Redondo & Ventura shows.

[jean l delacour]

BLUE OYSTER CULT

The Strand, Redondo Beach, CA
September 2nd, 1995

Stairway To The Stars
Dr. Music
Dominance & Submission
Before The Kiss ( A Red Cap)
See You In Black
Take Me Away
Cities On Flame
Last Days Of May
In Thee (Acoustic)
ME 262
Burnin' For You
Godzilla
Don't Fear The Reaper

Joan Crawford
This Ain't The Summer Of Love
The Red & The Black


   After all of the years of growing up in Southern California, I never
had the chance of seeing a concert at The Strand in Redondo Beach.  The
Club itself is very intimate and the PA system is great.  So, after a 12
hour drive and a quick visit to my parents (4 hours is always more than
enough), Jean & I found ourselves once again in California making a
pilgrimage to worship the sign of Cronos.  The Men in Black were back
in Southern California!!!  And we would be attending 2 rituals; The
Strand and the next night at the Ventura Theater.

   Before the show began, Jean & I had a chance to talk to Buck briefly.
He was dressed in blue jeans and a black sports coat and, as always, was
smiling at everybody.  We talked about his equipment and then Jean gave
him a t-shirt from the UFO Encounter'95 at Roswell, NM.  He thanked us
and went backstage.  For some strange reason I always feel very nervous
when I am around the Oyster Boys, so I probally said something stupid
to Buck.

   In all of the years of seeing them, I NEVER tire of BOC.  We may have
many heated discussions on this list regarding which is the best or worst
album, or any other subject matter.  However, once the lights go down
and the theme to Bladerunner begins, I become lost in total musical awe
of these guys.  The music of BOC is timeless...........

   From where Jean & I sat, we had a perfect view of the whole show.
It began, as predicted, with Stairway To The Stars and led directly into
Dr. Music.  Up next was one of my favorite Cult tunes that I have not
heard them play live in a few years; Dominance & Submission!!  The
pace of the show was very upbeat and energetic.  And this did not let
up with the show standard of ETI.  Four songs into the set and the club
was in a frenzy.

   It was at this point that Eric introduces the "new kid" playing
the bass.  His name is Danny Miranda and hails from Long Island.

   Before The Kiss begins and Buck is in fine form on vocals and with
his black Steinberger wailing away like this was a brand new song. And
speaking of new songs, up next we are treated to an actual new song by
the name of " I Like To See You In Black ".  I really loved this tune
and it went over very well with the audience.  I am still amased at the
complex time changes of this song.  However, Eric did not even mention
anything about a new album to be " out in the near future " as other
list members have written.  All Eric said was that it was a new song.

   Take Me Away and Cities On Flame were played back to back, which
really sounds cool together since they are both in the same key of
F#.  Buck's fretboard showcase tonight is Last Days Of May, which he
introduced as a "true story".  Everything must have been feeling good
for Buck because his solo was just breathtaking.  I heard alot of re-
working of parts during the solo, which included alot of slow chroma-
tic scale work, milking each note for that perfect pitch.  As a
guitar player, I could almost cry at how emotional Buck could bend
the notes.  Mr. Dharma is perhaps one of the most underrated guitar
players of our time. And he only gets better with age.

   I thought that his solo during Last Days Of May was the highlight
of the evening, but I was wrong.  The roadies brought out a stool for
Allen and then Eric informs the crowd that we are in store for " some-
thing a little different."  Yes, In Thee was performed acoustically
for the first time in So Cal.  I was disappointed that they did not
do The Great Sun Jester, but I was later informed by a fan club member
that Eric still did not feel comfortable with that song.  Furthermore,
they were breaking in a new bass player.

   ME 262 was up next and then on to "The Big 3" of Burnin' For You,
Godzilla, and The Reaper.  Personally, I think that Burnin' should
be excluded from the set for awhile.  Godzilla, on the other hand,
was given new life with the tremendous bass attack of Danny Miranda.
I hope that Danny stays in the band as a permanent member.  He IS
that good, folks!!  And the show ended with The Reaper.  Unlike Burn-
in' For You, Reaper is a song that I can never tire of hearing live
or on CD.

   The encore seemed to be rushed due to the fact that the band had
to leave the stage by 9pm so the club could set up for its Disco
Night. Talk about flashbacks to the 70's.

MUSEUM OF CULT; THE PILGRIMAGE CONTINUES ........

   After the show, we were invited to Bolle's Museum of Cult where
we were treated to demo versions of Don't Fear The Reaper and
The Vigil.  The Vigil was originally called The Devil Has A Hangnail
and has some pretty funny lyrics.  In addition, we got to hear the
original version of Lips In The Hills.  It was originally called
Hold Me Tight and sounds alot like a Beach Boy song.

   We were further acquainted that evening with the BOC's No. 1 fan;
Che Quicksilver, who had everyone's attention when telling some of
his road stories with the band.  Che is a very nice person and is
going to send me photo negatives and live tapes of the band.  Jean
& I met alot of people from AOL.  We met Rocker 22 who rode his
Harley to the show and then rode all the way back to Oklahoma, Rob-
ert Reich, who is a very nice person, and Oysterette from Phoenix.
I think that we were the only BOC-L folks at the show.

   It was time to go look for a sleazy motel. Tomorrow we are going
up the coast to Ventura for another show. On Tour Forever (well, at
least for Labor Day Weekend).


Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA
September 3rd, 1995

Stairway To The Stars
Dr. Music
OD'ed On Life Itself
ETI
Before The Kiss (A Redcap)
See You In Black
Take Me Away
Cities On Flame
Astronomy
In Thee (Acoustic)
ME 262
Burnin' For You
Godzilla
Don't Fear The Reaper

Dominance & Submission
The Red  & The Black

   Once again, in all the years I lived in So Cal, I never got to see a
show at this old converted movie house.  There were more people at this
show (about 500) and quite noticable were members of the local chapter
of the Hell's Angels.  This particular show was more energetic by the
band, but there were also some technical difficulties.  For example,
Buck broke a string during Before The Kiss.  Then, while the young
roadie was replacing the broken string, he accidentally turned the
volume knob up and all the schreeching and feedback blanked out Buck's
guitar playing.  Buck ran to the side of the stage to tell the roadie
to turn it down.  In addition to a drunken biker wandering on stage
and a girl screaming and falling on the stage, it was a loud, very
loud show.

   The set list was only slightly different; OD'ed On Life &
Astronomy were played, and D & S was played as an encore for those
"biker brothers in the audience".


   We returned to NM to hear the news that BOC will be playing at
an outdoor festival (probally related to the Balloon Fiesta) on
OCt 14th.  The Tubes & April Wine are also scheduled to appear, but
it is not clear who will headline.


              " Safe Sex, Caffine, & Classic Rock !! "

                               Manuel & Jean





Jean Delacour
University of New Mexico
Parish Library
Alb, NM 87131-1496
delacour at unm.edu