Went to go see Styx for the first time this weekend, with Night Ranger opening. It was a great bill!
With Night Ranger, I knew what to expect. I had seem them headline a club show about 10 or 11 years ago, and it was just a great hard rock show of hits and covers. This time around, it was all their stuff in a 45-minute headline set. The stuff everyone knew. The nice additions, however, were a performance of the actual song "Night Ranger," from their first album, Dawn Patrol, and a great performance of "High Enough" by the Damn Yankees. I had suspected they'd ask Tommy Shaw from Styx to come up and do it, and he did. It was a lot of fun, and great to see Tommy Styx and Jack Blades together doing the song. I really miss Damn Yankees. They were a great band. Here's "High Enough" from the show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvAu802z6cgI was familiar with Night Ranger, but the last time I saw them, they had Joel Hoekstra on guitar next to Brad Gillis. This time it was Keri Kelli. I forgot just how good he is. He took about half the leads, and I was really impressed with his chops. Brad was great, as he always is.
And a note for those who haven't watched my vids. I don't really care about quality all that much, etc. All my vids are me enjoying the show, and I try to capture moments that mean something for me. Its a little jumpy, but the audio is fine. You catch me singing at points, deal with it.
I'm not off key or anything. Just having a blast singing along to my favorite tunes.
Styx came on next, and man, what a solid 90 minutes of classics, and some more recent material to boot. Here was the set (SPOILERS BELOW):
Gone Gone Gone
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
The Grand Illusion
Lady
Radio Silence
Miss America
Crystal Ball
Red Storm
Light Up
Rockin' the Paradise
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Too Much Time on My Hands
Khedive
Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) - partial cover
Come Sail Away
Encore:
Mr. Roboto
Renegade
I didn't take any video, as this was my first time seeing Styx, and I wanted to take it in. I came away really impressed by them. The set list, for a newb, was well balanced with stuff I remember from the radio, and well chosen other cuts. As someone who really appreciates a band finding that sweet spot with classics and support of new material, I think Styx nailed it. It all worked together well.
The vocals were just incredible. Just a clinic on harmony. I knew that DDY has been gone for 20 years, and Larry really delivered. I mean, in retrospect, I can hear small differences, but he was full of showmanship and great range. And his showmanship didn't appear TOO over the top. It was what I was expecting it to be. JY was much more flamboyant and cheesy than I thought he'd be (remember, I have no frame of reference), but it worked, and it was funny. And Tommy, man, Tommy F'ing Shaw. I've been a big fan of Damn Yankees for decades. Loved his voice and playing, and he didn't disappoint whatsoever. That voice hasn't lost a thing. I didn't realize Ricky Phillips was such an accomplished musician on bass either.
I had a great time, and would absolutely see Styx again. As I said, I'm a newb, and don't own ANY Styx material, so I ordered up Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight, and Mission. I considered going to see DDY when he plays in the general vicinity in October, but looking at his current set, and the one from Styx, I think there is too much overlap for me to really be into it. But I was extremely pleased by Styx (and of course, Night Ranger), and look forward to seeing them again, and being a bit more familiar with the catalog by then.