The Metal Files

For many of us, Styx has been unavoidable since the mid-70s.  Their music was everywhere…radio, roller rink, pool parties etc.  But they seem to always have 2 sides, you like ’em or you don’t.  Never saw much middle ground and it seems most people can’t stand Dennis DeYoung’s voice.  I’m in the “like ’em” camp although I’m not a fanatic and I’ve never seen them play with Dennis in the band, so I decided to go see the voice that was a huge part of my youth, good or bad.

I had sort of forgotten about the show until just a few days prior and invited a friend at the last minute to go.

Night Ranger was the opener and I hadn’t seen them before, either.  They rolled through their greatest hits with ease and with pure energy.  To be precise, they were completely badass.  I was really blown away by 2 main things, Jack Blades’ voice and Brad Gillis’ guitar playing.  Jack’s voice was sharp and he had no problem getting high in the vocal range.  Kelly Keagy and Gillis were no slouches in the vocal department either.  Overall it was a killer set and good to see Keri Kelli again.  Highlights were Don’t Tell Me You Love Me and When You Close Your Eyes.

Dennis DeYoung had recently been playing 2 sets containing all of the Grand Illusion album but last night it was just one set of basically Styx’s greatest hits.  As expected, the whole band was on point, musically and vocally including Dennis.  He’s a very spry 71 but his voice is still strong.  Lots of memories from middle school flooded in.  It was quite an enjoyable show and the highlights for me were Best of Times, Lorelei and Suite Madame Blue.

Dennis DeYoung Setlist

Night Ranger Setlist