Please excuse the departure from book talk today. Mr. Dollycas and I returned to Summerfest this week. We had not been there since 1976. Back then the group we saw was America. We sat by the lake that day drinking wine coolers and enjoyed the sunshine. Flash forward to this week. The band we went to see was Styx and the weather was mean. It was an outside covered arena and it was cold, the wind was blowing and it drizzled a time or three. But we bundled up the best we could and had a blast.
The first band of the afternoon was Category X. Their Facebook page calls them “most desired cover bands in the Midwest” and I can see why. They were excellent and a put on a great show. I would love to see and hear them again.
The next band, Bluehand, was definitely not ready for this arena. They did have their share of fans but they were very hard to understand and spent way too much time talking to each other between songs. Loud music does not translate to good music. All the people around us felt the same way. We wish Category X would have just kept playing.
Connor Christian & Southern Gothic opened the Main Event.
They were really good and I plan to download several of their songs! Connor Christian’s vocals were excellent but Elena Martin was the highlight for me. That girl plays a mean fiddle!!! You can check them out on Spotify.
Styx took the stage after a short delay and warmed the place right up. All those who were able were on their feet for the entire concert. I was thrilled to see Chuck Panozzo, original band member, take the stage! They opened with Blue Collar Man and continued on with Lady, Too Much Time On My Hands, Come Sail Away, and so many more favorites. Tommy Shaw stole my heart when sang Crystal Ball, just like back in the day. “JY” James Young always make me smile and Lawrence Gowan had the crowd laughing out loud more than once. His Miss America story… priceless…always.
We were treated to one encore that had me singing and chair dancing to Renegade and Rockin’ The Paradise. The time flew by and the concert was over way too soon. It hadn’t been 30 plus years since I had seen Styx live but it definitely been way too long. I can’t wait to the next time they come to the area. I hope to be there because they always put on a fantastic show even for a bunch of “old guys”.
Glad you had fun!
Sounds like so much fun!
I love Styx!
I’m glad you enjoyed your concert! Styx was one of the few bands I really liked (being for the most part a classical-and-folk sort of girl) back in the day. Along with the Beatles, of course, but they’d broken up by the time I started paying any attention to rock music. And I liked plenty of individual songs by other bands. But Styx was one of the only bands for whom I actually bought records.
So glad you had a great time.
Sue B