The current lineup of Styx is celebrating its tenth year together, making it the longest time in the band’s history without a lineup change. The band is tight, energetic, and still seems to have a good time mining the classic Styx catalogue for deep cuts like “Light Up” and “Man in the Wilderness.”
For their show in Niagara Falls, the band’s set included a heavy dose of the multi-platinum selling albums, “Pieces of Eight” and “The Grand Illusion” with a surprisingly heavy dose of their A&M Records debut “Equinox,” including two Dennis DeYoung compositions, “Suite Madame Blue” and the aforementioned “Light Up.”
Thankfully, Styx has not suffered the fate of some of their counterparts with regard to vocal ability. Shaw and Young still sound the same as they did during the group’s heyday, and in spite of Lawrence Gowan saying he was dealing with throat issues, he nailed all of the notes.
Seeing Styx in a well-kept theatre as opposed to the smoke filled arenas they dominated in the 1970s and 1980s is still a bit of a culture shock. Styx adapted to the situation, and spent a great deal of time connecting with the audience on a personal level. One forgets that Tommy Shaw hails from the south, but when he speaks to the crowd; his southern charm comes right through.
It was a sentimental evening for me, as Styx was the first band I saw live in 1979. Their set was quite similar, except that the current lineup rarely seems to play anything from the “Cornerstone” album, or anything past 1978 for that matter. On this night they played two songs from “Paradise Theatre” and a Gowan song.
To that end, the group is somewhat of a time capsule; albeit with Sucherman’s powerhouse drumming style being the major difference since Gowan does the DeYoung vocal parts very faithfully. They have gone in the studio to rerecord Styx classics and classic rock covers, but since Philips has joined Styx they have yet to record a full album of new material (The last Styx album is “Cyclorama” from 2003).
Even so, it was a great set list with a few well-placed surprises, and on some level, it’s understandable that Styx has little room to add new material without disappointing some fans that are expecting a parade of hits.
Moreover, as long as Tommy Shaw and James Young are onstage together, you know you are in for a great evening of music. That was true in 1979 and it’s still true today.
Setlist:
Great White Hope
Grand Illusion
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Lady
Light Up
Man in the Wilderness
Suite Madame Blue
Crystal Ball
Miss America
Criminal Mind (Gowan song)
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
Gowan medley: Tiny Dancer (Elton John cover)/You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones cover)/Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen cover)/ Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd cover)
Come Sail Away
Encores:
Too Much Time on My Hands
Renegade
All Photos by BackstageAxxess Correspondent Brandon Taylor
We would like to thank Amanda Cagan from ABC Public Relations for the credentials to review the show.
