1998: This page is a preliminary document - a placeholder if you like - for some text entries for the BOC history for this year.
I have some more images to add to this page when I get the chance - so if you've sent me stuff for this page and can't see it yet, please be patient - I'll get there in the end.
The reason I'm posting this page before it's even remotely ready to go online properly is that as soon as a new History page goes up, people start sending me stuff for it. So my logic is this - I'll put this up quick and maybe you kind folks will get typing and scanning and start sending me info for this year...
Have you got anything to contribute to this page? Reviews, missing info, ticket stubs, posters etc etc - if so, let me .
When one popped down the appropriate coinage for the self-titled debut of the Blue Oyster Cult in 1972, one prepared to enjoy the hard edged glory of Transmaniacon MC and Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll, the lyrical wit of She's As Beautiful As A Foot and I'm On The Lamb But I ain't No Sheep, and perhaps even the occasional quaalude or two. One did not anticipate hearing any of these songs performed live in a supper club environment some 26 years later. But here in the soft white underbelly of suburban Los Angeles - where surfers surf, smokers are not allowed to smoke, and room nightclubs offer well-known rock acts of questionable shelf life - are the Blue Oyster Cult, diz-busters grown middle aged, distant and professional. They are still surprisingly good, and tonight they are playing most of their best material.
These days Blue Oyster Cult features three original members - singer Eric Bloom, guitarist Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser, and keyboardist Allen Lanier - backed by former Rainbow/Black Sabbath drummer Bobby Rondonelli and Long Island bassist Danny Miranda. The Bouchard brothers rhythm section is long gone, but the songs themselves - and the core intelligence behind the writing of each - remain intact and more conspicuous than ever. Here is a band that from it's inception has enjoyed the best of both worlds, making fun of the excesses of a musical genre while winning fans of that genre at the same time.
First the logos, the clothes, the artwork, the song titles, the umlauts - and then the songs, like Od'd On Life Itself and Dominance And Submission, hurling a pie into the faces of the Dios, Morbid Angels, and every other idiot-metal band that would come later and really mean it. And nowhere is that duality better reflected than in Buck Dharma's magnificent death-ode Don't Fear The Reaper, one of the finest rock'n'roll singles of all time, and as set closers go, about as best as any band could ever hope for.
So how could they lose? A total of 17 songs, three of them new, the remainder a superb cherry picking of their extensive repertoire. Thought the original triumvirate look grizzled and worn - the tiny Dharma now alternatively evokes the peculiar image of mini-Mafia don or the guy who runs the deli up the street - their sound is, as always was, unmistakably fierce. A spectacular Buck's Boogie and the night's final song The Red And The Black, were inspiring; The Bloom-led audience singalong to Dominance And Submission was downright surrealistic. As was the entire night for that matter.
The new album is, inevitably, on it's way.
Evening Star 1998 - Crisp winter night. A couple of on-descript openers if I remember. They went on kind of late but hot set as usual.
Typical of Buffalo weather that time of year, when we came out there was about 4 or 5 inches of snow and it was still coming down.
Somewhat treacherous drive home across the bridges between the Falls and Buffalo.
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.
Another small club gig. Diverse setlist, but I remember they did the big three. They played about 1 hour 45 minutes and Jason got another record signed by the band.
Had a beer and Hung out with Buck for a little while after the show...
Caravan of Dreams... Nice small club, pretty packed that night. Only thing I hated was their no-cameras policy. It was April 9th. I'm attaching a scan of the ticket stub.
This gig was definitely Murfreesboro, TN and the venue was The Warehouse. Typical Shithole. But come on, that is quite the Setlist!
I videoed the show - I was even able to get on a Bar area and use a tripod. I had just had hernia surgery and I think I screwed it up getting onto that Bar area, had to have it again.
Alcohol and surgery recovery do not mix well...
Their first show a few days after the release of Heaven Forbid)They played like they were possesed!!! It was truly a show of shows. This was the best sound and the most inspired I have ever seen them. They played like they were HUNGRY for it. It was sooo awesome!!!
Wow, this goes back. This was definitely far from our first gig, and I don't know if you would say we've supported BOC so much as they appear on a few of our CDs.
The BOC BBQ was basically us playing for the release party of Heaven Forbid, which was also the release party for our first disc.
Our live show is usually taking a lot of cover songs and doing them oddly - ballads of Ozzy songs, calypso Pink Floyd and such. We do a lot of BOC material, if the crowd knows it. About the time of Heaven Forbid, we released our first big CD, which had a cover of Don't Fear The Reaper/Burnin For You done to the style of Stray Cat Strut. It is sung by us with Buck Dharma on guest vocals. That album was "All Time Greatest Hips".
We followed that up with "Don't Fear The Remake" which was a limited home release (CDR) of only BOC covers and included guest work by Buck, Eric Bloom, Danny Miranda and BOC relations Bolle Gregmar, John Shirley, Broadway Blotto and a few dozen BOC hardcore fans.
Our brand new regular CD "What Am I Doing On The Moon" features a modernized remix of our version of Reaper with Buck with our new instrumentation (ie Zendrum) and also our version of Harvest Moon.
I know there are several videos as well as recordings of that BBQ (which wasn't a BBQ) show, which was mainly us, then Buck and Danny joining us from time to time, mostly for Beatles tunes and such. They were our guests. The only BOC material played by BOC members that day was Real World.
As for how all of this came about - Buck liked our version of Reaper, and the band became fans and wanted to mess around with us. So we became friends and exchanged lots of ideas and recordings and such.
I think Sandy maybe sang some live with us that day, too.
This kind of scratches the surface of our relationship with BOC...
You can hear a piece of Buck with us on reaper here:
and a bit of harvest moon here:
This show near Elmira did not feature Jefferson Starship. They were supposed to be there but cancelled.
I remember travelling from Albany, NY for this show to see BOC. When the woman at the ticket table found out how far we came and that there was no Jefferson Starship (who was the headliner) she gave us a refund for the tickets but still let us in the concert. Little did she know we were there for BOC!
The lineup for this show was; opener, Pat Travers, then Molly Hatchett, then BOC. Sorry no setlist.
Until Kevin Burrus kindly sent me the above ticket stub, I had actually wondered whether or not this gig took place on this date or not. At the very least, I rather think that the setlist mentioned here could actually be from the December 19 1998 show at Lake Boone Club, Raleigh NC.
There's a DVD out there which includes a "happy Christmas" greeting, so it's all a bit confusing...
Does anyone know:
Opening band for 8/6/98 at Medina Ballroom in Hamel was Knight Crawler.
Have ad and extra ticket from show if you want it.
The band running order was Nazareth, April Wine and then BOC.
August 9, 1998: Sandstone Amphitheatre, Bonner Springs, Kansas
Line-up (in order)
setlists
BLUE OYSTER CULT
NAZARETH
APRIL WINE
IRON BUTTERFLY
BLACK OAK ARKANSAS
JOEY SKIDMORE
Technically, my first BOC concert experience was when I was 7 years old, and an uncle of mine took me to see them during the Club Ninja tour (I believe it was in Kansas City, but I can't remember). Needless to say, I don't have much to relate about this experience... however, last August, I was lucky enough to see them for the first time (while being able to appreciate it, that is) at the Brooktown Brewery in Oklahoma City.
The opening act was April Wine, and they did a FANTASTIC job. They were really enjoying themselves, and they did great live versions of All Over Town and Sign of the Gypsy Queen, which are the only two songs I could name off of the top of my head that they've ever recorded (the latter wasn't even penned by them). VERY cool group of guys, and it really got me in the mood for BOC...
Then, Nazareth came on, and they seemed to harbor some sort of personal contempt that they had to be bothered to play that night.... they went on stage, they kinda fooled around for an hour to an hour and a half, they did "Now Your Messin' with a Son of a Bitch" (with little assistance from the crowd, despite their efforts) and came off the stage.... they were NOT impressive. "Goin' Through the Motions" probably describes their lousy attempt at a live concert....
Now, we get about an hour break between Nazareth and the boys, and got treated to various studio cuts of AC/DC, while the Nazareth crew took their sweet time getting their gear off stage..... then, the sound guys managed to completely screw up, and it looked like Steve or some other member of the BOC crew gave 'em a good talking to, and tried to fix their sorry excuse for a sound mix... Bobby spent a pretty good time testing his drums during this, and hopefully heard "Bobby Rondinelli kicks A$$!!!!!!" a couple of times while he was doing so ;-) Allen tuned up his guitar some, and eventually they got out on stage.
Of course, they opened with BFY, and then followed a pretty typical setlist for the summer of '98, with such gems as The Vigil and Last Days of May, and an encore of The Red and The Black. All the while, their vocals were pretty much washed out, but the rhythm section was comin' out loud and clear (most of the non-BOC fans were surprised at how easily they could head-bang to this stuff, especially given the sound mix). Bobby's drum solo came out GREAT, with a little jazz rhythm going... and Danny's bass solo in the Red and the Black was pretty popular too. All in all, I was probably of maybe a half dozen true believin' fans out there, but it was a great show nonetheless... the boys _wanted_ to add another encore or two, but they had to be in Texas the following night =(
Oh yeah, for some reason, Eric gave the intro to Last Days of May, and it went something like "this next song is about a deal gone bad for some.... errrr.... controlled substances" (with a big wink of the eye). The crowd went wild, and Danny took another drag of what had to be a doobie and held it up for the crowd to see ;-)
Another great show. My brother and I always get to the front of the stage and when Eric Bloom goes into his intro for Godzilla rap we always yell for Joan Crawford.
So when Eric say "Something big is coming this way, who could it be?" We yell out "It's Joan Crawford!" This night Al Lanier heard us doing it and was cracking up.
When Eric takes the mic and puts it if front of Allan and asks "Who's coming this way?" he looks at me and says, "It must be Joan"
They come out for the first encore and Buck is pointing to me as Al does the piano intro to Joan Crawford,
It was a wild night.
Support band confirmed at this youtube link: