REO Speedwagon

Kevin Cronin is worried about a "self-fulfilling prophecy" if reports of the concert industry's hitting the skids this summer become accepted truth. "People are having great times at shows. People are putting on wonderful concerts. Let's not be negative about everything.

"Cut us a little slack here. We're having fun out here. We're doing great."

Good point. But this is Kevin Cronin talking. The longtime voice of REO Speedwagon, not a guy who sounds just like him that the rest of the band found on YouTube.

Pair that with REO's co-billed summer tour with Pat Benatar, who is also very much herself these days. And that premium seats for Saturday's show at the Thomas & Mack Center are $68, the starting price for some of the summer's faltering attractions.

Cronin says he appreciates the loyalty of classic rock fans, which for REO becomes even more intense in the Midwest "REO country" of the band's Illinois origins more than 40 years ago. "We consider Vegas almost a hometown for us. We play there so often," he says. "When we play Vegas, I feel like I'm in the Midwest a little bit, because there are so many people who plan a vacation around our show."

It must be a mixed blessing to know songs such as "Keep On Loving You" or "Can't Fight This Feeling" will survive the band -- and with some groups, already have. Foreigner, for example, reportedly played a recent Mandalay Bay concert with no original members onstage.

"It's a strange phenomenon," he says. "People are willing to suspend disbelief, I guess. The classic rock music, there's just something about it. People just want to hear it. "I'm just glad that our band still has the original singer," he says with a laugh.

On this tour, REO is embracing another trend, at least halfway: performing the first half of its biggest album, "Hi Infidelity," in order. (Time constraints in the co-billed tour mean saving some of the Side Two tracks until next time).

"In this day and age, to find an album where all the songs are worthy of being performed live, that's rare in itself," he says. And "Infidelity" -- which virtually defined the term "power ballad" -- is "kind of an accidental concept album," he adds. "There is a connection between songs. They all kind of came from the same burst of energy."

When the album was selling 9 million copies in 1981, Cronin remembers the six different band members taking separate limousines to a gig. Now, the band does what it must: serving dinner backstage Saturday to the winning couple of an Internet dating contest, or getting up at 5:30 a.m. and visiting 75 radio stations in one month three years ago to promote the band's album, "Find Your Own Way Home."

"We figure it was just sending a message: This is how strongly we feel about it," he explains. "I just wanted to do everything we could to get the music played.

"Whenever you put your best effort behind something, whatever happens happens," he says. "At least you know you did everything you could to influence the outcome."

That's the Midwest classic rock ethic, which extends to doing interviews the morning after four shows in four nights, which included a midnight gig at an outdoor rock fest and an enthusiastic hometown crowd in Chicago.

"That's just what I do," the 58-year-old says. "At this point, we've done it all. Somehow my body and my mind are adjusted to it. I wouldn't still be doing it now if I couldn't do it."

Besides, there's always that threat of the YouTube replacement: "Somebody could call the Philippines, and I'd be out of work quick."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.