STYX Allentown Fairgrounds
8/30/2023 By Alexxis Steele
Photos By Sheri Bayne
I was very excited for the Styx concert at The Allentown Fairgrounds on August 30th 2023, since I had recently had the pleasure of interviewing Keyboardist/vocalist for the band, Lawrence Gowan.
Lawrence Gowan
During my interview with Lawrence Gowan, one of the things that I asked him was, what he thought was the reason behind the bands success and longevity. He answered that besides their love of performing, people are still embracing their music with enthusiasm, and even new generations of fans have discovered their music as well. The other thing is seeing the smiles on thousands of their faces, as the crowd is on their feet with their hands in the air. This show proved why the fans love them!
Styx
The band wasted no time as the stage went from dark to light with the first song of the night- “To Those”, from their latest release “Crash Of The Crown” This song has that very recognizable Styx sound with great harmonies, featuring JY, Tommy, and Lawrence all taking turns on the lead vocals.
Following this was “Blue Collar Man”, performed by Tommy Shaw, who was dressed in a black leather jacket, black and white print shirt, and black jeans. Tommy’s vocals were spot on, as he soared into his last sustained notes of the song, showing his great vocal chops. He added… Pennsylvania!.. Allentown!,, as he ended with a kick in the air.
Tommy Shaw
Next up was stylish Lawrence Gowan, dressed in a pale yellow suit jacket with a black and white leopard print looking shirt, white pants and a white satin tie. The band kicked into one of their top hits- “The Grand Illusion” with all the fervor that earns them the right to be called one of the best classic rock bands of all time.
Lawrence Gowan
Lawrence acted as the emcee for the show, and introduced one of the founding fathers of Styx, bassist Chuck Panozzo, who was clad in a nice dark blue sparkle suit jacket and gray scarf. He stood next to Lawrence who then started playing one of my favorite Styx songs- “Lady”, with the fans in the audience singing along with him.
After “Miss America” James Young “JY”, started off the title track of their most recent album, “Crash Of The Crown”. This song featured not only JY, but also Tommy Shaw, and Lawrence Gowan on vocals, and was the song most revered by Lawrence, as told by him in our interview. This song has all of the great elements of Classic Styx with harmonies and great keyboards.
William Evankovich (L) James "JY" Young (R)
Shortly after, once again playing emcee, Lawrence Gowan introduced the band, with some comedic banter. When Tommy Shaw introduced him, he looked at the crowd with arms wide and stated “ I love you Allentown,” Let's turn this place into Paradise. Gowan transformed into the consummate entertainer with a Silver sequin jacket and black top hat, and came out from behind the keyboard to sing, sliding across the stage singing “Rocking The Paradise.”
Tommy Shaw
Tommy Shaw switched to an acoustic guitar to perform “Fooling Yourself”. This song had all the great Styx elements of harmonies and great synth sounds, with Gowan showing his performance prowess by playing the keyboards facing the crowd , with his hands behind his back. Many times during the evening, he could be seen spinning his keyboard around, playing it in positions that only a pro like him could pull off.
Next up was another of my Styx favorite’s, “Too Much Time On My Hands”, which Tommy Shaw had the crowd singing on the chorus, with a digital clock like display in the background.
Switching things up, and giving the other band members a break, Lawrence Gowan did a fantastic classical piece, and came out at the end of it facing the crowd as they cheered, saying “That sped up the Ferris wheel”. Thank you so much for that Allentown, that’s a piece of music called “Khedive” from The Styx concept album ”The Mission”. That was the name of the capsule of the spaceship of the fantastic voyage.
Lawrence Gowan
Lawrence called Chuck Panozzo back to the stage for a duet called “Lost at Sea”, which he merged into mega hit “Come Sail Away” as the crowd started singing right along with him. During the song, he left the keyboard to walk up above the band on a platform, and pranced around on stage. .At the end he said “We love you Pennsylvania, goodnight”.. The band left the stage in usual fashion, to get ready for the encore.
Todd Sucherman
The stage turned black then a red spotlight focused on keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan playing the intro for classic hit, “Mr .Robato”. At the end of the first encore song, without skipping a beat, Tommy Shaw jumped right in with the acapella vocals for ”Renegade” with the crowd singing in unison. As the band ended the show, they raised their guitars in the air and moved to the front of the stage with their hands joined for their final bow. And what a show it was!
William Evankovich (L) and Ricky Phillips (R)
Styx, with the addition of Ricky Phillips, and William Evankovich put on a great performance! From Lawrence Gowan’s emcee skills, showmanship and talent, plus Tommy Shaw’s vocal and guitar skills, to the awesome harmonies the whole band brings together, if you have not seen them live before, you are missing out! Check out all of their tour dates on Styxworld.com
THE BAND
James “JY” Young Lead vocals, guitars
Tommy Shaw Lead vocals, guitars
Chuck Panozzo Bass, vocals
Todd Sucherman Drums, percussion
Lawrence Gowan Lead vocals, keyboards
Ricky Phillips Bass, guitar, vocals
SET LIST
1. To Those
2. Blue Collar Man
3. The Grand Illusion
4. Lady
5. Miss America
6. Crash Of The Crown
7. Lorelei
8. Rockin The Paradise
9. Fooling Yourself
10. Too Much Time On My Hands
11. Khedive
12. Lost At Sea
13. Come Sail Away
(Encore)
14. Mr. Robato
15. Renegade
