Having been to Pala Casino quite a few times in the past, I’ve seen many great shows there. This time they featured the Classic band Styx, which became famous in the 70s and early 80s. Throughout the Years they have brought out a lot of great songs like: Lady, The Best Of Times, Too much time on my hands, Renegade, Miss America, Babe, Rockin the Paradise and of course who can forget Come Sail Away.

It didn’t take long for Styx to take the stage and open the show with a new high energy song from their newest album ‘The Mission’ called Gone, Gone, Gone.  It was the perfect song to start out the evening and get the crowd in to party mode. And I must say after all these Years of performing, they still know how to rock it. Next up was a very familiar song Blue Collar Man, from their classic album ‘Pieces of Eight’ which was released in 1978; followed by The Grand Illusion and Lady which instantly brought you back to a happier time. It was not hard to get into the music and move along with the crowd. Looking around I could tell that everybody was enjoying themselves. People were singing, and dancing along to the music. I loved it when Tommy Shaw performed the song Radio Silence. It started out with some beautiful guitar playing before Tommy’s soothing vocals melted your heart. This song just pulls you in and before you know it you’re a part of the show.  Another thing I need to mention is Lawrence Gowan, he just rocks! He’s been with Styx since 1999 playing the keys. Not only does he actually know how to play, but his on stage presence is mesmerizing as he spins his Keyboard 360 degrees and continues to play them. It’s crazy how much energy this man has. There is not one moment of him standing still. He was constantly dancing and moving on stage for every song. This was officially my first spinning keyboard I have seen and it was fun to watch.

The band moved on with the songs Light Up, Crystal Ball, Miss America and Man in the Wilderness. The crowd is still enjoying themselves, singing along and having drinks. Couples having their arms wrapped around each other and just listening to the words of the songs and the music. The band continued with the songs Fooling Yourself, which has a really good beat to it and Too Much Time on my hands. Throughout the show the original bass player Chuck Panozzo made guest appearances and also Lawrence Gowan put on a stunning solo performance featuring ‘Key Dive’ off the new album and leading into his version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. The crowd naturally knew the lyrics and sang along. Then he went into the Beatles song Golden Slumbers which the audience also sang along with and instead of continuing to the Beatles song Carry that Weight, (which usually follows Golden Slumbers) Mr. Gowan started the opening riff to ‘Come Sail Away’. It was great to see how much the band enjoyed performing together. Sad to say that the keyboard performance lead to the ending of tonight’s show but it was great hearing the audience join in and sing ‘Come Sail Away’. Nobody was really ready for the show to end but like always, time fly’s by when you’re having fun. Thankfully we got an encore which included Rockin’ the Paradise and Renegade.

I really enjoyed the show and just from looking around and listening to people talk I could tell that every single person had also loved and enjoyed it. Everybody in the band did an awesome job performing and entertaining the audience. (Ricky Phillips- Bass, Tommy Shaw – Guitar and Vocals, Chuck Panozzo – Bass, Lawrence Gowan – Keyboards and Vocals, Todd Sucherman – Drums and James “JY” Young on guitar and Vocals.)

Thank you to the band STYX for making this evening so much fun for everybody.

Set List:

• Gone, Gone, Gone
• Blue Collar Man
• Grand Illusion
• Lady
• Radio Silence
• Light Up
• Crystal Ball
• Miss America
• Man in the Wilderness
• Fooling Yourself
• Too Much Time
• Come Sail Away

Encore:

• Rockin’ The Paradise
• Renegade

Reviewed by RacerX / BackStage360

Email: Michelle@backstage360.com