2022: BOC still on tour forever!!
Have you got anything to contribute to this page? Reviews, missing gig support band/venue information, ticket stubs, posters, handbills etc etc - if so, let me .
This gig was in the schedules last year, but now it's vanished without a trace... I have no idea why. I can only presume this gig was cancelled rather than postponed as I can see no rescheduled listings for it.
BOC Set List Immokalee FL 2/12/22:
Set was 1hr 45min. Sound was absolutely amazing, Fantastic Venue to see the Oyster Boys.
Proposed Itinery:
Mon Feb 14 2022: Port Canaveral, Orlando, FL [Depart: 4:00 pm EST]
Tue Feb 15 2022: At Sea
Wed Feb 16 2022: Nassau, Bahamas [9:00 am - 3:00 pm]
Thu Feb 17 2022: At Sea
Fri Feb 18 2022: Port Canaveral, Orlando, FL [Arrive: 7:30 am EST]
Scheduled BOC shows:
Monday 14 February: Royal Theater (Deck 3)
7:30 pm Deep Purple
10:00 pm Blue Oyster Cult
12:30 pm Jefferson Starship
Tuesday 15 February: Studio B (Deck 3)
10:45 am Anthony Gomes
1:00 pm Gary Hoey
3:15 pm Jefferson Starship
5:30 pm Blue Oyster Cult
7:45 pm Don McLean
10:00 pm Foghat
12:15 am The Artimus Pyle Tribe
Thursday 17 February: Deck Stage (Deck 11)
10:00 am The Artimus Pyle Tribe
12:15 pm Jefferson Starship
2:30 pm The Outlaws
4:45 pm Styx
7:00 pm Little Feat
9:15 pm Blue Oyster Cult
11:30 pm Anthony Gomes
NB: Some of the above may drop out for Covid reasons, so always check in advance...
More details here:
In the end, those original schedules were changed quite a lot:
As a result there was quite a bit of shuffling around; but as we recall, the Monday schedule is OK.
The Tuesday list also looks about right apart from Artimus Pyle / Pat Travers, who played the 12.15 slot in the Royal Theater, not Studio B.
On the Thursday we saw Pat Travers and some of Jefferson Starship; but don't know who took the Outlaws slot - if anyone. The rest of the day looks to be right.
14 Feb setlist:
15 Feb setlist:
17 Feb setlist:
They started late all three times (twice because the previous bands overran) but they were leaned on to wind up on time.
No noodle pre Reaper on any of the shows because of time pressure.
But a good combination of songs - particularly the last one ...
Feb 25 2022 Las Vegas Setlist:
BOC setlist from March 4, 2022 at the Egg Hart Theater Albany NY:
Last night's setlist:
The original lineup for Friday was this:
Friday, April 1 on Stage 1 (Classic Rock)
Sponsored by Bud Light/KONO 101/The Eagle 106.7
Blue Oyster Cult - 9:15 p.m.
Q: The Music of Queen - 7:30 p.m.
Mothership - Tribute to Led Zeppelin - 6:15 p.m.
Then, two days before the event, they announced this:
We are thrilled to announce that Dustin and Jason of Rainchild will be playing an acoustic show on Friday, April 1 on Stage 1. See our revised schedule below:
Friday, April 1 on Stage 1 (Classic Rock)
Sponsored by Bud Light/KONO 101/The Eagle 106.7
Blue Oyster Cult - 9:15 to 10:30 p.m.
Rainchild - 7:45 to 8:15 p.m.
Rainchild - 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.
That "revised schedule" is a bit like the revised menu in the "Gourmet Night" episode of "Fawlty Towers" - if you don't like duck, then you're rather stuck... I wonder if Rainchild got a double fee..?
Setlist:
No encore...
Got to see BOC for the 12 time in Fayetteville. They played a solid 2 hour set!
Great show last night... was a game-time decision; glad I went. I hadn't seen Perfect Water or TMC in a few.
I felt there was good energy throughout... and as always, the party is half the fun.
Set list from last night:
The line-up was just BOC; they played approximately 2 hours.
I believe this was my first time back to that venue since 2006; the infamous show where they broke out Dizbusters.
Setlist 2022-4-22 Colonial Theater, Laconia, NH:
Setlist:
Activities & Events for Saturday, April 30, 2022:
12.00 - Gates and Rides open
14.00 - Mudbug Music Area opens. Entry will be $10.
16.00 - Crawfish Eating Contest will begin
17.30 - Sullivan's Hollow performance
20.00 - Blue Oyster Cult performance
23.00 - Gates and Mudbug Music Area close
I was at the 5/28/22 show at Stoneys. The set list was as follows:
The only indication that I've ever come across that BOC were scheduled to play this date was a report in the 13 May 2022 edition of "The Press-Enterprise":
Juanes has postponed his concert this weekend at the LA County Fair in Pomona after the Gammy-winning rock star tested positive for COVID-19, according to a news release from the fair.
The concert was to have taken place 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 15. It is now set for Monday, May 30, which is Memorial Day and the final day of the fair. Kansas and Blue Oyster Cult were originally scheduled for that date, but that concert was canceled due to scheduling issues.
Well, here's what all the teasing was about:
BLUE OYSTER CULT Announce 3 special shows in celebration of their 50th Anniversary.
Limited reserved seating 3 show bundle pre-sale June 1st at 12 noon EDT. [Link]
To celebrate their milestone 50th Anniversary, BLUE OYSTER CULT will be appearing at SONY HALL in NYC on September 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.
September 21st will feature their debut album BLUE OYSTER CULT performed in its entirety.
September 22nd will feature their 2nd album TYRANNY & MUTATION performed in its entirety.
September 23rd will feature their 3rd album SECRET TREATIES performed in its entirety.
Each night will also include a second set of Deep Cuts and Classics.
Appearing with the band at all 3 shows will be founding member ALBERT BOUCHARD.
The 3 show bundle includes 1 each of the following:
"ERIC & STEVE's Garage Sale":
Eric cleaned out his garage, most of it ended up in mine, and both my garage & office were already loaded with stuff!
We are clearing out our stock of CDs, LPs, Blu-Rays, DVDs, Box Sets, vintage T-shirts, etc.
Included in this mix are some rare promotional items and discs, vintage shirts, coloured vinyl, vinyl test pressings, etc.
Two things come to mind - one is the lack of any mention of Joe being there. Maybe it's just part of the "tease", as Buck Dharma called it, and Joe'll turn up to sing "Wings" at least, but to do all the above without Joe Bouchard seems to me a bit like releasing the "full" AOF show without "Summer of Love", for example - rather half-arsed, and a bit pointless...
The other thing is a bit more positive - 23 Sep will see the first known performance of "Cagey"!! Yay!!
Oh, and by the way, about this garage sale, with its "rare promotional items" and "vinyl test pressings": if I hear of anyone buying a rare SFG poster or early BOC flyer, or similar, or else a rare test pressing with a date on it, etc etc and they don't post jpegs of their haul, I will personally come around to their abode and insert a 50-foot barge pole up their fundament...
Oh, I nearly forgot - if they wanted to "celebrate their milestone 50th Anniversary", then click here to find out why they should have done all this last year when it was their 50th Anniversary... this year marked the "official" anniversary of the release of the 1st album, not the anniversary of the band itself... #two_different_things
I don't know of any gigs booked for June ... but check here to see blueoystercult.com's current show list detailing BOC's current gig schedule for all the latest info...
Here's the day's line-up:
Summerfest July 1 - Uline Warehouse Stage:
12:00 p.m. - Heaven & Hell - Chicago
13:45 p.m. - Claudia Hoyser
15:30 p.m. - Blue Oyster Cult
17:30 p.m. - Signalfire
19:30 p.m. - Nora Collins
21:30 p.m. - Jessie James Decker
The "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" published the following short report on the gig:
Evidently, a whole lot of you have got a fever, Milwaukee. And you came to Summerfest's Uline Warehouse stage Friday afternoon to get the only prescription: more cowbell with Blue Oyster Cult.
So it was a grave injustice that when the time came Friday for "Don't Fear the Reaper," no cowbell could be heard. From my vantage point in the overflowing crowd, I don't think a cowbell was even being played. The best Blue Oyster Cult had to offer was a brief air cowbell jam courtesy of singer and guitarist Buck Dharma, one of two remaining band members from the late '60s celebrating the group's 50th anniversary on the road.
But Blue Oyster Cult is more than just the "more cowbell" band immortalized by that classic, Christopher Walken-starring "Saturday Night Live" skit. Played live, "Train True (Lennie's Song)" was a fun bit of Texas roadhouse boogie, and longtime member Eric Bloom was especially impressive during an extended psychedelic rock breakdown during "Then Came the Last Days of May," with the 77-year-old dropping down to his knees.
Evidently, he came down with his own fever at Summerfest - guitar fever!
Piet Levy
The show started a bit late due to some "logistical nightmares" with the sound system. It sounded great and was well received by a large crowd. I had a blast.
The set:
Saw Foghat open for BOC in beautiful, humid Aurora on the 4th of July weekend, where there was clearly a lot of competition for outdoor entertainment.
The crowd finally filled in around the time that BOC started, but Foghat was playing to a half empty pavilion, which was kind of a bummer. They also played so long that BOC didn't have enough time to play an encore, which was also a bummer because I want to hear The Alchemist a few more times!
The new tunes went over very well with the more casual Saturday night crowd and Tainted Blood *may* have been played by request given how..."enthusiastic" I was about the new material!
Solid show and happy to have made the drive down from WI. I'll never say no to a BOC show in the relative neighborhood.
BOC back at the Alameda county fair! I arrived at 5:30 hoping to catch the soundcheck. The band arrived at 6 and started jamming around 6:15. What a soundcheck! Smoking Perfect Water and Unknown Tongue! YES!! They also did Transmaniacon MC, Tainted Blood and Harvest Moon. ROCK!
The show started promptly at 8. They did their usual awesome performance. Lovely, engaged audience, beautiful weather and a great rock show! One encore due to the hard curfew, which was 9:30. Reaper dedicated to James Caan. Thanks guys for rocking evening!
Set List:
(*) Dedicated to James Caan
Setlist:
GREAT Venue. Excellent sound, possibly the best I've heard at a BOC theatre show.
BOC making their debut at the Gold Country Casino. Oroville is about 90 minutes north of Sacramento. I believe the last time they played this area was the Chico fair in 2013. Which was an awesome show!
Sold out! Go Oroville! A well behaved appreciative audience. They were a bit stuffy about folks standing up though, boo! I had to dance in my chair. Security let us rush the stage for the last song, yay!
A wonderful, rocking performance. It's always great to see them win over audiences that don't really know anything besides the big three. You rock Oroville! Thanks for the rock guys!
We were seated by the band sans Danny, at the casino restaurant after the show. We of course did not bother them. They said hi to us on their way out!
Set:
There was no encore as such - after Reaper, Buck handed his guitar to the roadie. Eric then walked over and said something to him. He then had his guitar brought back. Then Jules started Cities. They never left the stage nor did I recall Eric saying anything about the time.
Hmm... this is a tricky one to document... "Cities" was clearly the encore, yet, technically, it wasn't because they didn't leave the stage...
BOC have done this in the past, of course, when they've been short on time or approaching a curfew, and the absence of the noodle lends credence to this idea, even if Eric didn't mention anything on stage...
I might re-designate Cities to be an "encore" after I've looked up what I did last time BOC did this (for the sake of consistency), but until I do, I'll leave it as it is for now...
Update: I've had a think about it, and decided that of course Cities was the encore - a different sort of encore, but an encore nonetheless...
My rule of thumb is now this: were there any more songs played after Reaper? If the answer is "yes", then there was an encore... sometimes I make things more complicated than they need to be... :-(
The Northwest BOC Brothers met up for this free show.
There was 11 of us. The band was in top form.
The equipment was not the best, they had issues during the sound check.
Here is the list of songs:
We will be seeing them tomorrow in Tacoma WA.
BOC back at the Emerald Queen! Nice new renovated casino and event center. The seats are much more comfortable now. I would guess 1500 strong came out. The new venue holds 1800.
The band came on to an enthusiastic audience. Although they mostly stayed seated, they were loud and appreciative. Don't let the set list fool you, this show was loud and rocking! Wow! Jules brought some serious thunder in the Vigil. I do not know how Buck gets back up after dropping to one knee. Amazing.
A strong, sublime performance. Thanks guys! Thanks Northwest people for an incredible evening of BOC!
Set:
I was at the show in Tacoma on Saturday (July 23). Here's the setlist, if you need it.
Surprise opener... Stairway to the Stars... haven't heard that one in ages, along with the first encore of Harvester of Eyes. The show clocked in just shy of two hours.
I think the set went something like this...
Set list for the 4 pm at Sea World today:
Set list for 7 pm:
8-3-22 setlist:
August 5 setlist - Alpine, CA:
BOC at the Ventura county fair! Lovely fairgrounds right on the Pacific Ocean. A six hour drive from Sacramento. It sucked to miss the Reno show as its only two hours from me. F-ing car exhibit on a Thursday, boo!
We arrived around 6 hoping to crash the soundcheck, no dice. They let us in the venue about ten to 7. They were playing at a converted racetrack. Fairly crappy looking but it had a nice stage. The area in front of the stage was just dirt. Our shoes were completely brown after.
I would guess around 3 thousand came into the show, which was free with fair entry. Lovely well behaved audience. Per usual I was the only jerk.
The band came on at 7:30 and played until about 9. Buck's effects loop went crazy during his last days solo. Richie gave him his guitar and then grabbed Eric's to finish. They didn't even miss a beat! Danny told us a joke while they fixed it.
Another awesome championship performance from the Oyster boys! Thanks guys for coming out. Thank you Ventura people for a great evening of Rock!
Set:
Both the venue's own site as well as BOC's own gig page still list this gig, but various online newspaper sites have confirmed the postponement.
Here's what it said on the Herald-Review site:
DECATUR - The Kansas concert with special guests Blue Oyster Cult scheduled for Friday, Aug. 12, at the Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater in Decatur, has been canceled.
According to the venue's directors, several members of the band Kansas and its touring organization have tested positive for, and are experiencing symptoms from, COVID-19.
The Devon administration plan to reschedule the show. Information will be publicized as it is available.
Here's the setlist from the Birchmere Thursday night:
Pittsburgh:
Here's an interesting piece that ran on the Post Gazette site about Rich Engler, the promoter of this gig:
If you're a longtime Pittsburgh concertgoer, you most likely have a drawer stuffed with ripped-up DiCesare-Engler ticket stubs with the band names and tickets barely legible.
In those golden years between 1973 and 1998, before DiCesare-Engler Productions was purchased by SFX, it was the concert behemoth in Western Pennsylvania.
For Rich Engler, the promoting started a few years before that, loading equipment up a narrow flight of stairs to the second floor of a carpet store in McKeesport.
That's where the promoter did his first national show, with an oddly named, fledgling hard-rock band from Long Island, N.Y., called Blue Oyster Cult.
For a hippie drummer, in the band Grains of Sand, Engler had good business instincts, and started promoting local bands as Go Productions. Around 1971, he was looking to expand into doing national acts, a realm that in Pittsburgh was under the control of Pat DiCesare, who had brought the Beatles here in 1964.
"I was calling all these New York companies," Engler says, "and I was lucky enough to get a call back from Wally Morrow at ATI in New York and he said, 'Have you heard of Blue Oyster Cult?' I said, 'Well, kind of,' because they were just coming out. He said, 'They're coming through on the way to Chicago and you can get them for a good price."
It was a relative bargain at around $1,000.
It would have been around the time Blue Oyster Cult was releasing its self-titled debut album on Columbia.
"I scrambled around," Engler recalls, "and found a place."
A nice little club or theater?
Nope.
"Roth Rug in McKeesport," he says. "I knew Bernie Roth, who owned all those stores, and he had a second floor with nothing in it. It was like a big warehouse. I said, 'Hey, can I rent this place?' He goes, 'Eh, no. You can have it. What are you gonna do?' I said, 'A concert.' He said, 'Just give me some tickets. We're good.' "
"So, I booked the show and regretted it," Engler says, "only because it was this skinny two flights of steps that we had to take all the equipment up, and it was brutal. But once we got up there, it was good."
Engler recalls breaking even on the show, and then going on to book Johnny Winter as his second national act. In late 1973, he would join forces with DiCesare, who was looking for a young partner with a finger on the pulse.
Here's a preview article that ran on Times Online:
Getting deep with Blue Oyster Cult founder ahead of Munhall show
Scott Tady
Beaver County Times
MUNHALL? Brush up on the early albums if you're headed to the Blue Oyster Cult show Friday at the Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall.
The famed hard-rock band has been starting its 50th anniversary shows with "Stairway to The Stars" and "Before The Kiss, a Redcap," deep cuts from the 1972 Blue Oyster Cult self-titled debut.
The band's co-founding vocalist-guitarist Eric Bloom explained in a phone chat this past Tuesday:
"Today, we rehearsed for three New York show we've got coming up - the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd," he said. "We'll be doing the first, second and third albums in their entirety. All those shows are sold-out. We'll be playing a lot of deep tracks, so fans are flying in from all over the world for those shows. That means it's very possible, for your show in Pittsburgh, you might hear a song like 'Cagey Cretins." I'm not predicting that one specifically, but there's a good chance you'll hear some songs we never play."
Of course, Blue Oyster Cult, co-fronted by fellow founder Buck Dharma, also will play its big hits, like "Burnin' For You," "Godzilla" and the pop-culture embraced "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" in a show originally slated for Mountain View Amphitheater, a Hampton Township concert site that's struggled to get off the ground as a national tour destination.
Bloom asked what to expect from the newly chosen Munhall venue. Told that the 1,045-capacity site has changed little from its 1898 inception, Bloom replied, "Good, those are the kind of shows we like. For those kinds of places, there's not always a time limit, so we can whip out some deep tracks."
From deep cuts to classic-rock standards, the Blue Oyster Cult catalog brims with guitar-powered songs bearing science fiction references and subtle but dark humor.
"We're always trying to please our senses of humor and our own literary interests and the books we like best," Bloom said.
He co-wrote one-time concert staples "Black Blade" and "Veteran of The Psychic Wars" with English sci-fi author Michael Moorcock.
"First, I wrote him a fan-boy letter and sent it to him," Bloom recalled. "Well, I couldn't even send it to him; I sent it to his publisher who forwarded it - those were pre-internet days - but Michael sent me a letter back saying he was familiar with our band and would be coming to America soon."
They met up and began collaborating for a few songs that graced "Extraterrestrial Live," the band's third live album recorded on the 1980-81 tour.
"Stephen King, of course, quoted '(Don't Fear )The Reaper' in 'The Stand,' both the book and the TV miniseries, which maybe helped make it more of a pop sensation," Bloom said. "'Reaper's' been used in a lot of places, like the original 'Halloween' movie."
NBC's "Saturday Night Live" kicked it up a notch in 2000, with a famous skit starring Will Ferrell and guest Christopher Walken depicting the studio session when "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" was recorded. That's the skit where Walken's producer character demands they add more cowbell.
Bloom's take on that "SNL: More cowbell" parody?
"I think, in a sense, it's been good," he said. "I've seen that on a lot of T-shirts."
Then, injecting his own "SNL" character voice and catchphrase (baseball player Chico Escuela, as played by 1970s cast member Garrett Morris), Bloom added, "it's been berry berry good... to me."
And how about giving credit to Blue Oyster Cult for ushering in the umlauts copied by metal bands Motorhead, Motley Crue, Queensryche and punk-rock's Husker Du?
Is it safe to say Blue Oyster Cult pioneered the use of band name umlauts?
"I'd say that's probably true," Bloom said. "We loved that Spinal Tap used them, and even put them above a consonant."
Alright, some other necessary questions:
Did the band suspect 1981's "Burnin' For You" would hit the Billboard Top-40 chart?
"No, you never know," Bloom said. "When you're writing a song, you just hope it's not a flop. Once Columbia Records heard it, they said that has to be the single. I talk to radio people today who say 'We play it every day.' Sometimes twice a day.
Is "Godzilla" fun to sing live, as a campy tribute to the sci-fi monster?
"Of course. It's a showpiece, and along with 'Burnin' for You' and 'Reaper,' a song we certainly play every night."
Any vivid memories of Pittsburgh?
"Oh yeah, that time we played a rib fest outside Three Rivers Stadium," Bloom said. "Some of the best ribs I've ever had. Desperado's Ribs (from Hinckley, Ohio.)
Future plans for the band?
There's a European tour with Deep Purple, where "we might be recording a video, though that's not set in stone yet."
One of the most amazing and inspiring things about Blue Oyster Cult is that Bloom and singer-guitarist-lyricist Dharma (birth name Donald Roeser) have been bandmates since 1968, including the pre-BOC band Soft White Underbelly.
"We've been together through wives and girlfriends," Bloom said. "We've rarely had harsh words, and we are political opposites, but still get along. We seem to be able to bounce different ideas off each other."
The veterans they are, they didn't let pessimism overtake them during the pandemic shutdowns.
"No, we actually found it very fruitful."
The band put the finishing touches on "The Symbol Remains" released in October 2020.
"A bunch of reviewers said it was one of the best rock albums of that year, but a lot of people still don't know it exists," Bloom said. "If they go to our website, people will start seeing a sprinkling of new tour dates into '23. But we're glad to first be headed back to your town."
Tickets for the 8 p.m. Munhall show cost $49.75 to $69.75. Pittsburgh singer-songwriter Mark Ferrari will open.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times.
"If they go to our website, people will start seeing a sprinkling of new tour dates into '23"...?
Erm... well, not yet, there isn't... we'll just have to wait and see about that one...
Last nights set list:
Last night's set list:
Here's the setlist for BOC on 21 September at Sony Hall in New York:
Set 1 - Debut BOC album (all 10 songs with Albert):
Set 2 (some songs with Albert):
I am looking forward to the next 2 nights!
Set 1:
Set 2:
A fantastic night. You could feel the love in the room. And the meat sweats.
Travelled up from Miami (Florida Man?). This was the first night of the three night 50th celebration at Sony Hall. Fans old and older gathered from all over the globe.
I sat with new friends from Phoenix and from Inverness, Scotland, while others had travelled even further. Their transatlantic flights were probably quicker than my Uber trip onto Manhattan at rush hour.
The opening set covered the entire first album with Albert playing the whole show with the band. Highlights were hearing Transmaniacon and Stairway to the Stars for the first time.
The second set was a bit low key and disjointed, but great renditions of The Vigil and, in preparation for Friday, Career of Evil.
Godzilla arrived across the Hudson, DFTR remains timeless and Hot Rails brought an exciting finish to the set. Hasta mañana.
Here's the setlist for the 2nd Sony Hall 50th Anniversary gig:
Set 1 - T&M album (all 8 songs with Albert on guitar):
Set 2 (some songs with Albert):
I solved the rush hour challenge by taking the NYC 7 Metro Train in from Queens. Again, met new friends, this time from Fort Worth and nearby New Jersey.
Tonight, the band played the entire Tyranny & Mutations album. Wow!! This was a stunning set, with Eric introducing Baby Ice Dog and Wings Wetted Down as possibly first timers live.
Finally got to hear 7 Screaming Diz-busters played live, the shorter version without Eric's tale of the man coming to take him away. What an album and what a wonderful opportunity to hear it live.
The second set was much more interesting and dynamic than the previous evening. Eric wore a monk's hood for the opening song, the Alchemist.
Kasim Sulton was a great addition to the celebrations playing on 3 tracks from Agents and, at one point, there were 6 Guitars with Jules still on the drums!
Godzilla came across the river again, and finally the set included 6 tracks from Agents, with the crossover-inspiring Tattoo Vampire as the penultimate song. Cities brought the evening to a superb close. Terrific stuff.
Don't forget the twin drummers for COF... It was really great and IMO breathed super energy into into a song that doesn't usually get me terribly excited. Played it both 1st and 2nd nights.
Even cooler Albert played with a drum kit that belonged to the house.
Set 1 - Secret Treaties in full and in sequence (all 8 songs with Albert on guitar):
Surprises included Albert taking lead vocals on Dominance & Submission, 5 guitars (MkII) during ME262, and the fairground music before Flaming Telepaths. Great stuff!!
Set 2
Eric then stated the show was over but they had to replay two songs for the recording as mistakes were made first time round:
Overall it was 3 great nights of BOC music!!
I am looking forward to their headlining gigs in Leicester and Newcastle next month.
When Eric came back on stage after the second set to announce the band would play 2 songs again for recording purposes, the band had already played for a combined 3 hours and 10 minutes over the 2 sets. Sensing the crowd was weary, Albert said: "I know you are tired, so are we!"
The third night was a blast. I was sat on stage left together with fans who had travelled from St. Andrews, Scotland, and Nashville.
The first set was the entire Secret Treaties album. The sublime Subhuman, DOMINANCE... SUBMISSION, a long ME 262 guitar jam, and the one-two final punch (whether it's Postmortem-Raining Blood, or Flaming Telepaths-Astronomy, some songs are just made to be heard together).
The second set was a real jumble. Highlights were the deeper cuts, including Black Blade, Sinful Love and Joan Crawford, a raucous version of Buck's Boogie, and a great solo from Buck for I Love The Night. Presumably the 3 songs surprisingly slotted in between Godzilla and the Reaper were repeats for the recording. It was the loudest crowd of the three nights, with full participation for Dominance, Astronomy V1, Golden Age, Cities and Astronomy V2.
Final comments. The band was outstanding (Eric referenced the significant rehearsing to relearn many songs last played decades ago), and the sound was perfect for all three nights. What a superb effort - thank you!
Ok so my first review for this site was Monsters of Rock festival UK 1981. I still remember that miserable rain soaked day when I was still pining for Caroline and wondering whether or not I should just listen to my Smokie tapes and win the girl that way.
Fast forward 41 years and my wife and I (not Caroline) have travelled to New York for the 3 night bonanza at the Sony Music Hall in celebration of 50 years of this great band. OK let's not get into the fact that the VIP tickets were a joke and just concentrate on the positives of which there were so many.
Firstly we should praise Eric and Buck for keeping this going and then we should state that Danny & Jules are as good a rhythm section as any out there. This leaves a special mention for the multi talented Richey Castellano who I am sure is the glue holding everything together at present.
And to the shows!!!!! Wow what a band. The so called black and white period laid bare. All 3 albums faithfully reproduced. The first I'd seen before in London but still a massive treat with Cities on Flame the standout.
Tyranny & Mutation followed which maybe was the best of the three including Wings Wetted Down and Baby Ice Dog performed for maybe the first time.
Secret Treaties followed on the third night and this was really special as my wife walked down the aisle to Astronomy in 2005. I was so emotional and chocked I couldn't sing the Astronomy lines at the end.
These nights were for the fans and we met people from all over USA and UK who created a very special atmosphere each night. So many memories including the fantastic collage of live clips and photos on display as they came on.
Blue Oyster Cult in their current form are a magnificent band, by bringing back Albert Bouchard the whole thing goes to a new level. His energy and enthusiasm at age 75 is incredible. What a pity Joe couldn't be invited if only to sing a couple of songs. Third night dedicated to Allen Lanier.
What were the best bits? There weren't any bad bits. The first Unknown Tongue, a literally out of this world The Vigil all Richey's contributions particularly Wings Wetted Down and Tainted Blood and Albert's Cities on Flame and Dominance and Submission and a wonderful In Thee on the first night.
I shouldn't forget a lovely appearance by Kasim Sultan for a tribute to Allen on Tenderloin who stayed for Vera Gemini. Well worth the trip and thank you to everyone who made this possible.
A total of 53 different songs over the 3 nights. Not bad for a one hit wonder in the UK.
See you at the Leicester gig in October.
Here's a link to my review of all 3 nights on The Afterword website:
This from the Fair's FB page:
Rock out with Blue Oyster Cult tonight on the Chickasaw Country Entertainment Stage at 8 p.m.
Brought to you in part by Louie's Grill & Bar.
This concert is FREE with gate admission and seats are first-come, first served!
Setlist:
Setlist:
Arcada Theatre, St. Charles, IL October 1, 2022. A great show. Appeared to have problems with their in ear monitors all night, and still played great. My 25th show over the last 46 years.
Set List:
Set List:
The Amazing BOC kicked ass as usual. The Buck interlude was just him screwing around a little bit on guitar while they were figuring out some sound issues, nothing to crazy.
On Tour Forever!
Blue Öyster Cult played at the Golden Nugget showroom on Friday 10-07-22.
Show started at 8PM and lasted for 2 hours:
Nice long set with some fantastic deep tracks.
I bought an incredible double-sided 50th Anniversary T-Shirt. Show #47 for me.
Saw the mighty BÖC in my home state of Arizona on Saturday October 8, 2022 . Concert #48 for me. Is this my last one? Are they retiring at year's end? Hope not.
They played at the Talking Stick resort showroom. The casino announced this was the very last show at the showroom as it will be converted to more gambling space. The crowd booed loudly at this. Concerts will continue outside by the pool area.
Start time was 8pm and they ended at 9:30, as Eric claimed they were out of time.
Setlist:
A short set, but they made up for with with Astronomy!
Thanks BÖC for 2 more incredible shows!
I haven't seen a reason for the postponement, but possibly it had to do with not having enough time to travel for the UK dates...
Here's the setlist from last night's Leicester gig:
Support was Cats In Space.
BOC finally returned to the UK after a delay of 2 years, for reasons we all know about, during their 50th anniversary tour.
When the venue emailed the schedule for the gig is was disappointing that there was only 90 mins alloted to BOC and it made me wonder if this would put added pressure on them.
Cats in Space proved to be a pretty good support act but every minute they were on stage meant a minute less for the reason we were there to see the greatest rock band.
After a pretty slick changeover Bladerunner theme got us ready for the arrival of the band.
The first 3 or 4 songs seem to suffer from sound problems especially Buck's guitar but then something that I never thought I would say happened. The best version of Burning for You I've ever heard them play really lifted the mood both on stage and in the crowd.
This was followed by equally impressive versions of Harvest Moon, ETI, True Train and Tainted Blood.
But then what followed was like we had suddenly gone back in time and the band delivered a great version of Dizbusters followed by a sensational Astronomy which equalled and possibly topped the incredible version on Some Enchanted Evening.
The crowd were now on their feet and as Eric said the cheering nearly drowned out the sound of the giant footsteps. Brilliant versions of Godzilla and Reaper followed without the noodle as time was running out.
The band returned quickly and hit us with superb versions of Harvester, Hot Rails and Cities on Flame to finish right on curfew time.
After a quick photo of the band and crowd, Eric announced it was a fantastic start to the tour and then they were gone leaving us to absorb what we had just witnessed. It was stunning.
Here's the setlist from the Newcastle BOC gig tonight:
Here's a link to a review of this gig that appeared on metalexpressradio.com...
Here's a link to a piece on this gig that appeared on metaltalk.net...
It seems like a lot of BOC fans missed the opening part of BOC's set...
Set list Glasgow Hydro:
That [metaltalk] review is so spot on. I live in Glasgow and I have been to several sold out gigs at that venue with no hassle. It was a bit of a shambles.
Was told by email that first band (BOC) would be on stage at 7.30. They weren't, they hit the stage at 7.15 and with an ensuing shambles trying to get into the venue it meant when BOC hit the stage the place was only about a quarter full.
By the time they had finished the place was heaving so I reckon a lot of fans missed a fair chunk of their set.
The reviewer saying the DP sound was fantastic was spot on, sadly the same wasn't the same for BOC. Certainly not crystal clear and certainly on a far lower level to DP. This has been explained to me by someone in the know and it just baffles me!
Anyway, the guy got his review spot on. Two rock behemoths were great on stage but one definitely got a raw deal and it wasn't Deep Purple!!
Setlist for First Direct Leeds:
Birmingham Setlist:
I wrote a review of this gig for The Afterword website. Read it here:
Setlist Manchester:
Lyon set list - best show of the run. Awesome
The support act was Gaëlle Buswel, unplugged, if you can call that supporting...
Yes Sir! (We got) CAGEY FOOKIN CRETINS!!
Eric said it was the first time ever this song was played in France. According to Paul (who I met briefly with Sue after the show) it was the third time ever this song was played live (two times at the recent New York 50th anniversary shows).
Strasbourg Setlist:
Encore was I'm on the Lamb but I ain't no Sheep, The Red & the Black (great idea to play both versions) and Hot Rails to Hell.
Setlist:
Setlist from a SENSATIONAL 2nd night in Paris:
For 31 Oct, Le Trianon, Paris, supporting act was not Gaëlle Buswel but LUX the band:
I was at this gig and very touchingly Eric dedicated the show to the memory of Alan after Tattoo Vampire. He said "It's good to be back in Paris" and then added "In memory of Alan who would have loved to be here. "
It was so touching for the fans!
Setlist:
The band went off for 15 minutes after someone was taken ill in the crowd. As a result, there was only 1 encore - Hot Rails.
I haven't seen a reason for the cancellation, but this gig is no longer listed on their schedules.
Westbury show setlist:
What a great show. Nice turnout, the orchestra seemed packed, and a good showing up in the balcony area. Ran into Ron, Cosmo and some others pre-show. A couple I met from Texas at the Sony Hall shows came in for this one, and Ron told us of some empty spots in the pit so we moved down there after The Dictators.
The Dictators were really solid. I know very little of their material, but they gave a nice high energy performance for about 45-50 minutes. I believe their vocalist is now Keith Roth, who is also a DJ on Sirius XM (I think Ozzy's channel). He was a great fit, and Albert, too, fit right in with them.
Props to Al for this performance. We were told from the stage that in addition to last night, Albert was also running into today's NYC Marathon. Made me feel guilty for all the Halloween candy I've been nibbling on...
BOC's set was:
After the show a bunch of us went to a bar down the street to hang. Nice night in NYC, have had a warm stretch this week, so it was mid-60s. Unfortunately, I didn't know my parking garage closed at 12:00, so got back to the garage too late. So I crashed my new friends' room. They had a 5:00 a.m. flight, so left for the airport about 2:30. Took an Uber to the garage at 8:00 this morning and finally made my way home.
The tees they had were for TSR, the new 50th, and the Sony Hall shirt, so if you missed out on one of those before, grab one at an upcoming stop.
Cross Insurance Center, Bangor ME setlist:
In Between Godzilla and Don't Fear the Reaper, Eric, Richie, and Danny left the stage and Buck performed an interlude accompanied by Jules. Not sure, but I think it was Anwar's Theme from Flat Out.
Unfortunately the sound engineering was really terrible. The bass was over-mixed and everything was very muddy.
Regarding the "interlude" you referred to: around 1996, Buck started to play a short, self-contained - some say self indulgent - echoplexed little guitar piece to introduce Reaper, and he's played it most gigs ever since, time and context permitting.
When asked what it was called, Buck once said "It's just the intro to Reaper", but most people call it "the noodle".
It can be very short but often clocks in at 3 mins or so... personally, I wish he'd drop it and add another song...
Salisbury Beach MA Setlist:
Chester, NY setlist:
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races setlist:
No opener.
Dosey Doe setlist:
The Band was on another plane at Dosey Doe. Buck is VERY Sharp. The first 8 songs, Buck played some solos I've never heard before. His runs were jaw droppers. He may be questioning retirement after last nights performance!
Pala, CA Show setlist: