Photos by Andy Argyrakis

In the nearly six decades since getting started, there’s barely anything Tower Of Power hasn’t tackled, either by the entire gold-selling group directly or by lending out the horn section to the superstar likes of Elton John, Santana, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt or the Grateful Dead, to name but a handful of the dozens.

However, the band currently led by co-founding saxophone players, Emilio Castillo and Stephen “Doc” Kupka just scratched another first off the list with the “It’s Christmas” collection, alongside the aptly titled “Holiday & Hits” Tour making its inaugural visit to the area.

It just so happened to be amongst the earliest of the many major shows since the newly and stunningly renovated Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet reopened its doors, right on time for the annual “Home For The Holidays” series.

Tower Of Power turned out to be quite a gift, living up to the assurance of the opener “We Came To Play,” which was basically a blend of funk, jazz, rock, and of course, “Soul With A Capital ‘S'” for the next hour-and-forty-five-minutes.

Seasonal selections such as “Silver Bells,” “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” and “O Holy Night” fit snuggly in between the standard repertoire of “You Ought To Be Havin’ Fun,” “Soul Vaccination” and “You Got To Funkifize,” though considering no two shows or their instrumental execution are ever exactly the same, it was far from predictable.

Instead, the adventure kept building thanks Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” and a mighty “Diggin’ On James Brown” medley that began with Castillo on vocals and eventually framed new front man, Jordan John, as one of the strongest in Tower Of Power’s extensive lineage.

The guys saved their personal classics “So Very Hard To Go” and the smooth ballad “You’re Still A Young Man” to nearly the end, the latter of which wound down the grooves, but packed as much of a soulful punch as any its predecessors.

A finale of the frequently sampled “What Is Hip?” extended into a fusion of festive flavors, including a slew of fiery solos, and found the Rialto rising to its feet in appreciation of this pre-Yuletide treat.

For additional information on Tower Of Power, visit TowerOfPower.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Rialto Square Theatre include “It’s A Wonderful Life”: A Live Radio Play (Dec. 12); Dean Z (Dec. 14); Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (Dec. 15); Peter Billingsley & “A Christmas Story” (Dec. 18); Lonestar (Dec. 22); Hairball (Dec. 27); Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood (Jan. 4); Mania: The ABBA Tribute (Jan. 5); Matt Fraser (Jan. 19); The Greatest Love Of All: A Tribute To Whitney Houston (Jan. 22); Scotty McCreery (Jan. 23) and Marlon Wayans (Jan. 25). For additional details, visit RialtoSquare.com.

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