It was a warm Southern California summer night but as soon as Styx hit the stage it got hot! They played all the favorites and sounded better than ever. Each musician a one-man show, but combined they are a force of galactic proportions. “Light it up, Let’s Get This Show on the Road”.
“The Mission” which was released in 2017 is very much true to form with the Styx music we all know and love, but this new material takes it to another level–one of multi-dimensional media proportions. I suggest listening to it with headphones for the full “experience”. I heard they sometimes perform the entire album live from start to finish. You can “beam me up” for that for sure!
The countdown began as they opened the show from mission control performing their single off of “The Mission”, Gone, Gone, Gone. Take-off was successful as they launched into the show playing one hit after another–Blue Collar Man, Grand Illusion, Too Much Time and Lady to name a few. We traveled to a place where the past meets the future with their well-crafted masterpiece off of “The Mission”, Radio Silence, and even journeyed back to 1976 with Crystal Ball.
Speaking of hit, they were probably still in shock upon learning that their longtime friend, brother, and guitar tech man, Jimmy Johnson, had passed away in his hotel room just two days before this show. Jimmy was an integral part of the Styx family for decades, so I’m sure this was quite a devastating blow. Tommy Shaw posted a nice tribute on their blog expressing sympathy for his fallen friend.
However, the show must go on for tonight’s concert at Pala Casino’s (state-of-the-art) Starlight Theater. They played through their heartbreak demonstrating the level of professionalism they possess. If anything, the emotional intensity from which they performed was off-the-charts. I’m sure they played this show as a tribute to their beloved “Jim Bob”. It must have been very difficult being too soon to speak of it, but their performance spoke for itself.
Maybe you don’t already know, ( I didn’t) but Styx along with Reo Speedwagon founded “Rock To The Rescue” a non-profit organization benefitting grassroots organizations across the country promoting healthy communities, as well as providing relief in times of tragedy and/or disaster. The beneficiary at Pala-Dise tonight was Southern California Bulldog Rescue. Everyone who purchased a copy of “The Mission” was entered to win the raffle for a GORGEOUS signed Epiphone Les Paul Gibson Guitar. Even though there is a lot of emphasis on leaving Planet Earth for Mars, Styx is doing a world of good here. If you’d like to contribute, please donate here.
The performance of each musician was over the top. I quickly became enamored with bass player and vocalist Ricky Phillips—OMG if he doesn’t personify Rock-n-Roll fantasy guy I don’t know who does! He definitely got my motor going. Put him together with Tommy Shaw on the ramp above the stage (going at it on dueling guitars) doing the thing they do best, and it doesn’t get any better than that. Even though they were playing to the crowd, I felt as though I was a voyeur crashing in on their guitar playing intimacy. Sorry, (not sorry) but you have to realize this is one of my all-time favorite bands!
Styx wouldn’t be Styx without co-founder and lead guitarist/vocalist “JY” James Young–guitarist extraordinaire. His mastery is without question. He possesses the energy of embodied power. He is the perfect complement to his bandmates and something tells me he really grounds the band, especially when they are exploring other worlds.
I don’t even know where to begin with “Master of Ceremonies” Lawrence Gowan. It is so much fun to watch him in action. His talent is beyond the beyond, and man does he put on a performance taking us to our “happy” place. He sure knows how to interact with the crowd, drawing us “in” to his world of wonder and magic. At one point during the show, he led us down a mama mia corridor to the Bohemian Rhapsody sector. He had us all on our feet singing along. One thing about Styx is they really engage with the audience taking us to unexpected places.
Todd Sucherman all the while carries the beat to his out-of-this-world drum. In many ways, the drummer “makes the band” and most likely doesn’t get enough recognition, but not Todd Sucherman. His accolades run far and wide. Todd is recognized as truly one of the “best progressive rock drummers of our time” by Modern Drummer Magazine. They also named him #1 for recorded performance on “The Mission”. In addition, he has received awards for his DVD training series, Methods and Mechanics. He is dedicated to teaching other inspired drummers in his Rock Drumming Master Class. Drummers from all over the world enroll in his class–how cool is it to learn from the best of the best in the industry? He promises to share everything he knows from all his years of experience.
Tommy Shaw lays it all out there in every way–talk about a “man on a mission”! He channels his creative genius through his writing, voice, guitar, and mere presence. He is loved, adored, and for some reason doesn’t seem to age one bit. The level of musicianship is, well, STELLAR! Rumour has it Styx will be working on their next album toward the end of the year, and as I always say, “the best is yet to come”. There’s a big untapped Universe out there for Tommy Shaw and the band to plug in to.
There is a new word in my vocabulary and it is Styxology. I’d like to get my degree in that. I guess I will leave you to your own interpretation, but I can already see where mine is going so we’ll leave it at that. All kidding aside, Styxology is a weekly blog authored by respected writer Mike Mettler. Not only is he a Styx friend and fan, but he is also well known throughout the industry as former Chief Editor of Sound Vision Magazine. It sounds like he is “well connected” so this ought to be great!
The show wouldn’t have been complete without Mr. Roboto and Renegade for the encore. My personal favorite, however, is Come Sail Away. It gets me every time! Go see them on this tour and be sure to pick up The Mission along the way!
~3rdEyeScribe / BackStage360
(Our Thanks to Pala Casino-Ed)