A sold out crowd packed Bilston’s cosy Robin 2 to the rafters, and Lukather delivered a set which matched all expectations. The majority of the setlist was made up of songs from Lukather’s four solo albums, with highlights being the excellent title track of latest opus ‘Ever Changing Times’, as well as a super rendition of ‘Hero with a 1,000 Eyes’. There was also room for a few TOTO tunes, and it was great to hear songs like ‘Live For Today’ and ‘Wings of Time’ - neither of which have featured in a TOTO set for a good length of time.

Lukather’s band is an extremely tight unit, and with someone like Lukather calling the shots, you really wouldn’t expect anything else. Towards the end of TOTO’s live appearances, you got the impression that Lukather wasn’t enjoying being part of what was fast becoming a live circus. However, tonight, he was obviously enjoying every minute, including a considerable amount of banter with the crowd, in between near enough every number. His vocals may be pretty standard fair, but the guitar work is just magnificent, both to watch, and to listen to. One of the best in the word? Absolutely!

As the set ran comfortably over 2 hours, by the end of final number, TOTO’s ‘Road Goes On’, all in attendance would have gone home satisfied, . Lukather even made the effort to meet his admiriers at the merchandise stand after the show. Seeing a guitarist of Lukather’s legacy in such intimate surroundings was a terrific experience, and tonight proves that Lukather certainly doesn’t need TOTO to be able to do what he loves, and that’s travelling the world, playing live music.

Rating: 4.2/5.0

Review by James Allman

Photography by Alexander Shaw (Steve Lukather photos)