rage, the desire, and the chaos that erupt out of us when we cannot give them voice.”

Miele’s next concerts are at Boston’s New Music Showcase at Union Tavern, Somerville, Friday, April 5, and Club Bohemia, Central Square, April 20. For updates about other concerts that continue to be added to their spring and summer schedule, check Miele’s website or Facebook page: www.mielemusic.com,www.facebook.com/mieletheband.

Miele live at the Midway