BOC: Show Review

[John A Swartz]

Saw this review of a recent BOC show on usenet.  Of significance to note
is that the band recently put "Shooting Shark" in the setlist.

John


From: Jackson Farley <Jackson_Farley at nt.com>
Newsgroups: alt.rock-n-roll.classic
Subject: BOC, Norfolk, VA, 7/19/96 Review
Date: 25 Jul 1996 20:34:48 GMT
Organization: Nortel
Lines: 104
Message-ID: <4t8lp8$2hv at nrtphc11.bnr.ca>
NNTP-Posting-Host: 47.140.5.32
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Mailer: Mozilla 1.12(Macintosh; I; 68K)
X-URL: news:alt.rock-n-roll.classic


Blue Oyster Cult's Cities On Flame '96 tour blazed into Virginia on
Friday evening July 19 and delivered a precision rock-n-roll fire storm
to the heart of Norfolk's waterfront.  The severe weather which had been
forecast for the evening never materialized and BOC fans were spared the
disappointment suffered by Smithereens' fans the evening before at the
same park when rain, high winds and lightning forced their show to be
stopped after only three songs.  But on this night, the weather was warm
and humid, and the music was red hot.  Rick Derringer kicked-off the
Festevents festivities with an energetic, bluesy rock set which
concluded with the rock standard Rock-and-Roll Hoochie Koo.  And even
though it was a partisan BOC crowd, they showed their appreciation of
Rick Derringer's guitar mastery and yeoman career with enthusiastic
applause throughout and at the end of his spirited set.  The crew then
worked quickly to change the stage for the men in black.  Buck Dharma
came out on-stage and spent awhile checking and double-checking his new
Crate equipment, which apparently had briefly failed the evening before
in Albany, NY.  But instead of his traditional white attire, tonight
Buck was dressed in a well tailored black sports jacket and black pants
with a gray t-shirt underneath.  Satisfied, he disappeared behind the
stacks and in only a few minutes the band took to the stage with their
eerie prelude music awakening the fans to the impending onslaught of
high energy rock-n-roll.  Blue Oyster Cult opened their show with what
continues to be a thrilling lead-off hitter Stairway to the Stars, taken
from their first album.  The vocals sounded crisp and clear and from the
front row the overall level and mix of instruments was excellent.  Next
on the set list came A Redcap, Before The Kiss and then ETI, both
rousing pieces which were delivered in a sonic one-two punch.  Then, the
moment BOC's on-line fans had been discussing and anticipating arrived
as the hard edged rocker The Vigil from the Mirrors album and BOC's new,
soon to be hit Harvest Moon were played for the large, raucous crowd of
cheering and hand-clapping fans.  It was interesting to see and hear
Eric and Allen exchange instruments often during the course of the show.
Beginning with ETI, Eric settled in behind the keyboards and
effortlessly kept the melodic underpinnings of this and several of the
next tunes in place; while Allen stepped forward and delivered an
accomplished performance on guitar including several licks at which even
Buck smiled in acknowledgment of Allen's talent.  The instrumental
Buck's Boogie was up next and Mr. Roeser really began to heat-up the
strings of his axe in what must be one of the most polished renditions
of this song ever delivered by the band.  In fact, the concert was
shaping-up to be a consummate performance, which if someone was
fortunate enough to have been recording, would definitely rate an A+ on
the bootleg circuit.  There had been no technical glitches, the boys
from NYC were playing really tight and the selections were classic.
Then came the show's big surprise as Eric stepped forward to introduce a
song "... that they hadn't performed in over ten years."  The
unmistakable, bubbling refrains of Shooting Shark ignited the crowd as
Danny expertly thumbed and plucked the funky bass rhythms which are the
trademark of this unique song of unrequited love.  The band seemed
pleased with the success of this one; and then roared into another
archetypal song from their early years, Cities On Flame!  Once again, as
he has done so many times before, Buck flexed his muscles and cracked
his knuckles to deliver what could have been the evening's best solo;
had it not been for the next song, BOC's anthem Then Came The Last Day's
Of May.  It is a shame that this song never received the popular acclaim
it deserved.  Here, the show peaked as Buck delivered both the poignant
lyrics and fiery solo with all the energy accumulated over years of
honing and shaping a masterpiece.  It would be interesting to speculate
why a nineties live version of Last Days of May did not make it onto
Cult Classics, or maybe even Workshop of the Telescopes; as it would
have been well received by BOC's highly loyal fan base and with an
imaginative mix might have even found some ever elusive air play for the
group.  The song is just that good.  Next came BOC's tour-de-force of
their big-three popular hits as the audience thrilled to hot renditions
of Burnin' For You, Godzilla and finally (Don't Fear) The Reaper.  The
bass and drum solo's by Danny and John respectively on Godzilla were
superb; especially John who had been keeping the driving beat dead
on-track all evening, and who deserved a moment in the spotlight himself
to showcase his proficiency on the kit.  These two newcomers to the band
are clearly providing a dose of freshness and enthusiasm which should be
evident in their new album; due out next year.  As the last haunting
notes of The Reaper echoed off downtown Norfolk's high rise buildings,
the crowd immediately began to demand an encore and BOC returned to
punctuate the show with The Red and The Black.  It was a great choice
for the encore, but it was flawed by the evening's only apparent
technical glitch when Eric's guitar amplification failed.  The band
covered the problem well and Eric delivered the lyrics in his smooth,
professional manner, without any visible hint of frustration.  So, the
enchanted evening was a glowing success and the fans, including my
brother and I who first heard this amazing live music nearly twenty
years ago, had gotten what they and we had traveled once again to see
and hear - the amazing Blue Oyster Cult.

Norfolk, VA, July 19, 1996
Set List:

Stairway to the Stars
A Redcap, Before the Kiss
ETI
The Vigil
Harvest Moon
Buck's Boogie
Shooting Shark
Cities On Flame
Then Came the Last Days of May
Burnin' For You
Godzilla
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
The Red and The Black (encore)

THE END