We've more than reached that point in the Cycle of Life where much-loved bands, rocking into and beyond the twilight, sorta aren't really the bands we actually loved.

For example, Kansas hits town Friday for a show in the Fox Theater at Foxwoods. Without question America's finest prog rock act, Kansas pulled off a true rarity for that type of music: they became an arena-filling, multi-platinum headliner.

Here's the thing, though. Is Kansas really Kansas? Only drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Rich Williams are still around from the original sextet. Vocalists Steve Walsh and Robbie Steinhardt are gone, and so is guitarist Kerry Livgren — and Livgren and Walsh wrote almost all of the songs.

You could be at the show Friday and no one would blame you if you said, "Who ARE you people?"

On the positive side, there's still a huge demand for Kansas music, and why shouldn't Ehart and Williams get to preserve the legacy if that's what they want to do? I promise you this: it's gonna definitely SOUND like Kansas — and that's pretty damned cool.

Kansas, 8 p.m. Friday, Fox Theater, Foxwoods; $35, $45; 1-800-200-2882.