Styx: Passing the test of time with flying colors By Josie Janci Photos By John Millington
Styx had a stellar performance in front of a sold-out crowd of 1500 fans in Bryn Mawr PA Friday night. The XCite Center in Parx Casino was the ideal venue for this up close and personal event. At the end of the night, you felt like you spent the evening with the band, just hanging out, listening to stories of their career, and having them play some music for you – some award winning, world class, recognized for greatness music of course.
The 2-hour set was a showcase of Styx continual success as a band. They walked on stage to a standing ovation and left with one as well. Between that was a phenomenal musical display of hits that span 5 decades. To introduce the songs, fans were treated to anecdotes from the band members’ time on the road, discography notes and inside jokes. Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan were the frontrunners on the storytelling front, but JY also did his share of introducing the songs. The result was an event bigger than a rock and roll concert, more personal than a meet and greet, and more exclusive than VIP status. In fact, the result was the answer to the question of how rock and roll bands can keep their live shows fresh. As an aging population of both musicians and fans find themselves in the center of today’s rock world; creating a successful format to perform a show without becoming exhausted, or showing your age, is paramount, and Styx certainly has found their lane.
The band tonight consisted of veteran member, Tommy Shaw on guitar and vocals; original member, James “JY” Young, on guitar and vocals, the birthday boy, Todd Sucherman, on drums, (yes, the audience sang to him), their newest member, Willy Evankovich; on guitar, former member of “The Babys’, Ricky Phillips, on bass: and the emcee of the night, Lawrence Gowan, on keyboards and vocals.
Towards the end of the show the crowd had another surprise as original member and bassist Chuck Panozzo came out on stage, as he sometimes does, for a few songs.
It was hit after hit as the prog rock band of the 70'' s, power ballad band of the 80’s, pop rock band of the 90’s and arena rock band of the 2000’s . took us on a journey through half a century of music. And the band seemed just as in awe of this fact as the audience. Lawrence Gowan was impressively fun to watch as he adeptly tickled the keys on a rotating keyboard pad occasionally playing behind his back and always dancing, laughing and keeping the audience engaged; Tommy Shaw , who looked just as sexy as ever, donning a sleeveless shirt for the last part of the show, shared stories of the early days and even brought out a banjo to perform , and JY started the crowd participation during Blue Collar Man, which was one of the many sing-alongs of the night
Throughout all the extras of the evening, one predictable thing was the quality of the music. The band sounded as tight as you might expect such an award-winning band to sound; the harmonies were flawless, and the song selection was great. I can’t think of a band that seemed happier to be on stage than Styx did tonight. . They have certainly proven their tenacity and talent over and over again; tonight was no exception.
Set List:
To Those / Blue Collar Man / The Grand Illusion / Lady / Lorelei / Crash of the crown /Miss America / Crystal Ball / Our Wonderful Lives / Rocking the Paradise/Fooling Yourself/ Too Much Time on My Hands / Khedive/Lost at Sea/Come Sail Away/Mr. Roboto/Renegade
