Styx appreciation

[pg1067]

I got a ticket for Styx's "residency" at the Venetian in Vegas - the Saturday of the week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.  14th row from the stage.  And I got a really good price on a flight/hotel combo.

It'll be my first visit to Vegas since the last of the LA Kings Frozen Fury games (the year before the Golden Knights came into the NHL).

Looking forward to it.

Sounds fun!

It was!

I posted about some of the travel aspects in the "I'm Traveling Somewhere" thread, but the concert was an absolute blast!  Tommy Shaw, James Young and Ricky Phillips are all in their 70s (and Lawrence Gowan is only a few years behind), but they play like they're half that age.  As my friend noted, Tommy is ageless.  If any of them sang an off-key note, I sure didn't hear it.  The set was pretty similar to what they played last summer, but that was cool with me.  I continue to be impressed by the Mission and Crash of Crowns songs.  But the highlight for me was Queen of Spades, which is probably my all time favorite Styx song.  I have been seeing people online dissing JY, but, while Miss America isn't my favorite song, he absolutely nailed it.  Lawrence Gowan did a little shpeel about Liberace and played Come Sail Away on one of Liberace's pianos:  https://www.reviewjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/18786920_web1_Gowan-Liberace-1.jpeg?crop=1   There was actually a moment when he was talking about the piano as a "special guest" that I thought we might be getting something completely unexpected, but alas....

The other highlight was Chuck Panozzo.  He initially came out for Lady, the third song in the set.  He didn't look comfortable and exited the stage as soon as the song was done.  I can't remember when he came back, but it was several songs later, and he was wearing different clothes, which I thought was a little odd.  He played most (or all?) of the second half of the set.  His movement is limited, and I'm not entirely sure the extent to which his bass is actually plugged in, but it was great to see him on stage with the guys.

I do hope they resurrect One with Everything at some point.

[King Postwhore]

They really are firing on all cylinders right. Great shows. Fantastic last 2 albums. I hope they stay creative and release another album.

[pg1067]

Styx shared this on Facebook with the following comment:  "It was a joy to spend two decades with Ricky Phillips in Styx and we wish him all the best in his next adventure. He’ll always be a part of the Styx family and we’ll miss his presence on our stage and in our touring lives.
With all our love,
The Styx Family."

They've got a show in CT on Friday, so I wondering who will be covering the bass duties (I assume Chuck isn't going to do a full show).

[Orbert]

Wow.  If someone had asked me who the current Styx bassist was, I would not have been able to tell them other than "I don't think it's Chuck anymore".  But I just looked up the guy's resume on Wikipedia, and he's certainly been around the block a few times.  Good for him deciding to take a break and do some other stuff that's important, which includes just chilling at home for a while with Melissa and the critters.