New York Dispatch Review

[sadie65]

Seems like a pretty nice review...

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/local/ci_4342906

Even after 40 years, Styx keeps energy up
ALYSIA PATTERSON For The York Dispatch



Are you ready to get your Styx on?" Styx front man Tommy Shaw shouted to the crowd at last night's Grandstand show at the York Fair.
It's been more than 40 years since Styx played its first show, and the answer to the question is still a resounding "Yes!" from fans.

In a concert that turned out to be a successful fusion between old and young, classic and new, the band proved it's still up for it. Whether "getting your Styx on" means performing impressive and age-inappropriate acrobatics on stage, singing "Come Sail Away" with the same amount of enthusiasm as in 1978, or genuinely still loving the job, Styx was doing it last night.

What keeps the fans and the band members themselves coming back after so many of their contemporaries have long since broken up? "They suck you in," said Karla Meushaw of Baltimore. "I never was a fan, but we saw them about six years ago and they were awesome."

"They're really high energy jumping and running around," said her husband, John, who introduced Karla to the world of Styx. Last night's concert was the couple's 15th they've even been on a cruise with the band.

The shirt: Another rabid fan, Tom Corbin of Gap, Lancaster County, donned a Styx relic to show his support: a T-shirt purchased at one of the band's first concerts on May 14, 1977, in Oklahoma City. Amazingly, the shirt has only one hole and it has accompanied Corbin to at least 11 Styx concerts and an after party with the band at Tower Theater 15 years ago.

But, for all the long-time fans in the audience, there were plenty of new, younger ones enjoying the show. And for all the classics they played, like "Renegade" and "Grand Illusion," the band did devote some time to more recent songs, including a cover of The Beatles' "I am the Walrus" recorded by the band in 2005.

Although assistant tour manager Jason Powell of Atlanta admits that the band really enjoys performing the songs off their latest album, The Big Bang Theory, sound manager Gary Loizzo said, "This is a really smart band -- they know that the fans come for the hits."

Styx played 121 shows last year, but Powell and Loizzo aren't tired of it yet: "I love touring with Styx -- they're a great bunch of guys," Powell says.

Loizzo, who has been with the band for 32 years, adds that the band and crew are "family" -- a family that's "run like a well-oiled corporation. They really enjoy what they're doing -- you can see it on their faces," he says. The fans keep coming back for the very same reasons.

-- Reach Alysia Patterson at 854-1575 or news@yorkdispatch.com.