BOC in Wendover

[Brad Dahl]

BOC in Wendover, NV 2/21/10

Last night I ran for the border.  Then I ran for the bathroom, but that is another story.  It was BOC, with Foghat warming up, in a very nice sold out > 1,000 seat concert theater in Wendover, Nevada.  This was my first visit to this venue and I have to say, very nice.  In fact, nicer than anything in Utah.  Who knew?  

First up was Foghat.  After seeing their DVD Foghat: The Millennium Tour from 2000 and being thoroughly bored, I wasn't expecting much.  Yes, there is only one original member, the drummer Roger Earl.  They very much surprised me.  Their new singer/guitarist Charlie Huhn  was excellent.  They played a  short set (although none of the songs were short).  He really had a cool Steve Marriot vibe going.

Then, BOC.  The first thing I noticed was NO ERIC BLOOM!  It was a 4-piece BOC with Buck doing his best to be the front man.  He did not seem all that comfortable in this role.   I thought it was strange that he didn't even mention Eric until late in the set when he introduced the band.  He said Eric was home with a cold.  A cold what?  This was the first time I had seen the band since Al Lanier's departure.  I have to say that the new "kids" did a very nice job.  The band played with energy and enthusiasm, which is something I haven't seen for many years.  Rudy Sarzo looks and plays amazing.  One of the best things about the show was being able to actually hear the bass clearly instead of it being buried in the mix.

So, it was really a Buck Dharma show rather than BOC.  I was hoping for some songs I hadn't heard, but there were no real surprises.  They started with Before the Kiss, which was a bit of a lame opener. Buck's guitar was too low in the mix for the whole show, but really noticeable on this one.  Then it was more of the typical, Burning for You, Shooting Shark, Buck's Boogie, Last Days of May, Godzilla, Don't Fear the Reaper.  That was it!  Even though Buck said they were "out of time", the crowd demanded an encore so they came out and played Hot Rails to Hell, which was awesome.  I know they have been doing this one for awhile, but it was the first time I'd seen them play it in over 30 years.  Rich did a nice job on the vocals.

If I'd paid much for this, I would have been very disappointed.  All in all, it was a fun night.  I have to say though, Foghat were definitely better on this night.

Good health to you, Eric.

Brad Dahl, Erda, UT