Charleston Post and Courier review of Dennis' show

[mrstromboli]

The Charleston Post and Courier did a review of Dennis' recent show in South

Carolina.

 

 

Shawn

 

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10-27-05

Styx legacy lives onin DeYoung's show

 

BY DEVIN GRANT

Special to The Post and Courier

 

Back in the '80s, you could say I was a pretty big fan of the rock group Styx.

 

I had grown up with that band's music, including songs such as "Too Much Time On

My Hands," "Fooling Yourself," and "Blue Collar Man." But while it was cool that

the band featured more than one chief singer-songwriter, I always found myself

gravitating toward the work of lead singer Dennis DeYoung.

 

How big a DeYoung fan was I in my teens? I once played "Desert Moon" to my first

high school girlfriend over the phone on my Casio keyboard. Yeah, I know -

cheesy. Apparently the girl (who will remain nameless since she still resides in

Charleston and doesn't deserve the needless ribbing that would undoubtedly come

her way) thought so too. She decided soon after that "we should just be

friends." Ah, youth.

 

During my Styx phase, I even bought the "Kilroy Was Here" album, viewed by many

as Styx's "Jump the Shark" moment. I even won tickets from 95SX in 1984 to go

see Styx on the "Kilroy" tour, but couldn't go, since I was 14 and you had to be

18 to ride the radio station's party bus to Columbia. So, I never got to see one

of my favorite bands as a teenager.

 

I must admit that when I first heard about the concept of Dennis DeYoung

performing the music of Styx with a symphony orchestra, I was more than

skeptical. It sounded like a bad idea all around. DeYoung, who had left Styx

after "Kilroy," went on to release a few solo albums, write a musical version of

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and presumably to count his money from years of

successful touring and songwriting. So why would he want to revisit the past in

this fashion?

 

When I heard that DeYoung would be bringing his show to Charleston, I figured

that I needed to go check it out. I was still on guard, despite the fact that an

interview the week before the show showed DeYoung to be intelligent, witty and

proud of his career thus far. It was actually a very fun interview. But still, I

had no idea what to expect.

 

I really shouldn't have worried. Saturday night's performance by DeYoung at the

North Charleston Performing Arts Center was anything but serious, but that

seemed to be in keeping with DeYoung's master plan. After an overture by the

Charleston Symphony Orchestra, which featured snippets of several of DeYoung's

compositions, DeYoung walked onstage to sing "The Grand Illusion." If you have

been to a rock concert recently, then you are no doubt familiar with the

universal symbol for "you rock," the arm extended with index and pinky fingers

raised. This was the first time I had ever seen it used at a symphony

performance, although it should be noted that DeYoung brought his own band to

add a rock 'n' roll punch to the proceedings.

 

After singing the Styx classic "Lady," DeYoung addressed the audience for the

first of many times that evening.

 

"So I was wondering," he said, "How many people are seeing me perform live for

the first time?" A healthy amount of applause could be heard. "Well, where the

hell were you? I'm in my 50s!" From there DeYoung continued the music, as well

as the clowning around. Watching him mug his way through songs such as

"Lorelei," "Desert Moon," "Pieces of Eight" (which featured a bit of Bach's

"Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor"), "Ave Maria" (from "Hunchback") and "Show Me the

Way," it was evident that DeYoung was having a great time.

 

The Wando High School Choir joined DeYoung on those last two songs, and returned

later in the second set for a couple of more. Broadway vocalist Amick Byram

assisted DeYoung in performing songs from "Hunchback." After singing "Don't Let

It End," De-Young assured the crowd that it wouldn't end just then, but that he

was going to take a short intermission. As he explained later, his beloved

Chicago White Sox were playing the first game of this year's World Series, and

he was popping offstage during guitar solos to check on the score (the Sox would

end up winning that night).

 

After the break, DeYoung returned with "Mr. Roboto," which received one of the

night's biggest rounds of applause. Other songs included in the second set were

"Rockin' the Paradise," "Suite Madame Blue," "The Best of Times," and "Babe." At

one point, someone in the audience yelled out "Freebird," and

 

DeYoung humored them by picking out a few bars of "Sweet Home Alabama" on his

keyboard. Finally, DeYoung ended the night with an encore that featured what was

probably the most anticipated song of the night, "Come Sail Away," even allowing

the audience to sing the first few lines in unison.

 

I am happy to say that Saturday night's show makes up for missing that show in

1984. If you were at the Charleston show, then you know exactly what I am

talking about. The ages of audience members seemed to range from 6 to 60, with

parents and their kids singing along with most of the songs.

 

DeYoung is definitely on to something here, and while I am sure there are people

who are as skeptical as I was before the show, if they will just go see the show

(or watch the televised version that still plays on PBS), they will see DeYoung

has taken the essence of Styx, and used the symphony to enhance the experience.

For a couple of hours, I was 14 years old again. I might have to get that

keyboard back out again. Then again, maybe not.