2007: 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 .
As far as opening acts go, I didn't see the first act (Out Cold) but the second act, That 80's Hair Band, needs to write their own music. There is nothing worse than listening to a cover band play Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue prior to a Blue Oyster Cult concert.
BOC took the stage at exactly 10:30pm and played until midnight - it was an excellent show attended by a large excited crowd. I was center stage about 2 rows back so I had a great view of the band.
When the band began the set, the opening intro sounded like the Red & The Black but Buck jumped into Stairway to the Stars instead. I don't know if that was planned or a mistake because for the last encore, Buck said: "We're gonna play this one since we didn't start with it" and they launched into the Red & The Black.
Highlights of the night were when they played She's As Beautiful as a Foot. Eric said they hadn't played it in years but it still sounded very good. Danny Miranda was awesome on bass and if that was his first gig back he sounded like he never left the band. Richie did a nice job on keys and guitar - he basically did everything Alan Lanier would normally do.
Speaking of Alan, there was no mention of him during the night - not sure if he is gone for good or just MIA. Jules Radino kept a good solid groove and played a pounding drum solo - he beats the hell out of those drums. As usual, Buck was incredible giving 100% during every song and Eric performed his front man duties as expected.
In summary, a great show!
Time for my annual BOC report from Annapolis:
25 January 2007: Rams Head Tavern, Annapolis Maryland
Early Show:
Late Show:
Not sure if it's old news or not (I don't keep up with the BOC message boards), but I was surprised to see that Allen wasn't there ("Gone fishin'" according to Eric).
Danny Miranda was back on bass while Richie C. was playing keys and guitar (both rhythm and lead)...
There were no supporting acts.
I have a set of photos from this show at this url:
27 January 2007: State Theatre, Falls Church VA:
HUGE crowd and lots o' fun... Balloons even! :)
There were no supporting acts.
I went and saw the mighty Blue Oyster Cult at the Block in Ft Walton Beach, FL on February 8, 2007. This was the first show in several years and at least the forth time I have seen them.
Well the day started much like it did last week, I was at the foot doctor for my follow up from surgery. Surprisingly he said everything looked good, but he didn't say anything about me driving or getting off the crutches. Well since Jason already had the tickets and it was basically 10 minutes from his house, there was no way I was going to pass this up. I left the crutches at the house and got in the car around 6 p.m. to make the drive from my house in Pensacola to his in Ft Walton. It took me a little over an hour to get there. He finished getting ready and out the door we went. We had to make a brief detour to the mall to drop off somethings for Ashley (she was still at work) We got to the bar a little bit past 8 p.m. and were surprised that so many people were there. We had to park a block away at some furniture store (more walking thats all I needed)
Stepped in the club and of course we spotted the concert T shirts right off. They were all Cool. So we went to buy them and the chick didn't have change (WTF is up with that)
Well we got a couple beers to bust a $20 and went back to the booth to get our shirts. they were all old school and a half. I wanted the black Tyranny and Mutation looking one so of course they didn't have extra large so we both ended up getting a white one that looked like the first album. Well I was told the place was cheesy and I could see how it would be on a normal night (pretty Neck thats for sure), but they had a decent stage and floor area to stand in. I was going to sit down and help that foot out, but I ended up standing with Jason in the center about 15 feet from the stage. The place was packed and it was sold out, but I have no idea what the capacity was. We had conflicting info about when the show was going to start. They had told me between 8:15-8:30 p,m and somebody else had told Jason 9 p.m. Atleast there was no opening band. The show ended up starting around 8:35 p.m.
Here is the line up
Eric Bloom-vocals/guitar/keys
Buck Dharma-guitar/vocals
Richie Castellano-keys/guitar
Danny Miranda-bass/vocals
Jules Radino-drums
Here is the setlist with my ever insightful comments to follow
What can I say. BOC KICKS ASS!!! I was really happy with the setlist. Of course, they are always going to play the big three, but aside from that you never know what they are going to play (which is a good thing) Every song they played was at least album length, no medleys (which is another good thing) They really jammed out on 4 of them , especially Then came the Last Days of May. Ashley didn't make it until about half way through the show and I was about to die doing all that standing, but it was well worth it. The show ended at 10:12 p.m. They could have kept playing all night if they wanted to, but I was more than happy with the 97 minute show we got.
We hung out in the karaoke bar for a while waiting to see if any of the band would come out. Oh man the singers were horrible. I needed a lot more alcohol in my system that the one beer I had to handle that, but at least I got off my feet again. Jason went back to the main part of the bar and saw Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma so he came back to our table and grabbed the stuff to get signed. He got both of them to sign his shooting Shark 45 sleeve (You don't see one of those everyday) and my cd cover from the first album. WOW, 2 great concerts by two great bands in the same week. I got up early the next morning to get tickets for their next show in Mobile in April. I can hardly wait!!!
8 February, 2007-The Block- Fort Walton Beach, Florida:
Setlist:
Stairway to the Stars
OD'd on Life Itself
Burning for You
This Ain't the Summer of Love
Shooting Shark
E.T.I.
ME-262
Golden Age of Leather
Black Blade
Then Came the Last Days of May
Godzilla
Don't Fear the Reaper
Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
Eric/Buck/Jules/Richie/Danny - no Allen
I love your site. Keep up the good work
Was there, did not meet the band. Excellent show (my 7th), sound very clean.
I was struck by how old so many of the fans had gotten.
Eric's voice improved through the set, so much that I wondered if he should modify his vocal warm-ups. Buck was amazing. Plays better than he did in the 70s, and his voice is still all there. I did miss Allen.
I was at this show. It was a great show, Bucks voice was very strong and clear that night.
The weather was nice, this was a night show and the temp was in the low 60s with clear skies. There was a very large crowd at this gig, I believe it sold out.
BOC opened up with: "the red and the black", they played a lot of there classics that night. They closed the show with: "cities on flame with rock and roll". The crowd came unglued at this point. This was there third encore.
Have to say this was one of the best shows Ive seen that year. Went to a lot of gigs in 07 including OZ fest!!!! BOC was in a killer groove that night. I have not seem them play that good ever, and I have seen BOC many times.
The night was cool, the moon was full, the beers were flowen, and BOC was on fire!!!!
The FEB 16,2007 Dallas show setlist was brief as they opened for Cheap Trick for a Mardi Gras show in the State Fair auto building.
Your setlist is accurate with the exception of LDOM was not performed. Allen was missing with no explanation.
This was a double bill "Mardi Gras" show sponsored by a local radio station. It was held in an cavernous building which usually hosts the auto show at the State Fair of Texas fairgrounds.
Not acoustically ideal. A northern had swept through North Texas that brought the temp down to 17 degrees Fahrenheit. The roads were iced, the building had no heating system.
Attendance was therefore very dismal. I got right up front in the Buck zone. You could see their breath billowing out as they sang. Ever try to play blazing guitar solos with frozen fingers?
Yet, Buck always manages to astound us mortal players and he was flawless.
I always wanted to see BOC and Cheap Trick together. Just wish the circumstances had been more favorable.
I live in Northern California and flew in for this one as I am a Dallas native so it was a family event. BOC are one of the few bands I travel to see.
It felt like they were playing a private gig in someone's basement! The club had a very low ceiling and the stage was maybe a foot and a half off the floor. The Steve Foresman experience as an opener was not awful. It was just him playing 12 string and harmonica and he was pretty good. Had a great time partying with both familiar and new folks. Well met Mike/Vanagas!
I missed Allen, but have to agree with Buck's comment after the show that the current line up has a great dynamic. Shooting Shark is such a great live tune and I think Ritchie added a different dimension. Ritchie's solo during LDoM was excellent. Danny and Jules were solid, though Danny seemed a bit restrained.
FOOT!! and Black Blade added to the set list were incredible. Joan Crawford would have fit in there really well and, while I'm in dream mode, I would love to see Astronomy again. I believe the extra long set kept Mr. Foresman from taking the stage again as scheduled.
My friend, Ice Dog, managed to stay in his seat enough to not get tossed out, despite flipping off the chair police. Mrs. Dog did not need the rolling pin and was able to enjoy the show.
Want to say a special thank you to the guys for saving us some primo seats in the VIP section.
The tickets gave the venue as "Time Out Sports Bar" but the flyers said "The Blaze Night Club".
Can anybody confirm which venue it was ...?
The show: Opening with Buck's Boogie with the teaser of Red and Black for a start, Whisky Dicks in Cincy was on it's way to being a most memorable evening. Fans to the Left, Right, level behind the stage... small venue... good friends!!!!!
The Boogie took us by surprise! What a great opener that was used a few years ago.
The Front 2 rows of "Die Hards" were in a frenzy from the get go. Danny was looking right at home in his old spot, cool cat that Danny is! Jules was playing a cut down version of a drum kit due to equipment delivery problems but just beat the shit outta the rented" Student" drum kit...
Slid onto OD'd...Eric is hot on the vocals tonight imo... Fantastic and up tempo version on this night with Buck doing some fun extras on the Cheese. The crowd was vocal...good to hear! The night is young and we have many more tunes to go. Richie really fills the missing Allen slot nice...what a talented person!
Next up on the Hit parade is "Burnin". Ya know, it really don't matter how many times you see/hear this song live, it will always be a different version in some way guitar wise and always gets the" big 3" crowd going! Still BIG FUN as Buck lets rip a new riff on every night.
Keys tune and into... Harvest Moon! So good to hear this back in the line up. Again, the missing Allen is noticed as the 2OC carry on with the help of past members and the talent of Richie and Jules. The song retains the pure Rock that it was from the release of Heaven Forbid. Blistering solos are traded between Buck and Richie on this night... Raw and wonderful.
COE! I choose to steal what you choose to show... The sing-along was great! The area I was in was vocal and tune wise, Immaginos that..;-)
At this point Mr. Bloom is really getting into the vibe... (chants of Foot are heard) This Song was as rockin' as I have seen it in a couple of years, Great vocals as well as sound all around!
Flaming Telepaths... Ya know... I really didn't expect this set list, but HOLY SHIT! EB is on the vocals once again and sounding great! Awesome filler on the keys by Richie, and into Bucks jam... smoking...
Is it any wonder that this band still packs houses of the faithful where ever they go! If you miss them the "jokes on you!" Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Solid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On to an old standard, ETI... Tight again, but could be dropped See U or Pocket... just my opinion... The ETI Still gets me movin' to the guitar and groove..;) Don't get me wrong there... Crowd was nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT a VENUE!
We got the Cities on flame... solo... new level... all I can say... Buck, you took it up at least 3 levels that night. The whole show was tight as hell! Sound was great and Woody had things to near in to perfection. Crack the Knuckles and off we go!
LDOM... No words... I do remember the entire front 2 rows hugging one an other during the solo... Us BOC fans are weird like that. If you have not eyeballed it... you need to. Moving beyond words.
Richie had a fantastic solo only to hand the spot over to Buck as he began to let loose on a guitar lesson for all to see. This my friends of the CVLT is where the 'Love' comes in. This Man is playing his heart out to us.
I don't know how many times I have shed a tear during the solo in this tune... All Hail!
AND FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!
She's as beautiful as a Foot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know what to say abut this... EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haunting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My 1st time seeing it. What a treat for those Die Hards as well as fans in general that night. After the show I had quite a few "casual fans" say how impressed they were that they would pull out this old jem!
She heard someone say...
GODZILLA! I'm not gonna jump up and down and say that this is a highlight of the show for me as it would be a lie. I do however enjoy the interaction of the band during this number. I don't care what anyone says about the solos, these are an established part of the show that the masses do expect, and I can honestly say that I do enjoy the diversity of them(for the most part) from show to show. Danny really tore it up on this night and Jules, playing a "student" style drum set was in rare form! Lacking proper equipment this dude played his ass off and beat the shit outta the rented drums. Not as dynamic as it would have been with a full set, but He did 1 hulluvfa job making what he had to work with roar!
Usual Classic ending... on to the noodle...
Bucks Noodle: Intro to Reaper... Sadest part of the eve for me are Zilla/Reaper as you realize the show is now close to being over... Shy of 3 min. worth of Buck... just being Buck... again, no night the same on this one either kids... Nice groove goin and then the slow down, the note carried, and you know it is time for Reaper. Jack back stage on the cowbell...
Life is good as this song has for me and many fans a very powerful meaning in the world of dealing with life as well as death. Very tight... Still grooving to Richie on the Keys as well as Allen's Guitar solos and fills. Allen is missed, but thankfully the Well of the Oyster pool goes deep for a cover to missing members. Cudos to Danny for filling in for the dates he did!!!!!!! Reaper lasts for what is not a long enough time...and the chant begins...
2 MORE SONGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, we got 1, Red and Black... the opening chords that teased us are the final ones to please us!
Very animated, the Band was in fine form!!!!!!!!!!! What a fantastic finish to a great weekend of 2 shows!
Just under 1300 road miles in 3 1/2 days... Met some of the finest people one would want to run into.
Well, that's my story of the show...
Yo, they played Slim's in San Francisco last night. My 27th BOC show, but what a disappointment. Only 12 songs!
They usually play extra long shows at Slim's: last year they played 16 songs, 15 in '05,'04 and '03, 17 in '02, 18 in '01Énot to mention the epic '93 show, when they played 21! I know they're getting older, but that's no excuse for 12 songs. I think I'm done seeing the BOC.
They were on at 9:15 and done before 11. You may want to confirm the setlist with someone else, since I'm not 100% certain of the order, but I know exactly which songs were played:
Looking at the other setlists for this year, I'm extremely bummed they didn't play "She's As Beautiful as A Foot," give how rarely they dip into the catalog and play something I haven't heard before.
Yes, 12 songs does seem a bit on the short side of things - although I did hear they jammed a bit more than usual at Slim's so that would reduce the song numbers...
Actually, I heard the "official" reason why BOC played short at Slims was that apparently it was "because of the Friday Night Dance Show at the club after the bands". BOC were limited in the time they were allowed to play by the venue...
Regarding "She's As Beautiful as A Foot", apparently Eric Bloom has said that they will only play that at gigs where he knows there'll be a substantial quantity of the so-called "hard-core" there to appreciate it. Quite how he judges that and what you have to do to qualify for the title of "hard-core", I dunno...
Hey, thanks for the news! I hoped deep down there was a good reason like that. I only wish the band had at least told us! Maybe they did, though... I did step out a couple times for a smoke. I can't imagine Eric NOT letting us know, since he's usually so good at communicating with the crowd.
I'll just hope next time they don't have any time restriction like that!
And I guess I'm surprised we didn't get "Foot" only because the Slim's audience usually is pretty hardcore, and they always reward us with long, interesting shows. Oh, well, maybe next time.
And I love your site, and one of these days, I plan to provide you with a full, precise setlist and review for my first BOC show ever -- one you DON'T have any details on in your site -- actually not even a BOC show, but Soft White Underbelly at the old Wolfgang's here in San Francisco, in July of 1985...
First off, the two disappointments. #1, No Allan, #2 No Beautiful as a Foot I was hoping for.
Aside from that it was a fantastic show. I have a friend who is a Publisher of a newspaper who got us comp tickets. When I got there our seats were at the club owners table! Great seats! This Publisher (Ventura County Reporter) friend's husband is the former producer / engineer of Dread Zeppelin so I was sharing this great table with two members of Dread Zep who were blown away by BOC! They are great players themselves and it was fun to watch their reactions to BOC's complex changes like on Harvest Moon and Golden Age.
Of course Che was there as well as Rob Miller. The only band member I was able to talk to was Jules who remembered me from Catalina. Che really tried to get me back stage but the band wasn't up to visitors. I guess Bolle was there but I never saw him.
The band threw me on the opener, They started into Red & the Black and then jumped right into Stairway. I guess the real highlights were Golden Age, Od'ed, Harvest Moon & Golden Age.
What's up with Allen, everyone I talked to said he has the Flu. If that's the case, he's had it for months.
Great to see Richie playing Guitar and keys and Danny back at the Bass post. They were a very tight unit!
Skipper
Here's a partial set list. Sorry I can't remember it all. I was having too much fun!
Stairway To The Stars
Burning For You
Harvest Moon
ODed on Life
Reaper
Godzilla
Cities On Flame
Last Days In May
Golden Age Of Leather
Another Canyon Club show and it was a great one. Killer show!! My 5th year in a row at this place. Got there a little late, unfortunately. I had to wait in line for tickets while they were playing "Stairway To The Stars" and "O'd On Life Itself". I can't think of a worse torture to hear them from outside but not see them. Got inside right at the end of O'd.
Bummer. Then they played "Burnin' For You" and I felt better already. One thing I noticed immediately was no Allen Lanier. I heard he was supposed to be back soon but obviously he's still ill. I wish you a speedy recovery Allen. We miss you. Richie did a great job filling in, however.
Is this guy talented, or what? Danny Miranda was back on bass. Kind of strange to see those 2 guys together onstage, but it worked. Sounded tight as shit. "Harvest Moon" was next. Buck's voice was great. He just gets better with age.
The next song was a real treat. "Black Blade". I haven't heard them play this one since 1980 on the Cultosaurus Tour. It sounded great!! Complete with Eric's sampled robot voice from the Cultosaurus Erectus record (triggered by Richie). Richie couldn't quite play keyboards like Allen, but he held that fort pretty well. "This Ain't the Summer of Love" was stellar. A bit different from the record, but way cool. I noticed
Eric's voice was much better than the last few times I've seen him. Way to go, Eric. "Golden Age of Leather" was next. They did the acappella intro perfect and on key. Amazing. This song always goes over well live. Another great vocal from Buck. "Last Days of May" was a real treat. Richie did the 1st solo during the extended jam part and it was GREAT!! Killer solo. Even Buck was amazed as I could see him mouth the words 'great solo'.
Then it was Buck's turn and he really turned on the jets like he always does for this song. He really pulled out all his tricks to make up for Richie's challenge. Blew me away again. Richie is one talented dude. His solo really gave Buck a run for his money. The crowd loved it!
"Godzilla" was next and featured Jules drum solo and Danny's bass solo. Jules was kick ass, as usual but Danny's solo seemed kind of subdued than what I expected from him.
I guess he didn't play solos for that Queen show and maybe that was why, but I'm sure he will get back in the groove soon. At least until Allen gets back. "The Reaper" was quite a spectacle indeed. Buck started it off with his echoed out solo and he actually started dancing to his own guitar echo. Buck Dharma dancing, can you believe it?? The Reaper was stellar as always, great backing vocals by Eric, Richie and Danny.
They then said goodbye and the crowd started cheering for more. Very lively crowd this night.
They closed out the night with a 2-song encore of "Cities On Flame" and "The Red and the Black" which brought the house down. Great show and a great night was had by all. Wanted to see them again in Anaheim but was too broke. Bummer.
LONG LIVE BOC!! GET WELL ALLEN*****
The Railhead in Boulder Station is a great venue, no bad seats. Only issue is that with another local band (did I say LOCAL band?) scheduled to play the same venue, BOC cannot play until they want to quit. There is just not enough time to play all the favorites. And still no Allen.
Starting with Buck's Boogie was a great way to get the evening off to a good start. With some of my favorites Shooting Shark, Summer of Love, Golden Age of Leather and Last Days of May (and Buck tore it UP!) just didn't fulfill me. No ETI, Joan Crawford, Dominance & Submission... disappointing, but we actually had Godzilla in the crowd. Just not enough to satisfy the craving, however they have been my heros for life and will remain on that pedestal.
I went to the Las Vegas show on March 24th (was in the front row). Here is the set list:
Notes on the show - BOC played 90 minutes. My son, daughter and nephew were with me and all received copies of the setlist from the roadies as well a drumstick and a guitar pick. We all wished they would have played a little longer. My son and nephew were enthralled with Buck's playing - they could not take their eyes off of him. The highlight of the evening was after the show when we ran into him in the casino and he signed their set lists and posed for a picture with them.
3/25/07
Just got back from the March 25 gig at The Grove of Anaheim, and wanted to send along the setlist:
I'm a 30-year fan, and always appreciate an opportunity to see these guys in concert. This time, I took my 9-year-old son... the next generation of BOC fans!
I thought the show highlights were "Golden Age of Leather" and "The Red & The Black"...I was frankly a bit disappointed with "Shooting Shark," and could've done without "She's as Beautiful as a Foot." I was also sorry to see that "Harvest Moon" was left out of tonight's set. Oh, well.
I have to say, the band didn't miss a beat without Alan Lanier. Richie Castellano is a better guitarist than Alan will ever be, and he holds his own on the keyboards, too. Castellano's ability to solo gives Buck some nice stuff to play off; Richie's solo on "Shooting Shark" got a bigger ovation than Buck's, and they both just let 'er rip on "Last Days of May."
As always, a GREAT show from the Oyster Boys.
Me, Caryn, and the kids (Sarah 13, Kyle 16, Dylan 10, and Emily 8) headed up to Vermont from New Jersey for a long weekend which included hooking up with my cousin Janice ( a huge BOC fan that never saw them). Transportation to the top of the mountain where BOC was playing a FREE concert was not good so we missed the first song. Since November I have seen BOC a few times and wondered if Allen would be back. I was suprised to see Jon Rogers playing bass with BOC - I was expecting Danny Miranda again with Richie still subbing for Allen. I'm still wondering what's going on with Allen although Richie is certainly filling in nicely.
Anyway, the show was awesome. They had sound sound issues as it was still a bit chilly but everyone was playing to form. The crowd was a family mix but there were lots of hardcore fans; including a guy in a hat made from a Coors Light case who banged a cowbell for most of the show (very annoying). The highlights of this show for me were (not in any order): Richie's solo on the Last Days of May, Cities on Flame (Buck got the crowd going), Buck's Boogie (stronger playing than the last time I saw this), and the Golden Age of leather (never heard this live with jon Rogers - well done!). Yeah, they even busted out the cowbell due to crowd pressure... whatever...
I was a bit busy during the show: I was able to move about the slushy snow on the mountain base with my Canon DSLR and zoom lens - and shoot over 600 outstanding photos; I've included a few for everyone's enjoyment. If you look carefully in the photos you can see the mountainski trails and crowd in the reflection of Eric's sunglasses!
Everyone in our group had a great time - the young one's even enjoyed the show and sang along to Godzilla and DFTR. I didn't get a chance to chat with Buck and the boys after the show this time - but there's next time... Until then, this is RocknRollRon signing-off...
From Killington VT 3/31/07
Allen Lanier was absent... is he ok? I think Ritchie C. was playing keys and guitar. If that was him, he needs a new jacket. The yellow and black one looked a little too SkiDoo snowmobile-like. But he was a huge musician if that was him filling in for Allen.
Temps were cold and the band got hot after wearly troubles with tuning and cold hands in the 40 degree temps outside on stage.
I couldn't ask for a better set list - except of course more. They included Buck's Boogie which seems to be rare on short sets.
Buck and Eric vamp the crowd perfectly and Buck delivered a master class in guitarology. Over the years, I have come to truly appreciate how much ease he appears to put into playing.
My photopgrapher brought his 13 year old daughter who had just begun playing guitar and is a master tab reader. Her jaw was dropped pretty much throughout.
The skies were threatening over Lake Tahoe on April 20 '07. Inside Harrah's famed South Shore Room, a storm of a different kind was brewing. Blue Oyster Cult would take and command the stage in what turned out to be a maelstrom of heavy rock. Am I exaggerating?
Check out this setlist:
With a set of songs like this you can't go wrong!
There has been some discussion of late as to whether this line up of the group can truly be called the Blue Oyster Cult. Some people refer to the band as Two Oyster Cult, since Eric & Buck are the only original members. What makes one an Oyster Boy? Granted, when original members leave one of your favorite all time bands, it can be a little difficult to get used to their replacements. But does that make the new member(s) any less a contributor to the group? Any less important to the continued success or chemistry of the band. Lets see...
Jules Radino: One of several drummers the band has had since the departure of Albert Bouchard. Having been in the band for a couple years now, most fans find his talents behind the drum kit to be outstanding. Quite entertaining to watch, he rocked Harrah's showroom. Although he doesn't have a huge flashy drum set like many "Rock Stars", he' all over his kit with the fury of a screaming ghoul. Oyster Boy? - Yep!
Richie Castellano: Originally joining the band as bass player, Richie seems to be able to do it all. At this gig he had taken over Allen Lanier's role as guitarist and keyboardist. We do miss Allen, but fear he may be done with BOC. (Hope I'm wrong. It's that getting used to original members leaving thing again). At Harrah's he was excellent on guitar, trading riffs with Buck (especially on Last Days) and providing great heavy rhythm. On the keyboards he was staying within the song structure well. (They didn't do too many keyboard oriented songs though). His on stage performance shows he is having great fun with his role in the band. Oyster Boy? - Oh yeah!
Danny Miranda: Having much more time and experience in the group, Danny has shown his bass chops on record and on the great "Long Days Night" live DVD. At Harrah's he seemed to be a bit less aggressive with his stage presence as he has been in the past.
Maybe being a side-man with Queen and Paul Rodgers for awhile has stymied has stage prowling a bit. By the fourth number he was starting to get into it. For the last few songs he was all over the stage tearing it up. He did a short but oh-so-sweet solo during 'Zilla. Danny is definitely an Oyster Boy!
As for Original Members, Eric was in fine form. Singing and playing both guitar & keys, Eric is and always will be the consummate performer. Buck Dharma. What can you say that hasn't been said a thousand times? He is consistently great in concert & one of the all time great guitarists anywhere, anytime, period.
When you put all these talented people together on one stage, playing some of the best, weirdest, thought provoking, intelligent heavy music ever produced, whether original member or not, you get one thing - The Amazing Blue Oyster Cult!
Setlist for 4/20 gig @ harrah's, lake tahoe show.
Sound problem with danny's bass for 1st song, buck's guiter a little later. hard to hear buck's solo's at times. solo's for danny and jules during godzilla-awesome.
Richie was excellent - a few solo's here and there-trading off with buck, back and forth during red & the black. great show overall- crowd was wild,dancing in the aisles.
I saw BOC 2 months ago at the Canyon Club and when I saw that they were back in SoCal I had to go see them again. It absolutely was worth the long drive out to the desert.
I think Eric may have been feeling a bit off his game as Buck seemed to be taking the lead on most of the songs. When Eric was singing, he was great but could have had his mike level a bit louder. He did mention that he had flown in yesterday (day of event) from New York on a 6 am flight... makes for a really long day! That said, Eric sounded great, just didn't get enough of him is all.
Buck was on fire. The highlights for me were "Shooting Shark" and "Then Came the Last Days of May". On "Shooting Shark" Buck delivered a truly face-melting guitar solo that had the crowd on its feet cheering and clapping half-way through the song. It's amazing to watch Buck play guitar... the fingers flying... the guitar wailing. Watching the crowd react is a great too and it was very cool to see this crowd brought to its feet by Buck's guitar virtuosity.
This show was again done without Allen Lanier and Richie Castellano was handling Allen's role. I've only seen Richie twice now but he completely lives up to what I've been reading. The guy plays guitar, keyboard and bass and does so with real passion. On guitar, he is a whirlwind. For "Then Came the Last Days of May", Richie took the first guitar solo and was totally engrossed in the music, bringing the crowd to their feet again. At the end of the solo, Buck looked to the audience and mouthed "WOW!!!" and then turned to Richie and said "NICE!!!" Buck then proceeded to build his own guitar solo. Richie was absolutely a hard act to follow but Buck's solo was phenomenal and utterly demonstrates why he is one of the best rock and roll guitar players past or present. I do have to admit a little bias... this particular solo is probably my favorite piece of guitar work that Buck does.
Jules Radino and his kit were sitting up on the raised drum stage. This is the second time I've seen Jules play as well and this time I had a much better view (3 chairs back from the stage) of Jules than I did at the Canyon Club 2 months ago. Man, talk about emotion in motion! At times I was convinced that he was literally in pain from the facial expressions that I was seeing but I began to realize that he was just totally into it. The more I watched Jules the more I realized that he was right on top of everything, leading at the right time and taking queues perfectly. Jules' drum solo on "Godzilla" was top-notch and you could see a bit of the perfectionist in him. At the beginning of his solo there was some hum feedback from one of the guitars that was left turned up in front of the drum kit. All you could see was a roadie hand come out of the shadow and snatch the guitar and the feedback stopped. It really wasn't terribly noticeable, but Jules noticed it and you could see him turn his head to the side with a frown and say "What the f*ck was that?!?". It only fed his passion and he hammered out an awesome solo.
Lady's Man of the night goes to Danny Miranda. Danny more than anyone seems to be driven by the crowd and for last night's show he had a fine group of ladies dancing and flirting right in front of him. This drove Danny to flirt back with playful stage antics and looks. At one point a few of the ladies departed to (I assume) powder their nose and the rest of the manic little group took their seats. You could see Danny immediately withdraw back into the music. Now don't get me wrong, he was playing great but the ADHD Danny was taking a break. As soon as the ladies returned and all of them were up and bouncing around, Danny was back to playing to the crowd. At one point one of the gals hand-fed him a maraschino cherry, to which Eric quipped, "Hey Danny, you know where that's been?"... Danny just smiled.
Great show... can't wait to see them again. Unfortunately their next California gig is mid-week in northern California so I'm hoping for some more date to show up on the calendar.
It was my 9th time seeing the Great BOC. I have seen them in all types of venues, from State Fairs, Bars, Theaters, Parks, to War memorials.
BOC play like they never played before. Every song was key on, more than half the songs were extended by Bucks phenomenal guitar playing.
Eric and Bucks singing was note for note Artistic. The whole band was refreshed and full of energy. The band interacted with the crowd on many occasions, letting us sing the songs. The best part was the length of the show, over 2 hrs.
In my opinion it was the best they ever sounded, and should be in the studio cutting a new album.
Here's some info on the show on May 11 2007 in Rochester New York (home of the infamous 4/3/1972 at Nugget's Pizza Parlor; I was almost 1 year old then).
The setlist was as follows:
The whole show lasted just a little over 95 minutes...
Another free show at Rib America Fest St. Louis! Got to see Rik Emmett from Triumph and Night Ranger. They both put on a good show.
BOC put on a great show - 12 songs! We got Harvest Moon and Black Blade. Right after the opener (OD'd), Eric gave a shout out to American Airlines: "I'd like to thank American Airlines for losing my guitar!" Funny. Looked like he had to play a rental.
Missed having Danny on bass. Jon was fine, but didn't move around the stage and have the energy Danny does.
All in all, it was a great show.
Here's a link to some of my photos from the gig:
I got to see them on Friday (June 8) at the Hot Rod Power Tour Auto Show. Danny Miranda was back on bass, Jules Radino did an admirable job on the drums and Richie Castellano is a good fit as well.
They sounded really good, as they always do, but I have noticed that Eric doesn't sing as much (maybe trouble keeping the notes after all of these years) as he used to. All in all, I think everyone that attended enjoyed the show.
They were the only band, as this was the last stop on the tour (Hot Rod tour). After doing this for 30+ years, there has to be some expected drop-off in the vocals.
I think that Buck is still one of the best, as he has proven time and again. I think that BOC has been often overlooked when it comes to Classic Rock, they just simply didn't appeal to the masses like an Aerosmith or bands like that.
Outside of Reaper and Burnin' for you, they never had those radio friendly "hits", but they still have put out some good music. I think that if Heaven Forbid would've been marketed better, it could've brought them back into the spotlight somewhat. I thought it was a very straightforward Rock cd. See You in Black and Harvest Moon were my favorites off of it. It's good to know that there are still some BOC fans out there.
Saw the show last night... it was AWESOME:
REALLY GREAT SHOW!
There was supposed to be an opening act but they did not attend. Rudy was really strong - during the Godzilla drummer/bassist solo, Rudy gave one of the best bass solo I've ever seen! You wouldn't have known that he wasn't a long time band member and Richie sang for Hot Rails while jamming - all 4 guitars were cranking near each other!
This was my son's, who is 15, first concert with BOC since we live in North Carolina and they don't come here all that often. Anyway, we staked out the theatre and figured out when the band was leaving to change after the sound checks. We caught Buck behind the building and he was awesome - posed for a picture and signed autographs. They are really laid back and Dharma is just as good now (if not better) than 20 years back... amazing!
I just saw Blue Oyster Cult for the umpteenth time - as always they were great. Rudy Sarzo is a fine fill and excellent musician.
After the 3rd song Eric Bloom called to front of stage. He wanted to show the crowd my 35th anniversary shirt off their website. Needless to say I hit the the roof...
I love this band... Happy birthday Allen Lanier... god bless him!
Setlist:
Another Summerfest show. Your set list is correct.
I have a copy of the set list from the stage and there are a couple of neat things on it.
After the word Shark is [ with frickin laser beams ] Golden Age is Gulden's Aged.
They have two ?? marks after an underlined Reaper and then Hot Rails, but they only did the HRTH encore.
On the July 2, 2007 BOC gig you have "Gila River Casino" listed as the location the gig took place.
I was at that show. The Show actually took place at Wild Horse Pass Casino (They called it an "outdoor pavilion" in the ad for the show but it was little more than a parking lot with a stage set up in one end of it).
I know the ad for the gig says "Gila River Casinos" at the bottom. Gila River Casinos owns and operates 3 of the local Indian casinos here in the Phoenix Metro area: Wild Horse Pass, Vee Quiva and Lone Butte, but this BOC gig definitely took place at Wild Horse Pass.
Every year Baker Park in my hometown of Frederick MD has a big July 4th celebration featuring multiple stages of music, fireworks, food and other stuff to do. The Main Stage always has a big name headliner. This year it was of course BOC. One of my favorite bands in my hometown sounds like a great way to spend July 4th but unfortunately it didnt live up to my expectations.
Got to Baker Park at around 5. BOC were scheduled to start at 5:15. A few minutes before they were supposed to start, a huge downpour came that didnt stop for at least 10 minutes. Because of this, they started late.
At around 5:30, BOC finally hit the stage with Summer Of Love. Unfortunately, we werent able to see because the crowd was so big. The crowd also was not organized at all and people were constantly cutting in front of us which made it harder to get into the show. Despite all this, the guys sounded GREAT.
Richie is really awesome on guitar and keyboards and to tell the truth, I didn't really miss Allen much at all. I hope he gets well, but I think Richie fits well in his place. Rudy Sarzo is also a great addition to the band. His solo in Godzilla was amazing. Buck and Eric sounded great too despite Buck not being in the mix at all the 1st few song. Overall a great show from BOC despite the rain and the crap with the crowd.
Unfortunately, we left towards the end of DFTR because we saw lightning and heard people say there was another storm coming in and so did not hear them playing an encore on the way out.
I'm a huge BOC fan and love your site. I went to the Park City UT 7/7/07 Boc gig. It was a great show but it was cut a little short because of rain and wind, so they only played 10 songs.
Here is the setlist:
I talked to Eric after the show and asked him why in the last 10 years playing in UTAH have they NOT played ASTRONOMY? He said "yea we had to cut it short tonight because of the rain"
I guess I will never know if they would of played it or not.
Check out this youtube interview from this show:
Show Order for Friday, July 13, 2007 Riverfest in Beloit, Wisconsin:
5:30pm Bad Boy (Formerly CrossFire; from Milwaukee, WI)
7:15pm Blue Oyster Cult (Long Island, New York)
9:00pm Cheap Trick (Rockford, IL)
Introduction:
"Ladies and Gentleman; On Your feet or on your knees, Please welcome the Amazing Blue Oyster Cult"
Line-up:
Buck, Eric, Jules, Rudy, and Richie
Set List:
Running Time:
1hr. 15min.
Review:
This is the fourth time I've seen BOC. I tried to see them 14 years ago at this same festival and unfortunately it was completely rained out. Much luck though on this Friday the 13th; the weather was about perfect: 75 (Fahrenheit, of course) degrees with a slight breeze, and only partly cloudy.
This was an awesome show; the guys were in high spirits and had great energy. I know Rudy is a recent add to the lineup; but by now they have completely gelled and the positive camaraderie amongst the group is obvious. They were kicking ass and loving it. It's their 35th year as BoC and it was one day before my 35th birthday; so this show was a little special for me.
Eric had to rub in that the Mets were in 1st place, and was quite aware that the show was on the Illinois/Wisconsin border and which teams were being beat by his hometown team. I was 7 rows back and in-line with the keyboard bank. Close enough for Eric to notice I had on the 35th anniversary jersey which he plugged; mentioning it was only available from the web-site; and that you had to be pretty hard-core to go online. The crowd chuckled. I think he meant that I was a hardcore BOC fan for going online, but I think they were wondering just how hard-core a computer nerd could be. Anyway, he did also mention it was nice to see all the vintage shirts out there as well.
The highlights of the show for me were Shooting Shark and The Last Days of May. I'll handle Shooting Shark first: Jules playing the main part of the song on the cymbals with Rudy taking care of the fat bass line was awesome. And Buck laid down a scathing yet beautiful solo at the end as only he can do. The Last Days of May: at the end Richie plays the first solo and he totally kicked ass; then Buck takes over and delivers a hair-raising solo. They really kicked it up another level (sounds cliche, right?) at the very end. Really though I've never seen (or heard) them play that hard and fast anywhere at any time.
It was nice and breezy out, but when the song was over I realized I had broken a sweat just watching them. And the crowd cheered the loudest after that song; even the Cheap Trick fans had to show respect. I did notice before they went into the four bar (I think that's what it is) repeating progression, I noticed Rudy checking out the chords Richie was playing; kind of double checking maybe before going into the solo setup.
Even though they were "very serious about rock and roll" there was a light-hearted atmosphere also. When Eric announced that Rudy Sarzo was on the "Monster Bass" before the solo during Godzilla; Rudy snarled and put his hands up like he had claws. And they did a conga line in front of the riser during the drum solo.
The intro to The Reaper was longer than I expected with the crowd keeping time for Buck. I was excited to know that The Reaper was coming up, but sad to realize that it would probably be the last song of the night.
Sadly enough there was no encore, due to time restraints, I'm sure. I wasn't too interested in staying for Cheap Trick, and my wife was getting a little tired so we bailed. On the way out we relinquished our "reserved seating" passes to a couple which we saw sitting on the ground and leaning up against a tree. I thought they could use them and get a seat near the stage where chairs were set up. They were quite grateful, and we were glad to help them out. Overall this was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life!
just seen boc in beloit wisconsin on 7/13/07. gasp,they played before cheap trick lol.
and i hate it cause its my home town and they should have top billing.they sounded awesome though : )
boo,no encore song or anything! plus they play before dark! just disapointing for a die hard fan to bare.
still think they the best forever!
Saw BOC at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair in Chippewa Falls 7-14-07. My first live show, they were excellent even though Buck looked a little tired.
Can't believe they were in my backyard, living 20 minutes away. Show lasted just under 1 1/2 hours. My sister, her husband and I were front and center, 8 rows back. Their first BOC show also, had a good time there. Took 15 pictures, they turned out great. Perfect night for an outdoor concert, they played while the sun was going down. Too short of a gig-no Astronomy-and they did drop Harvest Moon after Buck had a cable? problem in the intro to Shooting Shark. Eric told a few jokes while they fixed it, the concert went over better than his jokes. The crowd seemed to really enjoy the band too, not a big group, but decent turnout. No word on where Allen Lanier was, but the others sounded great, I always knew within a few notes what the song was going to be.
Have 2 of the bands DVDs too, Some Other Enchanted Evening and A Long Day's Night, never get tired of watching them.
Great night to see one of my favorite bands and lead guitarist.
Drove up north to Superior WI yesterday to catch the Oyster Boys at the Head of the Lakes fair. It was the first show in quite a long time at which I didn't see any other onliners that I knew.
The sound was great, although a bit louder than usual. The venue was the race track at the fair grounds. Turned out to be a nice sized, energetic crowd. A little Cultus Interuptus in the opening tune when Buck's guitar went out, so the band paused and quickly cranked it back up once fixed.
The set list:
No encore, seemed to be out of time after the 90 minute set. The crowd sure wanted more.
Opening Acts (in order of appearance):
Brother Short
Cross Cut Saw
Big Mike Griffin Blues Band
Set List:
Blue Oyster Cult appeared as the headliner for the Mountainfest Bike Rally at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia. The three opening acts were all good and provided a very eclectic day of music. We arrived at about 11 Am and Brother Short was on stage.
Brother Short is a local West Virginia band that plays in interesting mix of rock, blues and country. They were followed at about 12:30 by Cross Cut Saw. The pride of Leesburg, Virginia, the Cross Cut Saw are doing an excellent job carrying on the southern rock tradition.
Cross Cut Saw played most originals with some high energy covers of groups like the Allman Brothers Band and Blackfoot. Up to this point, the crowd was very sparse, but began fill in some for the third opening act, the Big Mike Griffin Blues Band.
At 6'10, Big Mike really lives up to his name. He played a Fender telecaster and a Gibson Les Paul and they looked like mandolins in his hands. Griffen plays straight forward blues and was a real treat to watch and hear play.
Near the end of Griffen's set, the crowd at the back had to clear out for a black limousine escorted by the West Virginia State Police. Everyone assumed that this was the arrival of the Blue Oyster Cult. During Griffen's encore, a awesome treatment of "Red House," BOC's crew was hard at work setting things up.
The set up continued during the Miss Mountainfest finals, that Rudy Sarzo seemed to really enjoy. The crowd was huge by the time the show began. Blue Oyster Cult took the stage with "This Aint the Summer of Love," and it was clear from the start that they were harder and heavier than they have been in the past. Part of this I think was Sarzo on bass and Richie Castellano on guitar. Eric Bloom was somewhat frustrated by the PA system but soldiered on.
As is often the case with an outdoor event, it took a couple of songs for the sound guys to really tune Buck Dharma's guitar in. However, by the time they lit into "Burning for Your," we could hear the Cheesburger with no problem.
It was a very hot day and Buck Dharma and Jules Radino both were sporting NY Yankees hats. Throughout the show, I noticed that Griffen and other members of the opening acts were standing in the wings enjoying the show.
Jules Radino played like a mad man on "Shooting Shark" and Castellano and Dharma traded some really great solos. In fact, the duo really put on a guitar clinic throughout the concert. I was thrilled to hear them play "Harvester of Eyes" again, which I had not heard in person for some time. The choice of "Golden Age of Leather" at a biker event was obvious and well received by the crowd.
In fact, the audience was really into the performance and participated in "Cities on Flame" with gusto. The highlight of the afternoon though was "Last Days of May." Castellano played a searing solo and Buck Dharma responded in such a way that yet again demonstrates why he is one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. In fact, the whole band seemed to really find a special groove on the song and the solos thrilled the crowd.
I don't think enough good things can be said about Richie Castellano. No doubt we want to see Allen Lanier back, but Richie brings something fresh on guitar and his energy is infectious. I really felt that he prodded Buck Dharma to greater heights. Where BOC really misses Lanier is on keyboard, but ever there Castellano did well.
In the last few years, he has been great on bass and he is now proving that he is a guitarist to be respected. Regardless of what he plays, BOC would do well to hold on to Richie Castellano. The bass and drum solos for "Godzilla" were well executed. The entire band did the congo line around the drum kit during Radino's solo.
The introduction to "Don't Fear the Reaper" was somewhat longer than usual and again displayed Buck Dharma's incomparable abilities. As always, "Dont Fear the Reaper" brought down the house and a crew member brought out the infamous cowbell during the latter part of the tune.
The crowd pleaded for an encore and Eric Bloom came out to the mic and said they had time for one more. Richie Castellano belted out "Hot Rails to Hell" and thus ended a great day of music in the sun at Morgantown.
Awesome website - very psyched to discover it. Went to the shown in Boston on July 31 (probably the 10th time I've seen BOC since first going to a show at the Worcester Centrum in 1982). Don't know what's up with Allen Lanier but he wasn't with the band that night. Here's the set list which is unfortunately pretty short (and no encore):
Keep up the great work!
Where to begin. Beautiful evening for a show. BOC hit the stage at 7:35. I took this as a good sign, figuring they were going to fit in as many tunes as possible. Not meant to be.
Summer of love was a solid opener. Od'd was good as well. Buck definitely added a couple of new twists to the verse. BFY. Fine.
Next. Shooting Shark. Pretty good. Buck sounded decent vocally. I just found this as a curious choice considering you only have four "wildcard" slots to fill.
To pick a mellow song with a fairly extended vocal didn't seem right considering the onslaught Purple was to assault us with an hour later. Hot Rails or Red&Black would have been more appropriate for an aging, nostalgic, yet still rocking crowd. I am sure more people would have been familiar with either of these early era powerhouses over SS.
Of course SS allowed Rudy some space to flex his muscles a bit, and Buck and Ritchie had some fine guitar work to end the number.
COF. Another of the four obligatory tunes. Perfect for this crowd. LDOM. We all know this is a great song. For us "regulars", the song gets overlooked in anticipation of the speed jam. Not really the band's fault. A shame nonetheless. Ritchie's solo was outstanding. Melodic and staying within the framework of the jam. I could clearly here single notes. And I liked them.
Now to Mr. Dharma. I love the tone of Buck's guitar circa 1972-1981. That tone gives chills. That tone is distinct. Carlos Santana distinct. I miss that tone.
His solo seems to have grown to mythical proportions. It almost has a life and ego of it's own. Is it more showthan substance? I don't know. It is sounding more and more like noise opposed to melody. That being said,Istill enjoyed it. Hey, it's Buck. Godzilla and Reaper. One of the worst Reaper's I have heard. I always enjoy Buck's solo in Reaper. I couldn't here it. The cowbell was way up in the mix with the rest of the drums. The whole thing sounded like mud. No encore? Boo. Not my best BOC experiene in my 40+ shows. Keys were nonexistant. Not complaining. I am very happy I had the opportunity to see them last night.
Purple kicked ass. Gillan's voice came and went, yet he persevered and kept digging. By the end of the night he had little left and he knew it. He was still able to kid with Morse about it and kept fighting. A real trooper. In my opinion, it didn't detract from their set at all. You almost found yourself pulling for the guy because you knew the effort was there. Morse and Airey were great, but to me the rhythm section powered their set. Glover and Paice were amazing. They seemed to gather steam as the night progressed.
By the time Space Truckin and Highway Star rolled around they were just hitting their balls to the wall stride. I can't tell you the complete setlist, but they drew heavily from Machine Head. Lazy and Pictures of Home being two of the highlights. I don't see Ian Paice being acknowledged as one of the alltime greats, but IMO he deserves an also receiving votes mention behind Mr. Peart, Bonham, and Moon.
Check out this online review of the show:
I was at the Wallingford, CT show on August 2nd. It was a three band bill (Edgar Winter, BOC, and Deep Purple) so they played a too-short seven song set:
Not sure if this is part of their regular show, but new bassist Rudy Sarzo played an extended bass solo in the middle of Godzilla that included bits of songs from his prior bands (Crazy Train from Ozzy, Metal Health from Quiet Riot, and Still of the Night by Whitesnake), as well as a good portion of Stanley Clarke's School Days.
Rib Fest, Kalamazoo, Michigan, August 3, 2007
Opening Act: Starfarm (retro band from West Michigan)
Line Up: Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Rudy Sarzo (and I assume Richie Castellano and Jules Radino)
Set List:
Ribfest is a yearly outdoor festival in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. The weather was perfect and it was only $5 to get in ($8 after 7:00). At about 9:15 the place was packed so no more people were let in (with long lines still outside). Starfarm opened up at about 8:00 and warmed up the crowd with mostly '80s tunes (Billie Jean, Vacation, Come on Eileen, etc).
BOC came on promptly at 10:00 and played mostly straight through. The start was excellent and the crown was jammin' until the mostly unknown "Harvest Moon" really slowed things down. Even 'Cities on Flames' couldn't restart them as "Perfect Water" was another unknown. But as expected "Godzilla" really lit them up again and "Don't Fear the Reaper" was flawless. The crowd roared and an encore was inevitable. "The Red & The Black" was also perfect and I suspected maybe more but with a show the next night in Colorado I'm sure they had to get going.
Overall I was really surprised that when they got cooking they were as good as ever. If they'd substituted some of the early album slow material for the two more "modern" slow songs I would have liked it more but I'm not sure the crowd would have cared as they cane for Godzilla and Reaper. Very happy I went and first time I'd seen BOC since Wings Stadium (just down the road) in 1979.
Date: Aug 3, 2007, 10:00pm
Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Event: Ribfest
Venue: Arcadia Creek Festival Site (outdoor)
Admission: $8.00 charge for the Ribfest. No BOC tickets printed/issued.
Lineup: Buck, Eric, Jules, Richie, Rudy
Set List, in order:
A few solos were sprinkled in for good measure.
Supporting acts:
StarFarm, prior to BOC
In Custody, after BOC
BOC was definitely the headliner.
More Information:
Saw BOC at La Junta Colorado August 4, 2007. Great show, Rudy Sarzo was on fire on bass, as was the rest of BOC.
Still didn't get to hear Astronomy, as I have seen BOC 5 times and still no Astronomy.
Did get to hear great version of "Last Days of May" with Richie and Buck on guitars.
Also good Bucks Boogie, Cities of Flame and of course Godzilla.
Set List for La Junta, Aug 4 2007 (outdoor gig).
I noted down the set list after the gig to send to a friend at home (in the UK). My daughter is eight so didn't qualify for the free entry - still US$8 for the ticket was a bargain!!
Strange to see a bouncy castle near the stage (shades of Spinal Tap and the Puppet Show). Outstanding concert and great set list.
Greetings from Iowa. I have the set list from tonight's (10 August, 2007) BOC show at the Iowa State Fair.
Godzilla contained a short bit of the main riff of Ozzy's Crazy Train followed by a bit of a bass solo, which was followed by Jules' drum solo. During the drum solo Eric, Ritchie, Buck, and Rudy performed a conga line across the stage.
The set list was short because they were opening for Alice Cooper.
Blue Oyster Cult opening for Alice Cooper
August 11, 2007 Missouri State Fair, Sedalia, Missouri.
Song list:
No encore.
Featuring Rudy Sarzo on bass.
Lineup:
Eric Bloom
Buck Dharma
Richie Castellano
Jules Radino
Rudy Sarzo
Comments:
This was an outdoor concert on a very hot evening. BOC started at 7:30 PM. Eric and Buck were their usual selfs. Richie was awsome on both keyboard and guitar.
Like many of the other BOC concerts that I have been to (twelve I think) it was hard to hear the keyboards. Rudy was really into things, enjoying every minute. During Buck's antics in Cities on Flame, Rudy had the biggest smile on his face. They really nailed Cities on Flame.
The crowd began to sing aloud during Burnin, and did so again during Godzilla and Reaper. At times during Godzilla, the crowd was as loud as the band! The crowd sang Godzilla in its entirety. Really cool.
For me, the highlight was Rudy's and Jules' solos during Godzilla. Rudy started his off with a riff from Crazy Train. Jules picked up with his power playing as Rudy left the stage. Then, here comes Buck, Eric, Richie, and Rudy from stage left, doing a party line dance (single file, hands on the person in fronts shoulders... whatever this is called, I do not know but you see it all the time in movies and parties), across the stage and off the other side, while Jules continued to solo! The look on Rudy's face was something like, Man, these guys are trippin'!
There's always something with Blue Oyster Cult!
Hated to see them leave so soon. But, they were on their way to California for a show the next night.
Phil Meyer, Kansas City, Missouri
Hey man! Found your site recently and think it is very cool. Just saw BOC last night opening for Deep Purple in Southern California. Here is the set list and a quick review:
August 12, 2007
Pacific Amphitheater
Costa Mesa, California
The band was part of a bill supporting Deep Purple. Edgar Winter opened the show with BOC following after a very short short change. The band played a tight, short set but rocked very hard. Here is the set list:
Since it was an outdoor show, during Shooting Shark, Buck pointed skyward at the line "lighting up the sky" which was kind of cool since the Perseid Meteor shower was only hours away from hitting its peak over the So Cal skies.
Rudy Sarzo's bass playing on Shooting Shark really took that bass-driven song in a new sounding direction compared to the album. The band did a fun little intro of Rudy during Godzilla which led to about thirty seconds of Ozzy's Crazy Train being played by the band, which led into a short solo from Rudy following by a drum solo from Jules. Buck's soloing during the performance was amazing. I haven't seen the band in nearly 20 years but I will say that they definitely looked like they were enjoying every minute of the short set.
Cheers!
Rick Damigella
Writer, Music Street Journal
http://www.musicstreetjournal.com
It was another local gig in NJ for BOC and once again they were playing with Foghat. My girlfriend Caryn and I had front row center tickets for the show; my friends (Pete and Phil) had opted for the front row balcony tickets. Both locations were prime real estate in this intimate old theater which apparently was built with great sound in mind.
BOC came on first - promptly at 8pm; there were lots of empty seats still. They played 10 songs straight through - no encore; more than the 7-song shows they'd been doing recently. Still, on a twin band gig 10 was a decent amount of material.
As you may know, I like to capture much of the show with photos but my collection for this show was limited. Technically, cameras are not allowed in this venue; they threaten to eject anyone using cameras, cell phones, etc.
The show and the sound was awesome; the band was tight and psyched and the music was exceptionally clear. This being the situation, I didn't attempt to take photos until 75% into the show.
The set list was as follows:
Here's my take and some notes on the show itself:
Eric made some comments early in the show asking where everyone was. Rudy seemed a lot more comfortable with the band than when I saw them at Atlantic City earlier. Jules appeared to have a black right eye although his hair covered it most of the time. Like I said earlier, the sound was awesome - perhaps this prompted the band to put out that "extra" effort that I felt was apparent during the show.
The band had a great opening vocal sound to Golden Age of Leather this time - no one was off key that night!
Buck seemed to explore the acoustics a little more when he played Cities on Flame. Towards the end of the solo I could hear three (3) distinctly different sounds coming from his guitar at the same time!
The Last Days of May stole the show for me. It was so great that I risked getting thrown out and filmed the last part of the solo. It's posted on my YouTube site for all to see:
Don't forget to rate it, make comments, link it, etc...
Godzilla prove to be quite interesting at this gig. When Eric introduced Rudy he mentioned the bands he'd been with and when he mentioned OZZY - the band started playing some Ozzy licks. When it was time for the solo the rest of the band did the Congo across the stage in front of the drum set (see pics)! In the finish of Godzilla I heard a small Rush lick as well. They were definitively having fun at this gig.
The Intro to the Reaper was once again a pleasure to watch; I think Buck like to toy with the crowd before busting into DFTR. DFTR ended the show but was awesome as usual (perhaps I'm biased?).
Buck showed up again at the end of the Foghat set; for those that left early they missed a treat. Buck assisted on the drums for the finale "Slow ride" and took bows with the band!
BLUE OYSTER CULT ROCKS THE SCOUT BAR
Blue Oyster Cult is certainly no stranger to the road. They pretty much live there. With a touring schedule that usually includes about 120 shows a year, often hopping randomly all over the globe, the group has definitely earned their self-promoted moniker, "On Tour Forever." On the latest leg of their performance sweep through Texas, they arrived in town last Friday night to bring their own unique blend of classic rock music to the Houston area's own Scout Bar.
Touting the 35th Anniversary of the band since it was originally signed by the Columbia label to debut in 1972, veteran rockers Eric Bloom and Don "Buck Dharma" Roeser were joined onstage by newer members Richie Castellano on guitar/keyboards, Rudy Sarzo on bass, and Jules Radino on drums. Although the absence of original member Allen Lanier on keyboards was keenly felt, recent blogs describing the current line-up as "Two Oyster Cult" were every bit as much undeserved as the "Half-A-Who" tag sarcastically attached to The Who during their recent swing through our area. If anything, the group's originators have gained even better musical skills through experience. When asked about the relevance of the obvious longevity of the group's core members, Bloom was quick to retort, "As far as playing past 60... that's only a number. If you want to hit the road and folks still want to see you play, that's the more important thing. Sinatra was gigging in his 70's. Look at Tony Bennett or Les Paul."
Blue Oyster Cult holds a very unusual position in Classic Rock history. On the one hand, they have one of the most enduring fan bases of any band from the 70's. On the other hand, their popularity has consistently been somewhat underground, rather than mainstream. Key to this three-decade success story is not only their ability to draw in a wide spectrum of music listeners from pop to metal, but also a creative slant toward including very cryptic sci-fi/horror-themed song lyrics that are mysterious enough, and often just as tongue-in-cheek laughable enough, to keep it all extremely entertaining year-after-year.
Friday night's offering was no exception to this formula. Heavy metal thunder one minute; a more muted and rhythmically moving ballad the next. They are a great band to hear live, especially when they're headlining. Bloom's searing vocals and Dharma's blistering guitar licks combine to convincingly display why VH1 selected Blue Oyster Cult as one of its Top 100 influential groups in hard rock music history. Buck Dharma is easily one of the very best lead guitarists from the 70's era, and the band has provided many worthy riffs to harder-edged music collections over the years. Most notably, their signature number, (Don't Fear) The Reaper, is often paired and showcased with other trend-setting songs from this same timeframe and genre, such as Led Zepplin's Stairway To Heaven or Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird. In this vein, expect BOC songs to be featured in the soundtracks of both the upcoming Halloween movie and the new game version of Guitar Hero.
The show's set list contained a healthy conglomerate of material spanning their entire musical repertoire. The more popular songs that previously spiked into hit territory were punched-in strategically throughout the performance, such as Burning For You, Godzilla and (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Still other pieces, many also composed from collaborations with writers and poets like Richard Meltzer, Sandy Pearlman, Michael Moorcock and John Shirley, were generously doled-out to fill the set, such as This Ain't The Summer Of Love, Black Blade, The Last Days Of May, See You In Black and ME262. More obscure fan favorites like Cities On Flame With Rock & Roll and The Vigil were spiritedly greeted with great exuberance by the buoyant standing-room-only crowd in attendance.
It was truly a night to remember for every Houston Cultophile. Blue Oyster Cult just continues to refuse to disappoint. If Friday's performance was any indication of BOC's future, even though they will undoubtedly decide to eventually pack-it-in, they definitely plan to go out with a scream... and not a whimper.
I was at the Scout Bar in Houston ,Tx Fri Aug 24. GREAT SHOW! for a small venue.
This a guaranteed complete and in order set list (I always write down the songs when I see them) I may have a couple of older ones from a few years back. I'll look for them. Great web site...
This was my first BOC show. Blame it on me. Location: The Scout Bar, Clearlake (near NASA), a smallish, local band kind of place, mostly standing room, with tables on the perimeter and barstools at the bar. $5.00 Guiness in plastic cups, but only $12.00 for the pitchers. I wish I had known about the pitchers 1st time round. Me and two friends deliberately blew off the opening act, then hung around 20-45 minutes before BOC hit the stage. Figure the crowd at 200-300+.
I was surprised to hear Shooting Shark, in the intro by Bloom, he complimented "the 12 of you that recognized the name".
I was ultra-psyched to hear Last Days of May and Black Blade. I didn't figure LDoM as one that would be executed well live, but it was. They didn't bother with the (electronic) voice of Stormbringer (the sword) in Black Blade, but I guess it wouldn't really come out.
Reaper doesn't come off that well live, but hey, at least I got to hear it. We had some dude in the audience with a cowbell pounding on it.
Biggest disappointment was not hearing Astronomy, being the Imaginos die hard that I am. Then again, it isn't gracing any of the setlists at hotrails.co.uk, so maybe it doesn't come off well live.
All in all, nice to see them still pounding out the music, enjoying the hard rocking tunes. Good to also hear both Buck's and Eric's voices holding up well. Mine was soar until Sunday evening. I will catch them again when I can, maybe next year catch the Dallas/Austin/San Antonio gigs.
Blue Oyster Cult is certainly no stranger to the road. They pretty much live there. With a touring schedule that usually includes about 120 shows a year, often hopping randomly all over the globe, the group has definitely earned their self-promoted moniker, "On Tour Forever." On the latest leg of their performance sweep through Texas, they arrived in town last Friday night to bring their own unique blend of classic rock music to the Houston area's own Scout Bar.
Touting the 35th Anniversary of the band since it was originally signed by the Columbia label to debut in 1972, veteran rockers Eric Bloom and Don "Buck Dharma" Roeser were joined onstage by newer members Richie Castellano on guitar/keyboards, Rudy Sarzo on bass, and Jules Radino on drums.
Although the absence of original member Allen Lanier on keyboards was keenly felt, recent blogs describing the current line-up as "Two Oyster Cult" were every bit as much undeserved as the "Half-A-Who" tag sarcastically attached to The Who during their recent swing through our area. If anything, the group's originators have gained even better musical skills through experience.
When asked about the relevance of the obvious longevity of the group's core members, Bloom was quick to retort, "As far as playing past 60... that's only a number. If you want to hit the road and folks still want to see you play, that's the more important thing. Sinatra was gigging in his 70's. Look at Tony Bennett or Les Paul."
Blue Oyster Cult holds a very unusual position in Classic Rock history. On the one hand, they have one of the most enduring fan bases of any band from the 70's. On the other hand, their popularity has consistently been somewhat underground, rather than mainstream.
Key to this three-decade success story is not only their ability to draw in a wide spectrum of music listeners from pop to metal, but also a creative slant toward including very cryptic sci-fi/horror-themed song lyrics that are mysterious enough, and often just as tongue-in-cheek laughable enough, to keep it all extremely entertaining year-after-year.
Friday night's offering was no exception to this formula. Heavy metal thunder one minute; a more muted and rhythmically moving ballad the next. They are a great band to hear live, especially when they're headlining. Bloom's searing vocals and Dharma's blistering guitar licks combine to convincingly display why VH1 selected Blue Oyster Cult as one of its Top 100 influential groups in hard rock music history.
Buck Dharma is easily one of the very best lead guitarists from the 70's era, and the band has provided many worthy riffs to harder-edged music collections over the years. Most notably, their signature number, (Don't Fear) The Reaper, is often paired and showcased with other trend-setting songs from this same timeframe and genre, such as Led Zepplin's Stairway To Heaven or Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird. In this vein, expect BOC songs to be featured in the soundtracks of both the upcoming Halloween movie and the new game version of Guitar Hero.
The show's set list contained a healthy conglomerate of material spanning their entire musical repertoire. The more popular songs that previously spiked into hit territory were punched-in strategically throughout the performance, such as Burning For You, Godzilla and (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Still other pieces, many also composed from collaborations with writers and poets like Richard Meltzer, Sandy Pearlman, Michael Moorcock and John Shirley, were generously doled-out to fill the set, such as This Ain't The Summer Of Love, Black Blade, The Last Days Of May, See You In Black and ME262.
More obscure fan favorites like Cities On Flame With Rock & Roll and The Vigil were spiritedly greeted with great exuberance by the buoyant standing-room-only crowd in attendance.
It was truly a night to remember for every Houston Cultophile. Blue Oyster Cult just continues to refuse to disappoint. If Friday's performance was any indication of BOC's future, even though they will undoubtedly decide to eventually pack-it-in, they definitely plan to go out with a scream and not a whimper.
I really enjoyed the show. The new guys are awesome and Eric and Buck seem to having great fun with it all. Both in great voice, by the way. Ritchie Castellano is a fine guitarist and there are several moments where he and Buck get to interact. This adds a whole new dimension to the band! Last Days had a lead section by both he and Buck that really smoked. I had a great visit with everyone after the show.
The sound was OK. Woody's mix was spot on, but they never give you the sound system you deserve at Sunken Gardens. I've done at least three shows there and have never been completely satisfied with the result. The venue is wide and somewhat deep but the systems are "ground stacked" instead of properly flown in the air and are usually undersized. Anyway, I can't let such things spoil my enjoyment.
Oddly enough I had just seen Rush at Verizon Amphitheater up the road two weeks ago and they kicked butt. The bands of that era (my era, I suppose) seem to be aging like fine wine, just getting better and more complex with time and experience.
I attended this gig and it was awesome. But I was really ashamed of some of the crowd's behavior. There were one or more idiots down near the stage who tossed their plastic glasses of beer onto the stage during "Buck's Boogie" and then again during "Last Days of May" almost hitting Rudy Saizo and Ritchie Castellano. Had this not happened, I firmly believe BOC would have performed an encore.
New York State Fair - Syracuse, NY - August 31, 2007 with Foghat
About 25 minutes before the show, after roadies did guitars, Buck Dharma comes out and does his own quick check running through some chords, notes, etc... Did intro riff from E.T.I. a couple of times. It was like no one in the audience knew it was him!
Blue Oyster Cult - 4PM:
Blue Oyster Cult - 8PM:
These shows were free with admission to the fair. BOC opened at 4PM, followed by Foghat. Each played about 50 minutes.
At the 8PM show Foghat opened for about an hour, and BOC played about an hour and 15 minutes.
BOC bass player was Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot/Whitesnake/Ozzy Osbourne fame. When he did the bass solo he started with the opening Crazy Train riff.
Went to this show w/my pal Jerry who snagged a ME 262 t-shirt. I got a few nods of acknowlegement for my 10yr old "Flat Out" shirt. After hitting the Dinosaur BBQ tent we caught the early set.
Unfortunately for the true Cultist the "court" they played in had metal benches taking up all the front and center spots so we had to stand way off to the side nowhere near the stage. The benches were crammed with old ladies and little kids playing on the ground and looked more like a craft fair/flea market crowd. Embarrassing... I guess that's what we get in the age of chili cook-offs and rib-fests.
Anyways I was psyched to hear Shooting Shark at least. Quiet-Rudy-Riot jammed on Zilla. Eric announced they'd be playing "longer" at the 8pm appearance. Foghat kicked ass as always with Charlie leading the way. Craig McGregor was back on bass after seeing them with Tone Stevens in the past. "Slow Riiiiiiiiiiiiide"
We had tickets for the Syracuse/Washington college football game so we missed the 8pm set. To our chagrine Syracuse got demolished and we ended up swilling beer and playing cds in the hotel mumbling about wishing we had stayed for the concert.
However the insane parking mis-management at the Fairgrounds did away with any real thoughts of returning to see the bands. For the 4pm show it took about 45 min to park, 30 min standing around waiting for a shuttle to the grounds, and as we enter we could hear the strains of "Summer Of Love." Not cool. Last time I saw the amazing BOC.
Give me a cramped, grimey club show with bad sound instead of the family-friendly sterility of the NYS Fairgrounds, folks.
My first BOC show after being a fan for over 30 years. I thought they played well, particularly Buck and Jules. The bass and keyboards cut out for a while mid-way through the show. Wish they had been able to play longer. Being an opening act, frankly, sucks.
With a triple bill like this I expected to see fewer empty seats. Whole sections in the rear were empty, and there was hardly anyone in the grandstand.
Hey - I was one of those few in the grandstand ! (I wasn't going to take a chance on the weather - as it turned out it was a beautiful night.)
The other poster pretty much sums it up. How Joan Jett headlined over BOC is beyond me. The other complaint I had was it wasn't loud enough. I kept waiting for the volume to be kicked up but it never happened. I'm going to assume there were decibel limits put in place due to it being an outdoor venue in a residential neighborhood.
Here's a review of this gig from orcasound.com:
I was totally psyched to hear that BOC was playing in the next town over from where I was living. Always nice to only have a 15 minute drive to/from the venue! Had a bunch of friends road trip up for the show which always makes concerts that much more enjoyable. I would have gone alone if I had to but it was nice seeing so many familiar faces come up for the show.
The only drawback to this show was BOC was slated as second listing with Joan Jett headlining. Ugh! I was hoping that wasn't the case and they would be the last act but alas BOC came on after Foghat's set.
Foghat played pretty well but it was just another opening set that failed to achieve the energy level Cult did during their set.
My friend Mike was with us that night and he was the friend that gave me my first BOC ticket and that was back on the BOC/Foghat tour of '81 in Boston. I kept having fond memories of my first BOC show 26 years prior while we sat thru Foghat's set.
From what I remember of the show, I think the sound on the first two songs were woefully soft and the show finally achieved full volume during the Burnin' For You. The rest of the set, although way too short for me, was great. The versions of Shooting Shark and Cities On Flame were probably the best songs they played. The 'Zilla and Reaper to close also had nice energy. We were hoping for at least a 1 song encore but also that was not to be.
Joan Jett came on and we stayed for the first third of her set and decided that that was enough. Not that she didn't play well, it just was not a great act to follow BOC! If Joan was second and BOC head lined, it would have been a really great evening. Oh well, it was still a great time.
It was not Blue Oyster Cult's typical crowd but there were many old fans that showed for this FREE outdoor concert. I got there a few minutes later than when the band was supposed to go on but when I got there they were still picking a raffle winner. The raffle winner got an autographed BOC guitar; the lucky guy was someone from the audience and went up to the stage to get the guitar...than presumabley backstage to meet the band.
I can't give my usual detailed review because the whole night I was trying to get close to take photographs, however, my love Caryn was kind enough find a place with the kids to watch & keep track of the songs for me (and by this time she knew all the songs by name)!
The stage was at the bottom of a hill; the sound tent and a tree or two got in the way a bit but everything else was good. Here's the setlist:
Here's few tidbits I remember from the show... Eric played with the audience at the beginning of the show seeing if there were any Mets or yankee fans present. He busted the Yankee fans saying "Who's in first place anyway?". Since the songs in this setlist have been essentially the same since Rudy came on board the band is real tight and has a great song. I still miss Allen but appreciate the present lineup with Richie on Keys and guitar.
About half way through the show I got a position right in front of the sound booth and the sound and view were very cool. I meet another photographer (a woman whose name I did not get) and she helped me find the best setting for the camera. I gave her this website to view the reviews and photos - I hope she posts some of her pictures her, too. I had a great view for the last 4 or 5 songs and managed to get some nice pics until my memory card filled and had to retreive another...
Richie once again pleased the crowd (and Buck) on Last Days... he can really play some licks! Buck certainly seemed challenged by Richie and responded with some sizzling playing as well. At the end of the song Richie and Buck pointed to each other to rev-up the crowd... each was awesome!
Highlights of the night included Shooting Shark, Cities on Flame (of course), Last Days of May (which the crowd really responded to), and Hot Rails to Hell. A great show that I wished I had gotten to earlier as I would have enjoyed it more if I had been more prepared. The older fans I met really enjoyed the show and asked who the new guys were... but ultimately were still mezmerized by Buck... I heard "He's as excellent as he has always been", "he's still the best", and "Yeah, he's still got it..." a few times in the crowd.
(I know BOC sometimes may read these reviews so I have a request much like that I have heard from others: We'd like to hear some other tunes from Heaven Forbid (like Damaged, or Live for me) and perhaps songs like Dance on Stilts, Revenge of Vera Lynn... its been a while...)
B.O.C. show number 7 for me was Sept. 13, 2007. They opened for Lynyrd Skynyrd at Blossom Music Center, where I had seen them headline 25 years before. This was the first time I saw them with my daughter, who has also become a fan.
Unfortunately, it was the worst performance I have ever seen from them. The band looked like they were not really into what they were doing- just going through the motions. The highlight was a rendition of "Shooting Shark"- the first time I heard them play it live. I also remember a very long "Cities On Flame".
But all in all it was a short and uninspired set, and a big disappointment. This was the only time I have ever seen B.O.C. put on a mediocre show. The sound was lousy too.
Lynyrd Skynyrd was OK, better than the only other time I have seen them.
I've seen BOC quite a bit the last few years when they've been anywhere in the NYC or NJ area but this was the first time I've seen them at the PNC Arts Center on Holmdel, NJ where I've seen lots of other bands. My seats were much farther away from the stage than I'm used to at a BOC show so the photos I took were limited and ended-up being quite ho-hum (actually horribly lame) but I've included them for history's sake. Some of the pics are of the video feed which showed more detail!
I took some short video clips which can be seen on my YouTube site (RocknRollerRon); they're much better - check them out and leave me feedback!
The show itself I thought was quite good although the setlist has pretty much been the same since Rudy was added on bass. No mention of Allen of course but during Godzilla Eric gave his short intro on Rudy and the bands he's played with (Whitesnake, Ozzy, etc.).
Eric had a couple of fans in the front row stand up and show their 35th Anniversary shirts and mentioned they were available ONLY on the website. He also joked that that they were not relatives... he swears.
Although the set was shorter than when they play solo, Caryn and I enjoyed the show quite a bit anyway. It was nice to see a larger crowd singing along. The Buck intro guitar piece before DFTR was noticeably missing to me but the crowd was still stoked from Godzilla. All-in-all, a great show with disappointing seats!
i am a 19 year old kid who was introduced to BOC by my family at a young age, and ive loved 'em for years. i finally got to see them for the first time yesterday, at the PNC bank arts center in holmdel, new jersey. i know it was only yesterday, but i was pretty far gone on some nice mushrooms, so SOME of the details are a tiny bit hazy. i know they opened with "this aint the summer of love" and played "OD'ed on life itself", "dont fear the reaper", "burnin for you", "buck's boogie", "godzilla", and "shooting shark". they MIGHT have played more but that seems to be all i remember hearing.
all i know is that it was one of the best live shows i have ever seen up to this point in my life. the light show was absolutely awesome as well. and eric and buck are such lively dudes, i loved the way they connected with the audience. they were the opener for lynyrd skynyrd (who i honestly wasnt too thrilled with, but hey, thats not the reason i was there). im never going to miss out on a blue oyster cult show again as long as they are touring, it was truly an experience.
Setlist:
Same lineup as noted before.
Rudy was introduced and did the Crazy Train riff as part of his solo during Godzilla, and Jules did a little soloing too.
And one last comment: They weren't allowing us to take pictures! What's up with that?
This seems to have been a very hastily-arranged show and wasn't actually flagged up on the official site as a pending gig.
Yes, BOC played at the Indio Municipal Golf Course September 27, 2007. My band, The Brad Mercer Band (www.thebradmercerband.com) opened for them.
Probably the reason it wasn't mentioned was that Toto was scheduled to perform, but had to cancel due to an illness. BOC filled in at the last minute literally. The Coachella Valley Recreation and Park District put the show on. It was free to the public.
Here are links to some photos and a review from that night:
Indio, 20 miles east of Palm Springs, was on flames. After researching a bit, the city of Indio had to scramble for some entertainment after Toto pulled out because the drummer fell ill and rather than cancel their weekly summer festivities, I'm glad they called BOC.
Since I am in Ontario working right now, I took the 70 mile drive down the 10 freeway to the Indio Municipal Golf Course where the stage was set up between the practice putting green and the first tee at this 18 hole par three course.
This was a bring your lawn chairs and blanket family affair and it's a free show. To me it looked like a nice size crowd. Maybe 2500 and that's not too bad considering there was almost no notice.
The crowd was appreciative when Eric mentioned he got a call last week about doing the show. I felt a little weird going by myself and not seeing all the usual suspects to hang out with although I did run into Lynn (Oceangypsy) and shot the bull with her for a bit but I hung out near Woody and the board and although it was not as loud as I like, it sure was clean sounding.
There's really nothing more I can add that already has not been said about this current line up. They are tight and they are having fun up there and it shows.
The crowd was relaxed but midway through the show lots of fans started to go up to the stage but I saw the staff make them go back and sit down but by the opening chords to Reaper, all bets were off and everybody there was up on their feet and the front of the stage was flooded.
I like the way the Pre-Reaper noodle has evolved over time. This was a good 5 minute noodle with drums added and EB and Ritchie played some keys right at the end.
Woody handed me the set list because he must know I have a bad memory.
Show was almost a full 90 minutes starting at 7:30 ending at 8:55pm.
Time to get on the road and head to Mobile. Of course we are going like 60 in the Bronco. Then we hit the rain so it seems like we are taking forever. The rain last from Mississippi all the way to where the interstate splits right outside of Mobile. Not good considering it was an outdoor show. We finally get to the festival. It was the Mobile Bayfest and the show was scheduled to start at 7p.m. We had to park in BFE and got inside right when BOC started their set.
Here is the line up:
Here is the setlist with my comments to follow
The show started right at 7 p.m. The crowd was huge and I was surprised at how many teenagers were there. We worked our way fairly close to the stage and had a great view. Buck was on fire and I was really digging the set list. They had a lady doing sign language for the audience and you haven't lived until you see somebody signing Harvester of Eyes. Satanic sign language is cool.
We weren't aware that Rudy Sarzo of Quiet Riot fame was now in the band. When he was introduced the band launched into the opening riff from Crazy Train and then he went into a Bass solo. Too Cool. Then came the last days of may was a treat for me. I love that song.
Buck did this amazing instrumental before closing the show with reaper. I could do without the dorks doing the cowbell bit, but aside from that the show was fantastic. The show ended at 8:17 so we got an almost 80 minute set at a festival. Kick ass
We were going to hang around and watch Brian Howe and Joan Jett (why BOC wasn't closing I have no idea) Of course 5 minutes after their set, the bottom fell out and we got soaked like a fish. We knew that shit was only going to get worse so we bailed.
How's that for a weekend. P-Funk on Friday and Blue oyster Cult on Saturday. You can't beat that. Two of the greatest bands ever on back to back nights. That and two of the most awesome(and underrated) guitarist in Michael Hampton and Buck Dharma
PS: Band running order was Foghat, followed by BOC, Brian Howe and Joan Jett closing, but one or both of them might have got rained out...
Does anyone know if Brian Howe and Joan Jett actually played?
Yes, Brian Howe and Joan Jett played...
What a cool festival - Bayfest! There were 2 main stages and about 3 other smaller ones, so there was plenty of music for every taste. The festival was downtown on a couple of huge parking lots, so plenty of space.
Foghat played before BOC, and we saw Jules jump in on drums at the end of Slow Ride. Too cool!
BOC rocked, although Buck's voice wasn't 100%. The set was pretty heavy on the Eric tunes, so I didn't get Shooting Shark... bummer.
What Buck lacked on vocals, he made up for on guitar! Awesome solos on Bux Boogie and Last Days. Richie just killed on his solo on Last Days, also. I was thrilled I caught one of his picks at the end.
They had a sign language interpreter at stage left signing the tunes. She was fascinating to watch - loved how her sign for "burn" just flowed on the chorus of Burning For You.
The pouring rain held off until the show ended, so we found shelter until Brian Howe and Joan Jett came on. They were both very good - Joan looked as good as she did in the 80's.
Here's a link to some of my photos from the gig:
Arrowfest 2007 - Houston, Texas - October 14, 2007:
Saw BOC at the Arrowfest concert yesterday, a classic rock music festival hosted annually by local radio station KKRW 93.7 "The Arrow". The concert took place at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas (North Houston).
Arrowfest 2007 Setlist:
This was a somewhat abbreviated show length, as is usually the case when BOC is part of a larger band line-up instead of headlining.
They were the second band up. The concert producers were pretty kind on volume "speed limits" for their position in the acts.
Everyone in the band seemed in good spirits and enjoying the picture-perfect fall weather in the morning.
In an unusual moment during Jule's drum solo, the rest of the band formed a "cha-cha line" and briefly weaved across stage, bringing a big smile and seemingly surprised look from the drummer. (Don't know whether this was planned or spontaneous.)
In all fairness, both BOC and The Knack should have been further up in the billing.
Arrowfest 2007 - Band Line-up:
After a long drive across the Canadian border I finally made it to Winnipeg to catch BÖC. At this point, the band's last gig was two weeks prior all the way down in Texas. I considered this absence as rehearsing time for an incredible show. I wasn't disappointed.
The venue was comfortably-sized with three levels of seating and featured a nice Art Deco style of architecture. I sensed this was a good crowd. The seats were packed well with a wide range of age groups. The lights dimmed and the audience roared with anticipation. I didn't know there was an opening act. A five piece local band took the stage and introduced themselves as something unmemorable.
The next 40 minutes were filled with run-of-the-mill alternative pop songs. The whining vocals sounded like everything else I'd heard from a band who deemed themselves as "alternative". Every song sounded the same. The group wasn't really "bad" per se, technically they were fine. It's just that their dismal contemporary genre had the misfortune of being placed in front of an audience who came for classic rock. They left eventually, and garnered an applause that I interpreted as pity.
After 10 or 15 minutes of additional sound checks, the lights dimmed once again and "the amazing Blue Öyster Cult" took the stage. The reaction from the audience was fantastic. The band launched right into "Summer of Love." As the members of BÖC grow older, I tend to worry about possible singing limitations. Thankfully, this concert put all my fears to rest. Eric Bloom's vocals were great here and Buck Dharma was better than ever.
Overall, the sound was superb for the show. Next up was " O.D.'d on Life Itself", one of my personal highlights of the evening. Eric took a break to talk to the audience amidst numerous cheers of "Reaper!" "Oh, we're going to play all that stuff, don't worry. You can stick around for a while, right? I mean, it's not every day that we're here." Just what I wanted to hear.
Eric then handed the microphone over to Buck who counted into the intro of "Burnin' For You." The audience went crazy. Buck seemed to be feeding off of the crowd's exuberance and played the song with new vitality. You could tell the band were really enjoying themselves. Eric moved over to the keyboards and introduced "Shooting Shark", a song with great synths and excellent bass playing by Rudy Sarzo. Between songs I started to hear people yelling specific requests for "Lips in the Hills" and "The Marshall Plan." I didn't expect to hear these songs but at least I was at home among real BÖC fans, people who knew the albums.
Eric took the microphone again and introduced the next song as well. "This one's from our Secret Treaties album." I was going to be content with anything from that record, but I was really pulling for "Astronomy." Instead, we got treated to another rocking tune, "ME 262." It's always fun to see Eric holding his guitar like a machine gun during the song's ballistic interlude. "Cities on Flame" followed and was a great live performance.
The crowd participation was perfect. Eric bellowed, "Cities on flame..." and pointed his mic towards the audience who duly responded, "With rock and roll!" Buck purposely held up the final portion of the song until the fans yelled, "Crack your knuckles!" When he did this everyone cheered. Buck even pretended to jokingly crack his nose at one person's request. He took lead vocal duties for the proceeding song, "Golden Age of Leather."
The next song on the list was one of my favorites, "Black Blade." It was my first time hearing it live and it was spectacular. I really liked Eric's singing on this one. To my surprise, one could even hear the faint voice of the "sword" during the song's finale. It was a real treat. After that, Eric gave a brief description of the story behind "The Last Days of May" before the band played the opening of the epic song. Richie Castellano did a great guitar solo as usual, but when Buck stepped up on the stage something amazing happened.
By this time, the crowd knew they were in for something good. One brave soul moved out of his aisle and up to the front of the stage. This move broke all inhibitions. A minute later, another fan rose up and stepped in to accompany this guy. Then another. And another. Pretty soon the whole audience rushed the stage. The theatre's security even had to get involved and keep the crowd at bay. Buck was loving this. He got down on his knees during his solo and started waving his head all over the place in front of all the crazed teenagers reaching their hands out trying to touch him. This was how I wanted to see Blue Öyster Cult. With a bunch of wild fans crowding the stage, no reservations. It was beautiful.
Next up was "Godzilla" with Eric's usual intro. "Well, tell me who is it?" Everyone went nuts. BÖC could do nothing wrong at this point. The song transitioned smoothly into terrific solos by Sarzo and Jules Radino. There was no conga line this time. "Godzilla" ended without a hitch. Buck did an extended guitar solo before settling into the familiar notes of "Don't Fear The Reaper." Eric displayed the cowbell proudly. I still have to wonder if he's tired of the joke already. The audience, of course, was having a good time as well as the band, who were laughing amongst themselves.
The group waved goodbye after that, but I think they knew they were coming back. The response from the crowd was tremendous. Everybody started chanting, "B- Ö-C! B-Ö-C! B-Ö-C!" The band returned shortly for an encore. Buck took the microphone and expressed his gratefulness to the audience that night. They played "Hot Rails to Hell" where Richie Castellano provided the lead vocals and did a fine job.
The band members then got together to discuss what song they should play next. Buck launched into the first chords but Eric held his hand out to stop him. Apparently that wasn't what they were going to play. He shrugged playfully. The final song turned out to be "The Red and the Black." It was a satisfying end to an incredible show. And I had a three-hour drive ahead of me.
Another great show by BOC. I never get tired of watching/listening to them. Buck truely is one of the greatest guitarists of our time, and certainly deserves more recognition than he is shown.
Great website by the way, keep up the good work.
Thanks to Christopher Walken and the cast of a certain late-night sketch comedy show, pretty much everyone is familiar with Blue Oyster Cult's biggest hit.
But over the course of a powerhouse performance at The Burt last night, the classic rock icons proved there's a lot more to their act than just cowbell jokes.
INTIMATE SPELL
The New York outfit -- together in some incarnation or another for 35 years now -- was last in our neck of the woods for a classic-rock festival at Grand Beach back in 2004, but last night's indoor setting provided its members with a chance to weave a far more intimate spell on their audience.
Though guitarist Buck Dharma sings lead on the band's best-known tracks, the de facto frontman is Eric Bloom, who kicked off the show with the swaggering rocker This Ain't the Summer of Love (from the '76 album Agents of Love) and O.D.'d on Life Itself, from BOC's sophomore outing Tyranny and Mutation.
Not surprisingly, the requests for you-know-what started coming fast and furious as soon as the band paused to take their first breath.
"Oh, we're going to play all that stuff, don't worry. You are going to stick around for a while, right?" Bloom joked.
"I mean, It's not every day we're here."
Somewhat ironically, Bloom chose this point to cede the mike to Dharma, whose comparatively airier vocals buoyed the rock-radio staple Burnin' For You to nice heights.
And Dharma stuck around for the synth-heavy Shooting Shark (a tune co-written with the band's longtime pal Patti Smith), firing off a few fiery solos with Bloom, as bassist Rudy Sarzo -- who's also toured with Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio and Quiet Riot -- filled in the bottom end.
Speaking of Ozzy, Bloom's eerie vocals sounded a bit like the Prince of Darkness when it came time for the chugging anthem Cities on Flame, a tune that found Dharma creating a mini-sympathy of trippy guitar effects.
And both singers got some help from the crowd on the a cappella intro to Golden Age of Leather, the epic-sounding lyrics to which are characteristic of the band's obsession with the fantasy and sci-fi genres.
Wizards and swords
On that note, wizards and swordplay were also referenced in the tune Black Blade, and a certain skyscraper-smashing lizard in Godzilla, though it was a real-life drug run-gone-wrong that provided the inspiration for Then Came the Last Days of May.
And despite our best attempts to stall, the band's monster hit (and unofficial Halloween anthem) Don't Fear the Reaper came too late for our deadline, meaning we won't be trotting out that damned catchphrase after all.
Spazz moves
Earlier in the evening, local hipster-quintet Alverstone delivered a solid 40-minute set of spiky, Strokes-inspired dance-rock.
Though the band's stuttery guitar work and foppish frontman antics at first seemed a mite at odds with Blue Oyster Cult's more blue collar vibe, the bandmates still managed to pull off an impressive blend of squawky punk and squall-heavy garage-rock, not to mention busting out a few spazz-tambourine moves that even Will Ferrell would have been proud of.
No gigs in December, apparently...