Tommy, JY, and Austin Powers

[evileyes]

Hey all, I went to my first Styx show last night, here's a review I posted to a tommy board. I'm glad I've got DDY coming up in just a few days! Anyway, I really enjoyed seeing Tommy and JY, read on!

I've mainly lurked here for awhile, so, I'm finally posting since I saw my first Styx concert last night! Read on....

 

 

 

Dennis fan attends her first Styx concert October 5, 2005

 

 

 

I went to my first Styx concert last night at the Budweiser Center in Loveland, Colorado. They came on first, before REO Speedwagon, show started at 7:30pm. I was so impressed with their energy and how they really got the crowd involved! Tommy looks better than he ever has, how long do you think he spends on his hair? Just kidding but, it looks damned awesome. JY sans beard is looking fantastic as well. And the bass player (sorry, I'm a newbie when it comes to the new band so I don't know his name) I thought was really gorgeous, toe me hee looked a lot like Boromir (Sean Bean’s character) from LOTR. They sounded even better than they looked of course!. The songs they did were some of my favorites, from Tommy there was Too Much time on my hands (now I know for next time, everyone around me held up their cups of beer on the “bottle of cold brew” line, that was fun!), Foolin’ Yourself , Renegade (the finale) and an acoustic hippie tune from the Big Bang album that I wish I knew the title to because I want to download it (anyone have a complete set list they could email me from last night’s show?). JY did some of my favorites of his songs too including Snowblind (his intro to this one was funny, especially when he said, it’s Tuesday night, and we’re having fun!), Miss America, and snippets of Heavy Metal Poisoning and Midnight Ride during the medley. I enjoyed the medley a lot but it left me wanting to hear complete versions of some songs that they only performed a few seconds of (like Mr. Roboto in particular, are they past that now, I mean, they’re selling Mr. Roboto t-shirts for $30, couldn’t they at least do the entire song? I felt as ripped off as when I saw Prince and he did one verse from When Doves Cry! :-).....) and also Crystal Ball. Now onto my one problem, as a Dennis fan, with the band, and that would be Gowan. I really did try to go in with an open mind and I think his high voice does suit the DDY songs just fine, but, his onstage antics didn't wear well with me after awhile. Maybe it was the Tom Jones moves or something but by the end of the concert all I could think of when I watched him was Austin Powers with a mullet. He’s fun and silly and I love that whirling keyboard (man that thing is cool) but as a big fan of DDY it was hard for Gowan to fill those shows in my mind.. Still, he didn’t ruin the show for me either and I’m happy the guys are having fun and enjoying themselves with this band, but, I couldn’t help thinking (as a Dennis fan remember) that if they are this good with Gowan, how great they’d be if they were still playing with Dennis. Oh well, that’s why I have tickets to see Dennis play in Las Vegas this coming weekend. If you all don’t hate me by now (sorry Gowan fans!) maybe I’ll post that review here to. J

 

 

 

And on a final note, if anyone has any idea of what recent Styx footage I can find out there on the web (ebay, traders, etc.) I would love to get a hold of some. I traded earlier this year with other fans for classic Styx era video footage but now that I’ve seen Tommy in the here and now, I just want more. Man, he’s looking good!!!

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Lisa

[ladybugking]

At least you posted this under "other bands and groups" .

 

As to finding footage/DVD etc. of "Neo, Non, Bogus, Current" Styx, my guess is you need to ask on some of their boards. Good luck.

[mendelstyx]

I recently went to a fair where Styx was playing. This was one day after I had seen Dennis perform. From my vantage point (out in the fair looking in), while the men on stage did their jobs well, I got the impression they were going through the motions. Before anyone thinks this is another case of an overly loyal Dennis fanatic, let me assure you...it isn't. I honestly think they were tired, and it showed. I saw very little crowd reaction. Tommy sounded fine, JY...I don't think his voice has stood the test of time. Gowan was probably the most entertaining (though I find his singing...lacking). And yes, I've heard his solo work. He has too much vibratto in his voice to suit my tastes.

 

I heard many different reactions around me. They ranged from comments like "as good as they ever were", "what's with Dennis' voice tonight?", "it just isn't the same without Dennis". A mixed bag. What I say with complete honesty, is that I never saw their audience get into this particular concert at all. I understand that at many concerts they do, but clearly on this night, the crowd was not all that into.

 

I am glad you enjoyed the experience. I know with complete surety I will not be seeing them. Listening to them and watching what they brought to the stage did little for me. But I can honestly respect that others can and do enjoy them. WHich I think is good, for sadly, long before we all want it to, neither Dennis nor Styx will be doing this anymore.

 

As for copies of concerts, there are plenty on eBay as well.

 

Liz

[Zap2010]

As a fan of all things Styx, I try to keep up on what all the guys are doing. While it's not really Styx without Dennis -- and without John and Chuck for that matter -- if I mentally tell myself that the band I'm listening to is actually called "Shaw Young" then I find what they do quite enjoyable. In fact I'm listening to Cyclorama as I write, and I thought it was a very good album. And, similar to Crystal Ball and Edge of the Century, the most interesting (if not necessarily the best) songs were from the new guy. The current edition of Styx? Well, if you want to keep up on what Tommy and JY are doing, as I do, then you'll have to follow their career. If not, then Styx can ride off into the sunset as far as you're concerned.

 

For the record, I saw "Styx" in Cincinnati a little over a year ago, and I thought JY was playing the best guitar of his entire career -- just as much fire as ever but much more under control -- less flash, more heat, if you will. Maybe they were just having an off night at your fair.