As thousands of students filed into G. Rollie White Coliseum on the campus of Texas A&M University on a cool March evening, you could feel excitment in the air. T-shirts and other parephenalia were being snapped up quickly, the beer line was long, the girls were scantily clad and TOTO was about to hit the stage in less than an hour.
The band had just released, Isolation, its first LP since their megahit TOTO IV and the first with new lead singer Fergie Fredericksen, who had replaced Bobby Kimball. I had made the trip from college in Beaumont, TX and, as a fan since the first album, I was really looking forward to this show. After having to endure opening act, John Parr (Naughty, Naughty), TOTO finally hit the stage and proceeded to kick ass.
The crowd was on its feet for most of the night while the band ripped through classics like “Rosanna,” “Hold the Line,” “Africa,” and “I’ll Supply the Love.” Keyboardist David Paich was so enamored with the crowd that at the end of the show he said “whenever anyone asks me where I’m from, I’m going to say College Station, TX.” If you know anything about College Station, the crowd went nuts. Then one week later….the band played at The Summit in Houston. What a difference a week makes.
30 Days Out 