Styx, REO
Speedwagon and Ted Nugent brought their nostalgia filled Midwest Rock and Roll
Express to the civic center in Roanoke, VA recently. The rock and roll resume
of this tour includes over a century of classic rocking and countless hits
solidifying these bands contributions to the history of rock. Although the
turnout for the show was somewhat light, less than 4000 in attendance, that
didn’t discourage the band from giving the fans their money’s worth.
The Motor
City Madman opened the show and quickly made an impact on the crowd. Ted is an
artist who tends to make more headlines by what he says off-stage rather than
what he does on-stage. He proved on this night that his Gibson guitar is like
another appendage when he hits the stage. It becomes a piece of him and he just
bleeds rock and roll. There were a few familiar faces joining him on-stage
including Mick Brown of Dokken fame on drums and original Ted Nugent Band
rhythm guitarist Derek St. Holmes.
Uncle Ted
let the music do the talking on this night as he put most of his outspoken views
on hold. He may not pack as many “hits” as the other two bands on board, but
songs such as “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang”, “Stranglehold” and his signature song
“Cat Scratch Fever” definitely fired up the mostly 40something crowd. He
definitely knows how to get a crowd out of their seats and fired up at a show.
Styx took
the stage next and displayed an infectious youthful exuberance that many bands
half their age don’t have on-stage these days. There were some in attendance
who shockingly did not know that Lawrence Gowan was handling lead vocal duties
for the band. He’s been doing so for fourteen years now as founding member
Dennis DeYoung has been out of the band since 1999. Gowan definitely has a
style of his own as you don’t see many keyboardists who actually climb on top
of their keyboards and use them as a perch to sing to the audience.
Long time
members Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y.” Young really do shine when they hit the
stage, especially Shaw. He is like a little kid jacked up on Mountain Dew as he
is constantly running around the stage and entertaining the crowd. The band
cranked out hit after hit including such staples as “Too Much Time on My
Hands”, “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade”. Bassist Chuck Panozzo, who has limited
stage time due to health issues after being diagnosed HIV positive in 1998, did
join the band for a few numbers.
REO
Speedwagon closed out the night’s festivities as front man Kevin Cronin took
the stage dressed in all black and sporting shades and a fluffy white hair-do
that many commented on. The band was also missing several original members, but
that did not seem to bother most in attendance as Cronin’s vocals sounded
stronger than ever. The hits began to flow with such favorites as “Take It On
The Run”, “Riding The Storm Out” and ”Don’t Let Him Go” blasted from the speakers.
The band also proved that they still had the
whole power ballad thing down pat. “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” and smash “Keep
on Loving You” saw couples embrace and lighters raised high in the air. Although
REO played a set that was a balance of ballads and rockers, they didn’t seem to
pack the punch that Styx and Nugent did. I think it would have been a better
balance by sandwiching them in the middle of the lineup rather than closing the
night.
Overall, it
was a great night of music from all three bands. Yes, it was a night of
nostalgia as many in attendance exchanged “I can remember when” stories that
revolved around the bands. There was an abundance of air guitar being played on
this night as well as swooning and drooling over Tommy Shaw’s mane of flowing
hair and his tight leather pants. It may be called dinosaur rock by many in the
industry, but the fun that the evening provided for all in attendance was far
from prehistoric.
