To help the legendary Russ Taff tour the country with an "almost" farewell tour, Steve Taylor assembled a live band as opening support for Taff, and then extended their "[Almost] Farewell Tour" into the fall with a few more dates. However, Taff has been struggling with cancer and was not able to hit the road for the fall dates, leaving a string of shows without a headliner. Taylor decided to step in, turn his opening set into a headlining act and add on none other than alt rock legends The Choir as the opening act. What year is it?!

I have to admit I was pretty excited to hear that Taylor's set had been given an upgrade and The Choir was added to the ticket. I'm not sure I've ever seen The Choir live, either, so I was pretty excited at the prospect. So with frontman Derri Daugherty on guitar and vocals, and Steve Hindalong down front on drums, with Dan Michaels jumping in regularly on saxophone, lyricon, and electric flute, it was a pretty dynamic trio up there on the Junction Center stage. Actually - due to the show selling so many tickets, the Manheim, PA venue tacked on a 2pm matinee show, which is the one we decided to attend on this particular day. (Hey! It is a school night, after all!)

The trio opened with "Circle Slide" from their 1990 album of the same title. It was a super chill set, but the guys focused on the soundscape more than putting on a show. Hindalong frequently made faces while performing (it reminded me so much of Rick Weinland of Imagine This / Lloyd back in the 90s -- one of my favorite drummers ever to watch!), and he frequently shuffled between percussion instruments to keep things fresh and engaging. The guys offered a very diverse mix of songs from their decades as a band, shifting to "To Cover You" from Wide-Eyed Wonder (1989) next and then "Clouds" from Chase the Kangaroo (1988). After talking about first opening up for Steve 40 years ago (and joking about still opening for him), they peformed "15 Doors" before talking about their brand new album Dragonfly and performing "You Belong" from it. After a couple more classics, Steve talked about how fatherhood is the most important role a man can have, and introduced new song "My Father's Son" as being about his father, Paul Hindalong. After "What You Think I Am" from Shadow Weaver (2014), Derri dedicated their last song, "I Still Believe," to Russ Taff.

The set change was nice and brief, with The Choir's setup being carried off stage and the giant "Steve Taylor & Some Band" banner being unveiled in the back. There had been a man dressed all in black and wielding a video camera wandering the set the entire time The Choir had played, and he - unfortunately - returned for the entirety of Steve's set. I get it that some bands like to have tour photographers on the road with them, but this fellow conducted himself as if he were invisible. Sadly, he was not. He was so intrusive throughout the night that it was truly amazing that he never accidentally collided with anyone on stage. That's really my only gripe about the night, though.

Steve Taylor's band of legendary musicians took the stage and opened with "Curses" from his 1993 album, Squint. The 25-song set list that followed was an incredible assortment of songs from across Steve's illustrious career. His songs went as far back as his 1983 EP I Want to Be a Clone, all the way up to this year. For me, I hadn't really gotten into Steve's music until his 1995 live album, Liver, and then fell in love with his album, Squint. All this to say, many of the older songs he performed on this tour were actually new to me.

Making up his "Some Band" on this tour was none other than Mark Lee Townsend on guitar, John Mark Painter on the other guitar, Peter Furler on drums, and two students from Lipscomb University on bass and keys. One of my favorite things about this tour is how much history in Christian pop and rock was represented on one stage. If you've never listened to Steve's music before, you've probably at least heard one of these artists in some form -- be it Townsend producing Relient K's music, Furler fronting the Newsboys, or Painter's project with his wife, Fleming & John.

"The Lament of Desmond R.G. Underwood-Frederick IV" followed "Curses," and then a couple 80s classics came next with "This Disco (Used to Be a Cute Cathedral)" and "I Want to Be a Clone." With the keys accompanying the band, they leaned heavily into the 80s synth sound at times. The title track from Steve Taylor & The Perfect Foil's 2014 album, Goliath, was next, and then he invited Danielson's Dan Smith on stage to perform "The Dust Patrol" and "Wow to the Deadness" from when Smith had joined Steve's band for a 2016 EP. (How is that 10 years ago already?!) Smith quickly exited again and Taylor & Sone Band proceeded to perform a trio of selections from his 1984 album, Meltdown before taking a moment to talk about contributing the theme song to the animated series The Dead Sea Squirrels, and then proceeding to perform it. It was definitely a fun moment in the night. "Smug" followed, and before the guest monologue at the end, Steve slapped the mic stand to the floor and walked off stage as someone ran out wearing a shirt featuring the face of the guy who says the lines in the music video and recited the whole thing. A more 80s version of "On the Fritz" followed, as opposed to the more grunge version from the Liver album (I do prefer that version, personally, though), and then "The Moshing Floor" was a fun inclusion. At this point, Steve joked that if anything seemed different about him, it's because he's now an associate professor at Lipscomb University, and he took a moment to plug the college's music program before playing "Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel a Lot Better" from 1987's I Predict 1990 album.

A trio of cuts from Squint were next -- "Jesus Is for Losers," "Easy Listening," and the epic "Cash Cow (A Rock Opera in Three Small Acts)" -- and then he kept mixing things up a bit with "Jim Morrison's Grave," "Comedian" (the only other song performed from Goliath) and "Hero." I kept thinking the next song would be the last to be performed, considering just how many songs they were playing -- but, much to my delight, the band kept on playing! "The Finish Line" reminded me just how much I actually love that song, and then he switched gears again for the bouncy "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)," the Chagall Guevara song "Violent Blue" and finally closed with the anti-racism anthem, "We Don't Need No Colour Code." After turning the mid-point of the song into a mock-encore, Steve finished the song and said goodbye. I was in awe at the energy the man displayed -- and I couldn't believe he had to do it all again in just a couple hours for the 7pm set.

I realize it came at a bit of a cost for this tour to morph into a headlining Steve Taylor set with The Choir in tow, but I can't help feeling like this show was a real gift. Any new opportunity to see Steve Taylor performing live is an absolute treasure. I don't know if they plan to hit the road again next year if Russ's health improves, but this is a live show you have to see if you can. They just do not make peformers like Steve Taylor anymore.

-- John DiBiase, 11/3/26