Standing before a packed audience, Chicago co-founder and Sedona resident Lee Loughnane may have summed things up best.

“Without you [fans], we’re just rehearsing,” he said, much to the delight of the crowd.

Chicago, which has been together for nearly a half century, performed a pair of sold-out shows at the Sedona Performing Arts Center as part of the 22nd annual Sedona International Film Festival. SIFF Executive Director Patrick Schweiss called it the biggest concert Sedona has ever seen.

The band didn’t disappoint the crowd as they performed their biggest hits, including “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “You’re the Inspiration” and “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”

The Friday, Feb. 19, show, which sold out in 17 minutes, lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours.

Loughnane and keyboardist and fellow co-founder Robert Lamm spoke for 30 minutes with members of the media the morning after the concert and just prior the premiere of their documentary, “Now More than Ever: The History of Chicago.”

“We enjoy every venue we play especially when the people are right there in front of you. We love that intimacy,” Loughnane said in regard to the 750-seat SPAC.

With more than 100 million albums sold, Chicago has been one of the most successful bands in history. They continue to tour with more than 100 concerts a year. On April 8, they will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite all that success, Lamm said they’re still a work in progress.

“The cool thing about music is that it’s a lifelong exploration — the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know,” he said.

Loughnane said one of the things he’s proud of is despite trends in the industry, the music they wrote 30 to 40 years ago still resonates with fans today both young and old.

“But it’s a good thing Michael Jackson came after us because if we had to dance, we would never have made it in the business,” he said, laughing.

Over the years, the band has dealt with the accidental death of its first lead singer Terry Kath in 1978, to the firing of drummer and founding member Danny Seraphine, as well as changes in management and record labels. They also saw the unceremonious departure of lead singer and bassist Peter Cetera in 1985. But through that, four of the original members [including James Pankow and Walt Parazaider] have remained together and have never had to cancel a show.

“Playing together has always been fun,” Lamm said. “It’s beyond being friends. It’s beyond being brothers. It’s more of an infinite commitment.”

Lamm also said that despite thousands of shows over the years, there is always at least one member who afterwards says he could have done better.

Loughnane agreed and added, “It’s rare when we all come off stage and feel we did a great job. There’s always something we could have done better because we’re all perfectionists.”

In regard to the documentary of the band, which took three years to complete, Lamm said it was important to show both the positive and negative times of the band’s career. He said showing just the positive would not have been realistic since like life, their career has had its fair share of ups and downs.

Loughnane said it was important to “show some of the underbelly and not skirt around honesty.”

“It’s like writing a song — you just hope someone else will like it other than yourself,” Loughnane said of the documentary.

Lamm also said he was happy with the finished product but did have one regret.

“Sadly, there wasn’t much archival footage available,” he said. “I wish everything had been documented to really get a taste of what living that life and making the music was like.”