BOC: Sunday Times review

[Ted Jackson]

>>> tim at KALYR.COM 7/31/2006 5:34 PM >>>
Stephen Swann wrote:

> I sometimes think that one of the things that drags down bands who
> have had giant monster hits, is the resulting virtual enslavement to 
> playing those songs night after night for years on end.

BOC have the 'advantage' that they've only had three hits (in Britain, 
it's only really one), which, combined with a strong back catalogue of 
album tracks, means they've got a lot of opportunity to mix things up to 
prevent things getting too stale.  On British shows they could quite 
easily get away without playing 'Burning for You', since it was never a 
hit over here. Not even sure whether they put it out as a single.

OTOH, a band like Journey with many more standards solved the problem by 
going on lengthy hiatus multiple times.


I'm not sure how well they'd go over in the UK though, if
they played a set featuring lots of HF and CotHM tunes?
In the US, I think BÖC have so little faith in their fans
that they persist in a generic setlist.  But it may also
have something to do with the band's comfort level.
They know the core tunes by heart, and they can
essentially phone in a show at a moment's notice.
As much as I love the band, I have to admit I agreed 
with some of the points in that scathing review.
BÖC ARE a nostalgia act, and I think they have done
that to themselves.  I just saw Little Feat last Sunday,
and they are a geezer band who never play the same 
set 2 nights in a row.  They may include a couple of
songs that show up in nearly every set, but apart from
that, their set list is wide open...


tj