Rockin' Horns: Chicago brings signature sound to Dodge Arena

Does anybody really know what time it is?

It’s time for a performance by Chicago, the legendary rock band that has racked up 20 top 10 hits since its inception in 1967, including “Make Me Smile,” “25 or 6 to 4,” both from the album Chicago II. Other hits include “No Tell Lover,” “You’re the Inspiration” and “Hard Habit to Break.” The song “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” was a Top 10 hit song in 1971.

The Grammy-winning band performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo in support of its latest album, Chicago XXX. This is Chicago’s second performance in the Rio Grande Valley.

The band first played here in October 2004 with Earth, Wind, and Fire. In a recent e-mail interview, band member Robert Lamm said Chicago looks forward to returning to the Valley.

“We’ve performed everywhere in the world, and are always happy to find a new venue and audience,” Lamm said. “Texans are always enthusiastic, fun-loving, and once they like you, you stay liked! This has been Chicago’s experience. Texans are not blasé, but where music is concerned, very sophisticated. Unlike most big cities.”

Jeff “The Hit Man” DeWitt, D.J. and music director of KHKZ-FM “Hot Kiss” 106.3, said he is looking forward to the performance.

“Every time they put on a show,” he said, “they put on a great performance. You get your money’s worth with your ticket.”

The group was formed by Lamm, Peter Cetera, Walter Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane and James Pankow. The band has changed over the years; Loughnane, Pankow, Parazaider, and Lamm are still there, but Kath was killed in an accidental shooting in 1978 and Cetera went solo in 1985. New talent has joined the group, though, and the band continues to enjoy a large following and will begin touring with the band America this summer.

The original players formed the group to “integrate all the musical diversity from their beloved city and weave a new sound, a rock ‘n’ roll band with horns,” according to the band’s Web site.

Among some of the band’s tunes DeWitt recalled was “If You Leave Me Now,” which had some personal significance. “I think it was the very first girlfriend I ever had when I was like 15, and she was thinking about leaving me, and I kept on listening to that song, ‘If You Leave Me Now,’” he said. “That type of stuff.”

That song, incidentally, was a major event in the band’s history. Penned by Peter Cetera, the tune barely made it onto the 1976 album Chicago X. Its soothing melody and instrumentals, combined with heart-rending lyrics, poured like liquid glass out of radios across the nation and around the world.

The number’s love ballad style became the preferred style of Chicago’s fans, something with which the band was not entirely comfortable.

“That drove me crazy,” said Lamm on Chicago’s Web site, www.chicagotheband.com. “I know it drove Terry (Kath) crazy, because that isn’t what we set out to be and it isn’t how we heard ourselves.”

The song, however, raced to No.1 and also topped charts around the world. The album also became Chicago’s first platinum record.

“They are considered a classic hit-type band now,” DeWitt said. “So, for the older demographics, they’re the ones that will really enjoy this more than the average 18-year-old.”

Thelma Garza, director of the United Way of South Texas, also remembers the wonderful music Chicago gave the public in the 1970s.

“I liked them,” said the president of the United Way, a little embarrassed. “That tells how old I am. I thought they were great. I liked the fact that you could understand the words they were singing.”

Lamm said he feels the band’s greatest accomplishment is, “having created songs with timeless appeal, with the broadest demographic of international audiences, and remaining productive, energetic, and happy.”

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Travis Whitehead covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4452. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Dodge Arena, 2600 N. 10th St., Hidalgo

COST: $45, $65, $85, plus convenience fees and parking.

TICKETS: Available at Dodge Arena Box Office, Macy’s in La Plaza Mall in McAllen, FYE in Brownsville, H.E.B. and Mall del Norte in Laredo, and online at www.dodgearena.com and www.ticketmaster.com.

Tickets may also be purchased with Ticketmaster by calling (956) 668-7740.