I posted this on the main board, but I know for some Styx's prog credentials are questionable, so please feel free to move it if needed.
I saw Styx at the State Theater in Kalamazoo MI Wednesday night. The State is a 1500 plus seat beautiful old theater, and was the show completely sold out. I have seen these guys quite a few times over the years and they always put on a great show. This one was billed as an evening with Styx, so there was no opening act. The band did two sets with an intermission. This lineup of Styx has been together for almost 20 years now, and they are a well-oiled machine. Original bass player Chuck Ponazzo was also on hand and joined the band for several songs throughout the night. Tommy Shaw still has an amazing voice and other than a few slight cracks during “Man In The Wilderness” he sounded really good all night. James Young’s voice has not held up as well, but he still sounds pretty good for the most part. Lawrence Gowan has now been with this band for so long that it would seem odd to see them without him at this point. Gowan remains a consummate showman, and seems to really enjoy what he is doing, and is a great keyboardist. Bassist Ricky Phillips and drummer Todd Sucharman are both great at what they do with Sucharman all over the place on the drum kit. The band has a fantastic new album in “The Mission” and they performed 4 tracks from it over the course of the evening. They also did a cool tribute to Tom Petty, and performed songs from throughout the band’s career. Having seen Styx the last time on a package tour, it was cool to see them have a full night to fill and be able to stretch out a bit. They had a nice production with big Styx backdrop and good lighting. The sound was a little mucked up at the beginning, as the keyboard was really buried, but they had it dialed in within a couple of songs and everything sounded good after that. I know a lot of people can’t accept Styx without Dennis Deyoung, but I can’t say that I missed him all that much. Gowan totally killed it on “Suite Madam Blue”, and handled most of the other Deyoung vocals with ease. All in all the show was a lot of fun, and it is nice to see an old classic act that can still bring a high quality energetic show. Here is the set list:
GONE GONE GONE
BLUE COLLAR MAN
THE GRAND ILLUSION
FOOLING YOURSELF
LADY
RADIO SILENCE
LORELEI
MAN IN THE WILDERNESS
LIGHT UP
LOCOMOTIVE
SUITE MADAM BLUE
INTERMISSION
MISS AMERICA
LIGHTS
FREE FALLIN (Tom Petty tribute)
CRYSTAL BALL
KHEDIVE
THE OUTPOST
PIECES OF EIGHT
TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (Gowan solo)
GOLDEN SLUMBERS (Gowan solo)
COME SAIL AWAY
ENCORE
ROCKIN THE PARADISE
RENEGADE
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