1995: This page contains all I know about Blue Oyster Cult for this year - and all I know is what you folks send me, so if you want to see more info on this page, there's an easy solution...
Have you got anything to contribute to this page? Reviews, missing info, ticket stubs, posters etc etc - if so, let me .
Blue Oyster Cult. $12.00 Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI. 1/5/95
Kind of ironic that the next show we would see is Al Bouchard from the Brain Surgeons old band, BOC!! It is about a 55 minute drive to Lupo's from Boston, which is not too bad, but the shows at Lupos go so late, which is a drag.
Carl and Tania had never seen BOC so this was a big night for them and the band were quite good and loud!
Lupo's is kind of a strange place. If you are front row on the balcony it is great, but towards the rear is not so good at all. We stood on the floor and I recorded the show from there in the middle.
The place must hold about 1000 people I would guess? The show was really good and they played one new song that they did not play the last time I saw them, nearly two years ago and they said the new lp would be out next year, ha!!!
The set list was:
A great set of songs but I really wish they would drop Don't fear the Reaper and especially Burning for you. I still love Godzilla but the others are a bit old and they have other great songs from that era they could play.
OK - so there's a discrepancy - I have this gig down as 6 January - whereas Scott's acount above says it was 5th January.
Anybody know for sure?
Smallest crowd I've ever seen for a BOC show - less than 30 people. Terrible weather drove people away.
Great set nonetheless, and the band was chatting with everybody after the show.
I was a this show. The Ritz was an old converted movie theater on Independence Blvd.
They started playing about midnight. Good show.
I was a member of a popular local mid-90's Salt Lake City band called Blister'd Toad and we played the opening set for BOC on January 27, 1995 at Upper Country Nightclub in South Salt Lake City, Utah.
Upper Country was a hollowed-out supermarket 5 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City. There were about 750 people in attendance on this cold January evening. I recall seeing several tour shirts out from the 1980 "Black & Blue" tour that was held at Bonneville Raceway outside of Salt Lake City; a show that saw a double Blue Oyster Cult set, due to the cancellation of Black Sabbath.
Our band was honored to hang out with the members of BOC for an hour before show time. We had a blast telling road stories and partaking of party favors backstage. I was crew manager for 'The Toad' and did the stage intro for our group, which was a well-known Salt Lake City hard-rock beat combo. We were raucously received in our 45 minute set, and did a nice job of warming up BOC. I know this because Buck Dharma told us so.
The BOC setlist was the same as the January 21 show at The Ritz in Charlotte, NC. "See You In Black" was a particular highlight for me, but the big roars from the crowd came for the hits. I had an excellent perspective of the band and the scene from my perch on stage right and I sang my lungs out. I looked out at the audience's reactions and felt great energy in the room. The band played an hour and twenty minutes worth of familiar and excellent rock-n-roll.
After the show, we struck our gear into the van, and later I was backstage with my paper and pen, hoping to get a few minutes with the boys before evening's end.
I chatted with Eric Bloom and bassist Jon Rogers for awhile and asked them to sign the back of a promo poster for our band. I said to Jon, sign it, "To Mike,., if you would".
He smiled and signed, "To Mike If You Wood".
The opening act was Caretaker. I took several pictures of BOC on stage. I drank a pitcher or 2 of beer and I was smashed. I enjoyed the Hits of BOC Live again, but I don't really know their songs to give you a setlist.
After the show I met Eric Bloom (for the 2nd time). He autographed some snapshots I took at Corry Pa. in September 2nd 1994 and pictures I took when I met him November 27th 1993 at Valley Forge on the Total Recall Tour.
I attended this show and wrote the setlist down as the show went on. It is 100% accurate.
1995/02/18 - Blue Oyster Cult - Metropolis, Harrisburg, PA - [Sa] Set 1:
Three of my buddies and I braved the freezing rain in NNY and crossed into Ontario to make it to the Penguin (long closed, as far as I know-as of 2012).
There were no ticket stubs, just paid $20 Canadian at the door. It was the smallest venue I'd ever seen BOC in but they rocked nonetheless.
Burgi was impressive and shook the little club all night. They unleashed some tunes that appeared on "Heaven Forbid" such as See You In Black.
I believe they also did Still Burnin' as well.
Can't tell you much about the show, it was a long time ago now; wasn't a very big crowd, and I remember it being a decent show. My friend and I talked briefly to the band (Buck maybe?) afterwards. Sorry I can't add more...
I attended this concert and was once again astonished by the artistic perfection that this band displays each time I see them. Saw them once before at the '89 show at the Center Stage (ATL) and they were still spot on here in '95. Bloom mentioned an upcoming album just before the band played "See You In Black".
One major correction to your site concerning this gig, though: the opening act was definitely John Kay & Steppenwolf. I got there a little late but wiggled my way to near the front just in time to see an extended "Born To Be Wild". Both bands were amazing and I'm glad I witnessed the spectacle.
The name of the venue in Springdale, Arkansas USA that BOC performed at on June 16th 1995 was "Countryland". It was primarily a Country Music venue. It's called something else now, I can't remember what.
I was at that show. I wish I could say I remember the set list, but it was a great show!
Eddie B, opened, i knew Bucks brother and he got me the gig. I traded Don a stratocaster for that black lp custom Git as seen in the marshall plan music video, for whatever it's worth...
Oh yeah, a Gig Memory - I had to set up my amp in front of Bucks, which got an oh shit from me. we did pretty well, but the one thing I remember was that my drummer did a small solo spot. I forgot to tell him that wasn't a good idea. When it came time for that spot of the show for the Boc Drum solo, Buck turned to chuck and said "show him how it's done"...
Priceless...
One of the few gigs with Greg Smith on Bass. Even though it was summer there was a big college crowd. Strong set in a packed club.
Minor, but I just wanted to add to the July 6, 1995 gig in Bismarck, ND that they opened for REO Speedwagon that night.
BOC was in top form, and was the reason I was there. I normally dislike crowds, but my girlfriend knew I loved BOC, and purchased the tickets, knowing I wouldn't go otherwise. So yeah, I was dragged to the show. It was the first and so far only time I've seen them live. I couldn't believe they were here in lowly Bismarck!
I was blown away. They were playing a song off their upcoming CD (Heaven Forbid--which did not appear until 3 long years later) called "See You In Black". It rocked! The whole show rocked.
As they were opening for REO, their set was short, maybe 40 minutes. I remember being somewhat disappointed in REO. They sounded good, but a bit too-polished and not spontaneous at all.
Bought my first BOC T-shirt there. The "Puppet Show" one.
I remember loving their bombastic intro music, which I'd love to know what it was so I can hear it again. That heavy keyboard intro (played in complete darkness) REALLY got me pumped up.
I don't remember much of the setlist, but my favorite song that night was by far "Flaming Telepaths", a song I'd never heard before, since my BOC collection was quite small at the time.
I went on a BOC CD buying spree in the months that followed.
The Foghat site lists this show a being at Black Oak Mountain Amphitheatre, Lampe MO with BOC, Nazareth, Steppenwolf. Link:
Does anyone know either way? I notice the same line-up is also given for the gig on the 8th July at Bonner Springs, which DOES accord with Foghat's lists...
After suffering through the half rock half reggae nonsense of the opener Fortune, BOC took the stage by force and never looked back. They were on fire this night and played an amazing show. Well worth the price of admission and then some.
The venue wasn't all that big and the seating allowed for very good visibility of the band and the sound was excellent. Loud but crystal clear. I am a big fan of Buck's guitar playing and I watched his every lick. That guy is amazing.
I can't remember much of the set list but they played the classics and a bunch of other stuff that I really liked. The show opener was "Dominance and Submission". That set the stage for the rest of the night.
It's funny, I bought two tickets and two days before the show the girl that was supposed to go backed out. I tried in vain to get someone to use the ticket for free but nobody was interested.
Spudstock (yes that is what they really called it) in a potato field in Fort Fairfield, Aroostook County, Maine ( population: 2500 people) The title was lame but the concert was classic and memorable.
They had advertised this concert as selling 30,000 tickets. So the people in this small town were freaking out. When we got there they had 2500 -3000 tops. The vendors lost their shirts, but the fans got front row action.
Lineup: The Guess Who, Blue Oyster Cult, Quiet Riot, Rick Derringer, Eddie Money, The Outlaws, John Anderson, etc. ( various artists from other seventies bands that jammed together.)
Quiet Riot would not leave the stage cause they wanted to rock all night and BOC tried to take the stage and the bouncers tried to remove Quiet Riot, they wouldn't budge so BOC walked off in a huff and never played - they left for the Presque Isle Airport. Therefore Eddie Money went on at midnight and played 'til 3am. Awesome music to fall asleep to in your tent.
The highlight of the whole weekend was The Outlaws playing Green Grass & High Tides, the dueling guitars was screaming. I had to back up or my ears would bleed. Unforgettable lineup all the way around.
Aroostook Country, ME--If you take a map of the United States and place your thumb over Maine, Aroostook County lies directly under your thumbnail. And where the eastern part of your thumb meets the Canadian border, you'll find Fort Fairfield, home of "Spud-stock."
Billed by its promoters as the largest outdoor music festival in the history of Maine, Spudstock was expected to attract well over 30,000 music lovers from around the region.
It didn't. By the Monday after the festival, local radio newscasters had deemed the three day affair "Dudstock."
But having already driven four hours to this area of Maine known for its potatoes, I was determined not to let my press pass go to waste. Mosh pits, however, are not terribly conducive to reloading a camera.
One by one, the featured acts took the stage: The Outlaws, Rick Derringer The Guess Who, Eddie Money, John Anderson and Doug Kershaw. Blue Oyster Cult, also scheduled to play, left before performing amid rumors of a fistfight.
Quiet Riot, returning to Maine for the first time since 1983, attracted the most enthusiastic and energetic crowd.
The characters in the audience were twice as interesting as the personalities on stage.
A band of anarchists from Pittsfield, Maine bemoaned the fact that you can't enter Canada if you've recently been convicted of driving drunk. After discovering that I was a Harvard student, a man in a straw hat revealed to me that he was the great -great nephew of the father and son responsible for creating the University's world-famous glass flowers collection.
People offered me drugs, alcohol and ham-burgers in return for promising to run their picture in the paper. It wasn't long before I found out that potatoes, the namesake crop of the festival, were not the only greenery to be found in the county's fields.
History may not look back on Spudstock '95 with awe. In fact, it may not look back on it at all.
They arrived at the gig, but never performed because someone was mishandling their equipment. I was backstage at the time and they were ready to perform and stormed off.
This was a 3 day music festival, I will try to collect the list of other bands that performed. I know Quiet Riot and Eddie Money were two of the bigger names, but most were local and up and coming.
I only know about the support act for this gig due to the image posted about 4/5 the way down this page (BTW: they labelled it as 1991, but it was in fact 1995):
Complete setlist for navy pier - aug. 5 1995:
good sound, good show. nice breeze from the lake.
Sun Jester??? Could you double check your notes for that one as this would be so unique to be played in 1995 as to officially earn the title of "astounding" - it's generally known to have only been played on the 1979 tours (plus the start of 1980).
At the Navy Pier show in 95, BOC had a "temporary" bassist, Greg Smith, and he'd only learned a set number of tunes and BOC more or less played that set every night in the same order (boring bastards!!) - so seeing Sun Jester amongst the setlist for just this gig really sticks out. If you could double check this, I'd be grateful...
i know i was a little hammered (double bloody marys at 16 bucks a pop, friggin navy pier) but i've also seen the band over 50 times, and i'm pretty familiar with the line up, songs, etc. i have on my setlist, though written a little shaky "sunjester" right after in thee, and right before "acoustic", what ever that means. then me262 and so forth.
and are you sure they had greg smith on bass? i seem to remember danny miranda....
I have it in an email from Danny Miranda himself that he joined BOC in Aug 1995, and that his first gig was St Louis which was apparently Aug 11. If you reckon Danny Miranda was playing bass on Aug 5th at the Navy Pier, then that would be news....
"Acoustic" sounds like it's referring to what's called "Acoustic Blues (fill-in jam)" (aka "State 95 Blues", "2 Shows Today Blues", "Hershey Blues", etc) - according to Bolle Gregmar: "Acoustic Blues actually had a different name just about every time it happened - it was a sporadic jam every night and some nights Bloom would sing, but mostly it would be Allen goofing about - but the whole band plays it, thus rendering it as a distict and separate song..."
The thing is - this normally would precede "In Thee"" - whereas in your list, it comes after... it's possible that they may have played the opening bars of Sun Jester as part of the "Acoustic Blues" medley and you wrote it down and then they wandered into something else... grasping at straws here...
i've been scanning my brain all day as to why i wrote the word "acoustic" right after the word "sunjester".
i was almost positive that danny was playing bass that night, now i'm not so sure. can't anyone else clarify this show? now it's really starting to bother me. the reason i originally started writing setlists for myself was so i would remember the show (for various reasons, if you get my drift).
this sucks. i've never run into this. maybe they did an acoustic version of sunjester? dammit this sucks.
So far as I know - this was Greg Smith's last gig - in this link, he reveals that "those bastards never paid me for the last two shows I played.":
The band running order was Missouri, Mountain, BOC, and then headliners April Wine.
Please note that the date for this show was 11 August and that the venue was the the Riverport not the Riverfront Ampitheatre. We do have a local paper called the Riverfront Times and that's always been a good source for listing upcoming concerts, reviews, etc.
I'm grateful to Paul for clearing that up. It's fairly well known that Danny's first gig with BOC was St Louis, and all previous indications had been that this took place on 15 August.
The Sun, 16 Jul 1995 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had ads for this gig featuring a running order of Paul Rodgers, BOC and then April Wine.
However Paul's info above, together with the Pollstar stats, would seem to indicate that Paul Rodgers must have dropped out of this gig...
1995/08/26 - Blue Oyster Cult - Infinity Nightclub, Linglestown, PA - [Sa]
Hatter was the opening act.
It was $10.00 at the door. What a bargain...
I heard a report that this was a "gig by a health club swimming pool..." - sounds a bit odd, so I was wondering if you could fill in a few more details...?
A few buddies and myself got fairly inebriated before the show. We got there just in time for BOC. My recollection is hazy. Except I do remember we settled in at the back of the empty "swimming pool" area. It was very odd in hindsight.
I found a listing for this gig in the Sat 26 Aug 1995 edition of the "Reno Gazette-Journal":
Hearts of Golf Cantaloupe Festival: The annual event, featuring a farmer's market, arts and crafts, speciality products made in Fallon, cantaloupe games and contests, a children's carnival and more, is from 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sept. 1-4 at the Churchill County Fairgrounds in Fallon. Admission: $5, adults; $3, children; $8, weekend pass; $5, children. A Blue Oyster Cult concert is at 8 p.m. Sept. 1 Cost: $15. Details: 423-2544.
BOC had been at the same place barely two months before, but still drew a solid crowd.
As a funny coincidence, Rick Downey was in town and showed up, hung out, and chatted with a bunch of us. He was working as a driver for Penske at the time.
My old band Project Blue were on this bill. Here is the info from the poster
Arkansas Jam sunday sept 24 1995 riverfront amphitheatre little rock.
This was a fun concert. We hung on stage and got to see boc and nazareth up close. Go godzilla!
Here's the setlist for 1995-09-30: Synergy Center, West Chicago, IL:
An eBay auction for a stub for this gig gave the following information: "Riofest 95 w/ April Wine and Blue Oyster Cult at Rio Rancho, NM, October 14th 1995"...
I recall this one since I had taken the Virginia bar exam in July and 10/20/95 was my 28th birthday. :-)
First of all, I had met MilesKB and Steverivet through the then-nascent internet (AOL) and they were all local - as was I staying with the 'rents near Rivet's. Rivet rode his bike and Eric spent a chunk of the evening cruising Northern Virginia.
I was up front (duh) and while I can't tell you the setlist, I can say that the encore was Born to be Wild and Eric rode Rivet's bike onstage for it.
Towards the end of the show it began to pour like a bitch. Got to hang around a bit with the crew as they were packing up. Didn't get to meet the band, but with rain and all, it's understandable. I recall really enjoying my only BOC birthday show.
Thanks guys.
Miles Baron (MilesKB) and myself were in a band at the time called "Ages of Fortune" (we initially called the band "Agents of Fortune" but at a gig they misspelled our name on the sign so we decided it was divine providence and went with "Ages")
Anyway we were one of the opening acts. I was also a regular participant on the BOC AOL forum back in the day - my id was "leehodge".
Another memory from that evening - I drove Eric back to his hotel in my red Miata and every time I see Eric he remembers my red Miata (and yes, it was pouring rain that evening).
For 20 Oct 1995 at the same venue, After Forever were there - they were the band that went on before BOC at that show.
There was a poster for this show advertised on eBay which gave the following information: "Original Rare Concert poster Greg Allman Oct 28, 1995: Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles"
I originally had this gig dated as the 13th because the original schedules on boc.com had this:
95-11-13: Massachusetts - North Adams - Mass M.O.C.A. Bldg #13
"Building #13"...? However, after checking out various copies of "The Berkshire Eagle", I now know that this was the venue:
Concert: Blue Oyster Cult, $15,
Night Shift Cafe at Mass MOCA, 87 Marshall St., North Adams, doors open 7; concert reservations: Berkshire World Travel 663-7646
The 9 Nov edition had mention of the support act:
The Suits are scheduled to warm up the crowd for Blue Oyster Cult at The Night Shift Cafe at Mass MoCA in North Adams on Saturday night at 8. For tickets call Berkshire World Travel at 663-7646.
and then under a photo of them, it gave the following info:
The Suits, a six-member r&b band of ex-lawyers and realtors, headed by former developer Jay Weiss, center, opens for Blue Oyster Cult Saturday night at 8 at the Night Shift Cafe at Mass MoCA in North Adams. The band's other members are, from left, Andy Bigan, Dave Dachinger, Ron Bienstock, Trina Hamlin and Paul Bernhardt.
Mass MOCA means Massachusetts Museum Of Contemporary Art.
Rainy, cold night but well attended gig. A college type of crowd.
Opening band's name escapes me, a local(?) funk outfit with female vocalist. Low-ceilinged space with a low stage made for a more intimate experience. Was able to get up close to the stage for the show and grab a guitar pick after.
I believe this event was what we call in Florida as Light Up Orlando. This is due to the mostly historic part of Orlando being decorated for Christmas and that the event literally illuminates the area in Christmas lights. I still have more research to do on this but I thought you may enjoy finding out what you can on your end.
Also, I can positively verify that the band that went on stage before B.O.C closed was Great White. Good luck and I will be looking deeper into this myself.
Back in '95 and I was an AOL'er then and was involved in many of the live chats with the fans and sometimes Eric and Buck. Well, I managed to catch them in a club in Orlando and hung around afterwards and talked to Eric briefly (he liked my kronos tatoo) and I told him I would be at the St. Pete show in couple days.
The St. Pete show also happened to be on or right before Eric's birthday, so I brought him a gift (not a thrilling one, but a thoughtful one, anyhow...) I posted myself right up front at stage about a foot from where the boys would be. It was one of the best shows I had ever seen by the world's greatest band.They even did an old lessser known Beatles tune for an encore.
There was a funny spot in show where the strobe was supposed to kick in during "Flaming Telepaths",while Eric sang the chorus "... and the joke's on you!". Apparently the guy doing the lights missed his cue and Eric had already started the chorus. When he realized he wasn't getting the strobe, being so close I heard Eric say off-mike "I guess the joke's on me"- Too funny!!!.
However the BIG BIG highlight was twofold: During Dominance & Submission, Eric stuck out the mike for me to shout out the refrain!! I almost shit myself!! Here was my alltime favorite band and I got to sing part of one of the coolest songs (well,at least a SMALL part).
And to top it off, I met both Eric and Buck after the show, had pics taken and just generally had a great time. Even talked with Eric about the area of upstate NY he was from (we both are from the Canandaigua/Geneva area). I will never,ever forget that night!!!!
On a business trip to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1995, I managed to catch a BOC show (my plane landed at about 9:30, and I drove to the club and got there with about 10 minutes to spare before BOC hit the stage).
Their final encore was "Slow Down", with guest guitarist Al Pitrelli of local heavy metal group Savatage.
The support act was called Stone, a British band, and they went down the worst at a BOC concert that I've seen...
They started the show with the guitarist running alone onto the empty stage, throwing his head back and widdlying away like his life depended on it, before the other musicians came on to join him. The singer then strolled on stage, wearing a big jacket which he immediately took off and flung to the floor, before grabbing the microphone and warbling away.
They really didn't go down well. They certainly got one of the worst reactions I've seen for a support band. People were bellowing "Fuck Off!" throughout their set. Simply a case of wrong type of music for the crowd.
It was so different to when sHeavy opened for BOC three years later, as they sounded like Black Sabbath and went down really well. Still, at least Stone weren't getting things thrown at them! I've seen that happen a few times.
I went to this gig and couldn't have been happier.
About a year before the concert some genius at work accidently discovered that we could use our limited (internal company only) electronic mail system to get onto this quite new thing called the World Wide Web.
Then this other guy - stop me if I'm going on :-) - said 'Charlie, you like Blue Oyster Cult, they've got a kinda fan group thing'. I joined it, stunned that they were still performing - it was called BOC-L.
There were set lists, reviews chat and everything! Albert was a member and the legend that is John Swartz was producing / produced a FAQ. I contributed for about 12 years.
The BOC-L archives are available if you search for them.
Anyway. Long story short. The chat and messages were coming thick and fast then one day BOC announced a gig in London at The Forum in Kentish Town, I was beside myself.
Several of us BOC-L'ers met up in the Bull and Gate next door. It was great to finally have faces to the names - no facebook or insta in those days!
We went off to the gig. The band were brilliant, great gig and great set. Some of us hung around afterwards and we got to meet Buck, Eric and Danny and got some autographs and photos.
Twenty years after meeting my favourite band for the first time in '75 as a teenager I was standing chatting to them.
Just the best day ever (until the next time).
About this concert, I would say it was really a monster show. So big that I was afraid it would be the last one, in France, or even in Europe...
It was neverending, 2 hours and a half, 19 songs, with beautiful rarities live like Flaming telepaths, In thee or Lips in the hills.
We were exhausted, as the band I suppose, after the show, and feeling a bit sad because we thought it could be the last time we could see them.
I was very happy and surprised when I heard BOC was coming to play 2 concerts in Athens (they had done exactly the same in 1987 but then it was a big football arena).
I felt very happy and lucky since I was in my country at that time (for the ones who don't know me, I travel a lot worldwide)... I always had that thought in my mind: "I will feel very bad if BOC visit Hellas and I am not there..."
That would be the 3rd time I was going to watch a live BOC concert.
The problem was that I was a bit far from Athens. I was in the Marine academy in Kefallonia (graduating year) and until then there were several times I was absent from the academy. They were also kind of strict too and if you were absent one day without any papers from the doctor or something then they had to call you (wait in the raw... blah blah) to ask why... and most of the times there was a "penalty".
Since one concert was on Friday and the second on Saturday, I had to leave the island on Thursday - so I had to find a good excuse so they wouldn't call me to apologise... So I did and the prob was 'solved'.
I went to Athens and I was more surprised when my wife (we were engaged then) told me told me she also bought a ticket for the first night (she doesn't like Hard Rock).
I was very close to the stage both nights and in front of me was Allen Lanier. The club was full of crowd but the 2nd night were more fans for sure than the 1st one...
There were 2 new members for me - one was Danny Miranda on bass and the second one was the fuge O'Reilly on drums I had no idea since I knew last summer they had changed a few drummers and Gregg Smith was on bass.
Finally Miranda ended to be the "surprise"of the show since I remember many people (not real BOC fans) telling they liked him a lot... he was very cool on stage indeed. O'Reilly also was very good.
BOC performed a very long set each night - about 20 songs each night. I remember the played almost the same set with some exceptions... (f.i. Take me away the first one... Astronomy, Joan Crawford the second)... totally there were 5-6 songs they played only once... the band was in very good shape... definetly better than the 1987 shows.
Buck also... his solos and sound was a killer. LDOM wow!!. I remember Allen having the cigarette on his guitar...
I was like to find a guy who took many nice shots from this concerts (color and black & white too) and many years later a guy who had captured the concert from the console and sold it to me with the exception of the 40% of one night which was missing so I have memories from that show...
They also performed 2 "new"songs at that time : "See U in black"and "Harvest moon"which probably were the highlights of the show.
At the end of the 2nd night I called Buck while they were leaving the stage and he came back and gave me his hand and we "talked"for some seconds.
It was one of the coolest Fridays/Saturdays ever I couldn't know that the next time I would watch BOC would be in 2003 in UK.
In 1995 They played The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and did indeed perform D+S at the stroke of Midnight, and lo and behold... as the calls for Dominance & Submission began... at the call back from the Audience of Submission, the Power went out and the show ended on that note...
The entire place was in Darkness, and we quickly learned of a Car accident a few blocks away with a driver running into an Electrical Cable pole, and darkened the entire area... Nice and Spooky vibe there fer sure... Fun Memory to boot!
The main bunch of us Party goers regrouped a tad later at the local Dennis for some more Celebrations!
Here's Bolle's in depth review of the show he did for Morning Final, which provides a lot of interesting detail about John Miceli's involvement with this show:
Happy New Year! Ringing in 1996 with Blue Oyster Cult
By Bolle
1995 was the year with the most line-up changes ever in Blue Oyster Cult. After 10 years, Jon Rogers quit in May and was replaced temporarily by Greg Smith. Greg's previous commitment to Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow only allowed him time to play with BOC through the summer. The band then auditioned a few players, but it was when Greg had to cancel at the last minute, with only two day's notice that they found the man to take the real place - Danny "The Law" Miranda.
Four-year veteran Chuck Burgi remained with the rhythm section until September 7th, when he performed his last show in Fresno, California. Chuck then left to tour alongside Greg Smith with Rainbow in Europe. (Greg and Chuck had played together previously for the Red Dawn album project (see MF #12) which took Chuck away from the band in May and June of 1992).
During that absence, John Miceli took over the throne. (Miceli was the drummer who'd taken Chuck's place in Meatloaf's band).
When Chuck took leave of BOC this fall to tour with Rainbow, he was replaced by John O'Reilly, who, incidentally, was the drummer on the latest Rainbow record. John O'Reilly filled in until the end of 1995, but drumming in the New Year with BOC, was once again, for a repeat performance, John Miceli. [Shortly after this gig, John O'Reilly came back, and he's the drummer currently touring with the band.-ed]
Arriving early at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California, for sound check, Rick Downey greeted us like we were the relief of the day. He was not too happy dealing with the problems of smaller venues and attitudes from the in-house personnel. The light guy had problems with his console, and there were power fluctuations and computer problems, leaving Rick unable to do his light focus properly or program his scenes.
I was then introduced to John Miceli while he was setting up his rental kit for the day - An old-fashioned set with only one rack mounted tom, a floor tom, a kick drum, snare and hi hat. Half a dozen cymbals completed the kit, but as he started to play and warm up, you could easily be fooled into thinking you were hearing a huge kit with tom-toms galore... John's confidence in playing is incredibly impressive. He hardly moves a limb, and yet your ears hear all these grooves, intricate triplets and interesting rudiments.
As the sound starts coming on, I ventured over to George Geranios to greet him, and he was in traditional form - swearing and cussing: "This piece of garbage crap isn't working!" The in-house sound person immediately copped an attitude towards the guesting crew and did little to aid in solving the irksome hum coming out of the PA. (George often gets second-rate or worn-out equipment to work with).
It took about 2 hours to get the sound set up, and for George's brother Tony Geranios, (a/k/a Jack Secret), to program the various rental instruments. He finally got the keyboard patches to play, although sounding somewhat different than usual. Chris Fenn, Buck's guitar tech, seemed to be the happiest guy of the day with only minor things to deal with. Every time rental gear is being used, anything out of the ordinary can - and will - happen, so double-checking is a necessity for each rented piece of gear.
The band came down at 5 p. m. to re-acquaint themselves with their drummer-du-jour, as well as to check out what kind of gear they'll be playing through. At about that same time arrived the most loyal followers and supporters of the band, and the main force of the America Online people.
With the Reverend Che hosting them all at the side of the stage, they all enjoyed a rare moment as the band practiced a few steps in their sound check. "See You In Black," "Harvest Moon," "Lips In The Hills," and "ME-262" were being tested in front of the dozen-or-so fans who then understood why they came here early. Eager cheers of "Encore" were heard as the band finished up, but to no avail. This would prove to be the day for no encores. (more of this later).
Doors at The Coach House were to open at 7 p.m. for seating and food reservations. The show was to begin at 8: 30 with an added opening act for the night. Originally BOC were supposed to play 2 shows without any support act. That was changed to one long set with an intermission and no opening act.
Finally around 2 p.m. that day the final decision was made: An opening act would play from 9 to 10, and BOC would play from 10:45 into the New Year. (Rick loves accurate pre-production).
The band and crew had been up since 4:30 a.m. New York time, and on a plane for 5 hours, so they were all in need of food and a rest before the show. Gary Folgner, owner of The Coach House (and both The Galaxy Concert Theatre in Santa Ana and The Ventura Theatre in Ventura), recommended The Villa Mexican Restaurant. I was invited to go along, and we had a very enjoyable dinner before retiring to the hotel for a nap before the show.
After a great meal and a rest, we all ventured back to The Coach House around 10 pm, the opening band having just finished their set. The place was decorated festively, with helium-filled balloons tied on the back of each chair and party favours for all the patrons.
An estimated 350 people had come to this somewhat poorly promoted show. It had been booked at the spur of the moment the first week of December when The Coach House found itself without entertainment for New Year's Eve. Only small local ads were printed. The Orange County version of The Los Angeles Times printed a timely article about BOC in their Saturday rock section of "What Goes On."
Considering all the New Year's Eve competition, the turnout was very good. The Coach House is always a nice place to come to, and this night the party spirit was definitely in the air.
Before the band went on stage there were lots of autographs to sign and photos to take for all those special moments people will remember the rest of their lives. Ten minutes before the show, the band requested everyone leave the dressing room so they could have some pre-show privacy, make last minute plans for the show and give Miceli some added tips on cues etc. I went to set up my video camera and prepare to document this very special event.
As always, The lights dim and the crowd goes nuts as "End Titles" of Blade Runner pulsate through the PA. Chris Fenn's introduction began with a great sinister laugh as he asked: "Is it time yet? I said is it time yet? Father Time welcomes all the way from New York City, the Amazing BLUE OYSTER CULT!!!" The bright spotlight illuminates Buck for his opening riff to "Stairway," revealing an added attraction - an in-house video projected on two screens placed on either side of the stage to give the folks at the back a chance to see the artists up close. This type of wall projection is becoming more and more essential with each year and it's great to see this feature in more venues as we go along now into the end of this millennium. The band shows off real excitement from the very first second. Allen is grinning as he's watching Danny and John play together for the first time ever, and both Eric and Buck feel very comfortable as they rely on this very frail yet great rhythm section of the band this night. "Dr. Music" rolls on as Eric proclaims "T'nite we're gonna party like it's 1996!!"
"O.D.'d on Life Itself" holds the first ooops from John Miceli as he has never played this song before, but he still captures the feel of it like he's known the tune forever. Allen and Danny support John whole-heartedly and coach him through all the unknown or hesitant areas of the set list. It works like clockwork and you can tell all throughout the night how thrilled Eric and Buck are to play with this guy again. There really is a party on stage this evening as "ETI," perhaps the strongest set-piece musically is performed. I watch George struggling with the sound balance executing it flawlessly but looking like it's the worst sound in eons. A sigh of disgust accompanied by a happy smile makes me think he is enjoying this night a lot more than he's letting on. Mr. Dharma ends the song with his gesticulations of outer limits up there somewhere in space.
Surprise set list change brings "Harvest Moon" as the next song, giving Buck the spotlight for the next two songs. I noticed an added lead over the intro-riff which creates a further dimension to this great song. The middle-eight part with the borrowed fast "Transmaniacon M. C." / "Career of Evil" riffing sets up the solo part for a great guitar duel between Buck and Allen, in his best Keith Richards mode.
On the next tune, "Before The Kiss A Redcap," Buck sings the song alone. Jon Rogers used to sing the main vocal with Buck on the harmony line, so it sounds quite a bit different than years past.
One fun aspect of the show is the pace at which the songs are being played - they feel a bit faster than usual - but I think that comes from John Miceli's drumming. His playing style creates a faster feel to the songs. Allen looks at him here and there, smiles and then again gets his attention to perhaps hang slower a bit. A great rock & roll tension is built here between John, Danny and Allen trying to keep things under control each in his own way. It sounds really spunky.
"I'd Like To See You In Black" is really fast this eve. In my mind I chuckle away as I recall John's helium voice taking the mickey out of this tune during dinner. He's a crazy guy and what a drummer! It's all fun with a guy like John and he's loving every moment too.
By the look of the lights, you can hardly tell there were that many problems during the afternoon with the console, it looks as great as always. Rick rules the lights despite whatever the conditions are. "Joan Crawford" is up next. This is another song John's never played before but he performs this just about flawlessly, with coaching from Danny and Allen. The end piano touch goes down great and John throws in the drum rolls after a second's pause and thus introduces "Flaming Telepaths" to an all-smiles public. The keyboard patches sound close enough, but I could tell the difference during the solo.
The lone stroboscope seems adequate in front of Eric as it blinks away into the darkness and creates the outer world vision as the prophecy is called out "The Jokes On You!"
"Cities On Flame With Rock & Roll" is still a big favorite with the audience, but it has never been the same without Albert on the wacky drum fills and the special vocals only he could provide. John Miceli follows along Chuck's path for this song which is impressive. I am amazed still at Eric's capturing of the rock & roll audience participation. It works extremely well. George, of course, enhances the trickery by adding great echo effects to both Eric's voice and Buck's guitar break. The end boogie is fast and furious and gains an immediate rave review from the audience.
Eric looks at his watch and whispers to Buck: It's close to midnight. The last song for 1995 comes on in the shape of "The Came The Last Days Of May." What a great mesmerizing way to end 1995. Eric takes the mic after the song and proclaims that there's only a minute left of the year, as he then whole-heartedly gives out special thanks to The BOC Fan Club, friends from AOL, and their crew... and then proclaims "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"
Champagne is opened and things go nuts. Everybody is toasting in the New Year with kisses and hugs as Buck begins to play "Auld Lang Syne" and leads the Coach House Choir into song for the lone verse. Then, John and Danny take off into a punk/speed metal version for the second time through. I think John played a bit too fast for that great groove of the punk era, so it took Buck a few seconds to find himself and then show off what a great musician he really is. After that little romp, Eric turns on his Monty Python and goes:
"And now... for something completely different!" In terms of being completely different, I think it was never the less very appropriate to do this sentimental bit in conjunction of old friends... Allen Lanier's lament to his old flame Patti Smith creates a great start for the New Year. "In Thee" comes on and sounds really good this evening even though the party hats make them look too festive to sing such a song. After the song, Eric almost repeats himself as he tells us, that the next song is a little different from that one. This time I totally agree... Eric sings "Lips In The Hills" as his first song in 1996, and I personally couldn't ask for a cooler choice.
"Lips" was always one of my favorite tunes and having it back in their set list is an excellent treat anytime. But I recall back in 1980 Allen played the lead guitar and Eric did the rhythms, as Buck played the main lick in the intros. I miss Allen's lead playing.
"ME-262" brings the full party spirit back up top with a bit of strobe lights again. The almost furious pace of the songs after midnight seems to indicate they're ready to take on anything. We're almost fooled into believing the band was going to support the new Double CD by playing "Workshop Of The Telescopes," as it was mentioned before the beginning of the Big Three - "Burnin' For You," "Godzilla" with its double solo spots from both Danny and John, and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." Great solos from Danny and John, and ravenously cheered by the ripe and ready audience. Danny's "monster bass" is indeed a monster. That guy can play!
As the band leaves the stage, some power problems occur as we lose complete power in the venue twice, but only for a short second each time. We think nothing of it and the wait for the encore. It gets pretty wild from this united audience, unanimously trying to bring the band back out for more.
Well, The Blue Oyster Cult does not disappoint its fans. They return to the stage and proceed with a little "Dominance and Submission," and that goes down quite well - until the guitar solo right before the bridge. Buck gets about two bars into it when all of a sudden there's a complete power failure black-out. Massive confusion emanates from the audience, who are thinking all kinds of things, like the venue shut the band down for playing too long or these guys are so hot the killed the power... Well, numerous theories were devised, but in reality, some poor schmuck crashed into an electric pole in the vicinity of The Coach House and thus killed the power supply for the entire neighbourhood. The power was out for some 40 minutes, which left the band having to say goodbye to its fans in the darkness with the occasional bic lighter or flashlight illuminating the club. So, that was the end of the show and the beginning of the New Year.
My thoughts were those of the same philosophy of Garp: How great this is... Darkness like this can only mean a much brighter future for the rest of this year! It wasn't long before my words started to take that effect. All of the AOL fans and some of the band gathered at the local Denny's for an early breakfast. We had a great night, ending it in a hotel room with warm champagne and tales to tell.
I retired finally at 5 a.m. only to get up 3 hours later to have breakfast with Buck and John Miceli before driving back to Los Angeles and home in West Hollywood.
In all honesty I can think of no singular New Year's Eve that brought me more pleasure than this one, so in memory of it all, and in true cultsmanship, I raise my can of beer on high and seal this memory forever with this statement: Happy New Year Folks! 25 years and going strong!
Here are some clips from this gig: