It was more than a feeling that kept the sweaty crowd anxiously waiting for two great 70s bands to rock the Zoo Amphitheater tonight. The fever rose as the roadies tested the instruments for Boston.
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The capacity crowd roared as Boston broke into the National Anthem on guitar.
Boston’s founder, 6-foot 7-inch Tom Scholz, played an old style organ but he didn’t move around the stage much, apparently because of the black brace on his knee. He wore a black and white T-shirt that said, “It’s OK, I’m with the band.”
The band interspersed favorites like “Rock and Roll Band,” “Peace of Mind” and “Long Time” with adrenalin-pumping instrumentals.
Cheers got even louder and people sang along as the band began “More Than a Feeling.”
For Boston, it all began in Scholz’ basement studio in the mid-70s, after the MIT graduate withdrew his life’s savings from his job at Polaroid and headed to his basement studio to begin overdubbing several songs he had written. For the demos, Scholz played all the instruments except the drums, played by friend Jim Masdea. Vocals were by phenomenal singer and original band member Brad Delp, who tragically committed suicide in 2007.
“More Than a Feeling” came a few demos later and helped get Scholz and Delp signed on with Epic Records.
Their album “Boston” was released in 1976 and became one of the highest selling debut albums, selling some 17 million records. The band has sold more than 30 million records, according to the Boston web site.
New Boston singer Tommy DeCarlo worked for Home Depot until Scholz discovered him when DeCarlo’s daughter posted his karaoke performance on MySpace. Other band members are Michael Sweet, Jeff Neal, Kimberley Dahme and Gary Pihl.
Styx, a legendary 70s rock band from Chicago, opened for Boston. Though Boston was the better band musically tonight, the Styx show was more energetic, with members running around the stage. At one point, a band member took photographs of people and then threw the pictures out to the audience.
Among the crowd-pleasers were “The Grand Illusion,” “Rockin’ The Paradise,” and “Blue Collar Man.” And the crowd sang along with “Come Sail Away.”
Styx has come on strong recently. The group released the album “Big Bang Theory” in 2005. The first week, the CD sold 19,000 copies to zip it to No. 46 on Billboard’s Top 200, the biggest success for the group in more than a decade.
New Styx fans emerged as TV shows such as South Park and Freaks & Geeks used Styx music.
Other recent Styx highlights include, “Come Sail Away: The Styx Anthology” in 2004 and in 2005, the band recorded favorites from the "Great Rock Songbook" and released “Big Bang Theory.”
At the end of their show, Styx threw Frisbees, beach balls, guitar picks, drum sticks and beach bags to the eager crowd.
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I've been a fan of both bands for a very long time. Fortunately, this is my first time to see both bands. I thought that Styx was the most energetic band on stage last night. Tommy Shaw really felt the energy from the crowd last night and Styx played up to it. I would see Styx again in concert any day.
Boston may not have have displayed the stage energy that Styx showed, but their music was as technically sound as it was back in the 70's. It would have been great to see Brad Delp, but DeCarlo held his own.
Think about it you nitwits, Styx is a performing band, though with only two "original" members. They have been performing constantly for years and yes they sounded great. Their singer has been with them for several years now since Dennis DeYoung split from the band, he has always seemed too theatatrical in the 3 times I've seem Styx since he's joined the band.
But with Boston you have a completely different situation. Tom Scholz is Boston. He played every instrument but drums on all their albums of the 70's, did you guys not read that in the article? That means he played keyboards, every guitar you heard on the album, and bass. Boston has always been known for their dual & triple tone harmonies on guitar. Brad Delp came in to sing and every vocal part as well, overdubbing the lead and all harmonies. Gary Phil joined the band for the "3rd stage" album, other than those 3 there has always been a rotating membership in the band. Scholz and Pihl are technical musicians but not showmen. The only showman on stage was Michael Sweet, the lead singer who played guitar as well who is a master of the dual tone harmonies on guitar and vocals that fit exactly what the band needed when Brad Delp died. The home depot guy is just like Scholz and Pihl, not a showman but a guy who can hit the high notes needed to fulfill Boston's stage harmonies when the band performs live. Boston as a band has only been on stage a very few times in the past twenty years and decided to go out on this tour after all the fan support they got after Brad Delp's death. So you got to see both, a good theatrical band - Styx - and technical masters of their craft - Boston.
This was my 4th time seeing Styx, and they always put on an amazing show (but two years in a row now, no Babe or Lady - that needs to be fixed!). I really loved their show - just like the reviewer said, much more energy. First time seeing Boston. They finally got into it about 1/2 way into the show. But the first six or seven songs they all just stood there at the microphones. I was a little disappointed. The Home Depot guy would sometimes sing a line or two, then walk to the back of the stage and just stand there until he was needed again. It was kind of awkward. Overall though, Boston was pretty good. Just took a while to get into it. But I think Styx put on the much better show by FAR!!! Can't wait to see them again. If you get a chance, see them when they go back to Riverwind. Last time there they played for over two hours - it was a great show.
From what I heard, Styx ROCKED and Boston SUCKED! They didn't sound anything close to their glorious past. They should've stuck with their large selection of hits!
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Boston may not have have displayed the stage energy that Styx showed, but their music was as technically sound as it was back in the 70's. It would have been great to see Brad Delp, but DeCarlo held his own.
Overall, it was a great show.
But with Boston you have a completely different situation. Tom Scholz is Boston. He played every instrument but drums on all their albums of the 70's, did you guys not read that in the article? That means he played keyboards, every guitar you heard on the album, and bass. Boston has always been known for their dual & triple tone harmonies on guitar. Brad Delp came in to sing and every vocal part as well, overdubbing the lead and all harmonies. Gary Phil joined the band for the "3rd stage" album, other than those 3 there has always been a rotating membership in the band. Scholz and Pihl are technical musicians but not showmen. The only showman on stage was Michael Sweet, the lead singer who played guitar as well who is a master of the dual tone harmonies on guitar and vocals that fit exactly what the band needed when Brad Delp died. The home depot guy is just like Scholz and Pihl, not a showman but a guy who can hit the high notes needed to fulfill Boston's stage harmonies when the band performs live. Boston as a band has only been on stage a very few times in the past twenty years and decided to go out on this tour after all the fan support they got after Brad Delp's death. So you got to see both, a good theatrical band - Styx - and technical masters of their craft - Boston.