BOC: Northwest Tour

[John A Swartz]

Jack writes:

>For those of us that attend many shows, the set list is always going to
be, "I wish they had played this or that". Myself, I can think of many,
many songs I would rather here than the big three, however I do
understand that the majority of the fans attending want to here those.


Good point.  I will never complain about the fact the BOC will probably
ALWAYS play "the big 3" at every show - I think one should expect an
act to play their most popular (commercial) successes live.  And while
we all have our favorites we wisht the band would play, my problem is
not really with WHAT they play - but the fact that it has been the SAME
for years.  I want to hear variety from one BOC show to the next - no,
not every gig be different, but if I see 'em in 1995 and in 1996, then
I would hope the setlist has changed a bit between those times.

But, it is good to see recently a few other songs (Vigil, Shooting Shark,
Golden Age, Lips in the Hills - at least until Eric's problems presumably
worsened) find their way into the set.  I wish it wasn't so much due to
Eric's voice, but it is a treat for the core fans to get something
different.  And while it isn't the same, who can really complain about
having more of someone like Buck?

Back to my previous point - other than "the big 3" and maybe "Cities on
Flame", BOC could play ANY of their other tunes instead of the same ones
that they've done for years, and I doubt anyone would complain.  While
they are great tunes, would anyone's BOC concert experience these days
be ruined if they didn't play ETI, Before the Kiss, Dr. Music, Stairway
to the Stars, Joan Crawford, ME-262, . . . (I know, some have disappeared
from recent sets due mostly to Eric's voice, I think) as long as they
replaced them with some other BOC song that hasn't been done in years?
I mean, what if instead of the above, they did R U Ready 2 Rock, Teen
Archer, Dominance and Submission (well, ok, this is often in current sets),
Workshop of the Telescopes, 7 Screaming Dizbusters, and Dancin' in the
Ruins instead?  First of all, people who only know BOC from "the big 3"
wouldn't know the difference, fans who remember them from the 70s would
still suddenly be taken down memory lane, and all the diehards who've
been coming to shows over the last 10 years would go "hey, COOL!!".

Just my $0.02, and then some...
John