3/24 Baton Rouge Review

[HWillman]

My BOC Holiday should rate with some of yours, because. . .
I got the new CD -- AND saw them live.  I have no complaints
(far from it), but a few details and thoughts/opinions.

Texas Club (Baton Rouge, La.), March 24, 10:30 p.m. to 12:20 a.m.
Opening act: Nozmo King (from New Orleans), played from 9:00 to 9:30 p.m.,
mostly covers of classic rock.  Pretty good.

BOC Setlist:
Before the Kiss (A Redcap)
Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
ETI
Harvest Moon
Buck's Boogie
OD'd on Life Itself
The Vigil
Live for Me
Flaming Telepaths
See You in Black
Then Came the Last Days of May
In Thee
BFY
Zilla
DFTR
(end regular set)
Dominance and Submission
The Red and The Black

What a kick-ass BOC show.  I love the intimate atmosphere with BOC jamming.
This was my first time seeing BOC in 8 years (as Eric said, "we don't come
down here very often"), but about the 25th time since 1978 (I've lost count,
unfortunately).  I've only seen one show I didn't like (around 1985 in San
Jose, Calif.; sound was horrible).

Buck's vocals were fuzzy early, but it was corrected by the third song
(thankfully, Harvest Moon came over perfectly).  His guitar work was as good
as I remember it, perhaps better (is that possible?).  He is still one fine
player.

I was impressed by the heavy sound in the new songs (first time I'd heard any
of the three new ones they played).  Buck responded well to the crowd.  He
(and the other members) thrived on the diehards' reaction to his playing --
more so than I remember in the past.  I must say it was great to see each one
of them smile (even the new members, but especially Buck, Eric, and Allen).
They seemed to dig deeper because of it.

All of the old standards were fine (heard them tons of times, but always love
anything BOC plays live at show volume/settings), but I really enjoyed The
Vigil (wouldn't any BOC fan?).  Buck seemed especially sharp on that.  His
work on the 3 new songs was enthusiastic (and crisp work).  As I mentioned, a
very heavy (yet clear) sound.  As heavy as these new songs sound on CD,
they're even better live (at least on this night).  Based on this, there is no
reason BOC should even think about quitting (if they are, but I doubt it).
The crowd loved them as much as the old standby trio (BFY/Zilla/DFTR) -- this
bunch had its share of classic rock groupies.

HEAVEN FORBID COMMENTS

What a CD!  They definitely play the best 3 songs live (See You in Black,
Harvest Moon, Live for Me).  Heck, I guess it's 4 with the live version of In
Thee.  I think my friends who are so-so on BOC will like this CD (yes, I have
friends who are so-so on BOC!).  Let's hope BOC gets some airplay, because the
tunes are catchy ones -- catchy enough to help the current tour.  Harvest Moon
and Live for Me have fantastic work by Buck; good to see he's still strong.

All in all, a fun day (and I hope BOC enjoyed some Cajun cuisine on their
brief stop).  Wish there were more days like this.  Maybe the Brain Surgeons
will venture into south Louisiana one day.  Until then, we have CDs and great
memories -- I treasure mine (one of which includes the 1980 midnight show at
The Old Waldorf in San Francisco).

My best wishes to BOC, its staff, and fans everywhere.

-- Howard