MR

Quick note on the show at Glasgow Clyde Auditorium (Armadillo).

The band were excellent playing a similar set to that played at Nottingham (although there may have been one song different or excluded - memory must be failing).

When Tommy was on stage alone to start Crystal Ball someone from the audience shouted out for Boat On The River. He obliged by doing the song acoustically, I think initially intending to sing an excerpt. But as he sang the other members of the band gradually reappeared and it ended up with the full band playing and eventually an audience participation number.

The hall was far from full but to me it seemed as strange choice of venue as it is a big hall (3300 capacity I think) and there are other more suitably sized venues in the city.

More comments tomorrow. :

Wow, I would love to hear "Boat on The River" live!!! It sounds like it was a special part of the show.

Looking forward to more comments tomorrow

Just thought I would drop you all a few lines about the Glasgow gig.
It was brilliant.
Very similar set-list to the Nottingham gig except Summer in the City was replaced by Find the cost of Freedom and they played a brilliant impromptu version of Boat On the River.
They had the best live harmony vocals I have ever seen in the 27 years that I have been going to see bands.
The atmosphere was realyl good even though it certainly wasn't full but the people that were there were real fans.
I think the band were genuinely surprised by the reaction of the crowd and it was obvious that they were all enjoying themselved.
Great gig and I really hope they come again..... a lot sooner !!!

SuiteMadameBlue wrote:Wow, I would love to hear "Boat on The River" live!!! It sounds like it was a special part of the show.

Looking forward to more comments tomorrow

Call me I will sing it to ya .

Take me back to my

Ling_Chung wrote:Just thought I would drop you all a few lines about the Glasgow gig.

The atmosphere was realyl good even though it certainly wasn't full but the people that were there were real fans.

Correction the real fans stayed home they are smart enough to know this is a cover band .

Dear FROY,

Correction, I am a music fan and the music that the band produced was absolutely superb.

It's time you stopped throwing your toys out of the pram and let people enjoy what they enjoy.

It was a great night and the only person missing out on something is YOU.

Bye bye

FROM THE BOOK "FROY's DEFINITIONS":

REAL FAN (reel-fan) n. 1. A person who frequents websites dedicated to their favorite band, where they criticize that very band and other fans of the group. 2. A person who frequents websites dedicated to their favorite band, where they criticize the change in the personel as they see only acceptable. 3. A person who frequents websites dedicated to their favorite band, where they call the group a "cover band" even when discussing a topic in which the original songwriter and singer perform a song made popular by the same act (see "Boat On The River" by Styx featuring Tommy Shaw).

last night I caught Styx live in Glasgow for the first time. I actually travelled down to Stafford to see them in 1981, but the show was cancelled.
First comments on last nights show was that the wrong venue was selected. everyone I spoke to knew this was the fact. On top of wrong venue was the price of the tickets. Europe played the garage a couple of weeks before and the tickets were approx £10 cheaper. These factors played a part in the fact the hall was less than half full. Another factor however is the apathy of Scottish audiences. I site the fairly recent Danny Vaughn/Pride/Firehouse show at the Renfrew Ferry, part of a UK tour. Glasgow was the poorest attended. I hear a lot of people moaning that we never get to see good bands....well that wont improve when you dont get up of your backsides and support the bands that do play here.
Anyway, now thats out of the way last night must rank as one of the top 5 gigs Ive ever been to. My 7 friends who attended all felt the same and we all have a various range of musical tastes. Im 48 and have seen many bands over the years, so I feel I am well qualified to pass a sensible opinion. The band were sensational and this had to be the most consistent performances Ive ever seen. Hard to pick out any highlights, but I agree the way Boat on the River came together was outstanding. Its brilliant to see a bunch of guys enjoying themselves so much and at the same time never losing their professionalism. The fans that were there gave the band a tremendous reception and it was great to see people of all ages attending, especially two wee lads who were there with their parents. I saw JY taking the time to pat one of the lads on the head at the end...nice touch. What a show and what a band, Ive only just got my voice back. Guys you have just got to come back and see us. Word of mouth is a fantastic advertisment and I am certain you will get a bigger turn out next time. For thoses who did not turn up, get off your asses and come and support bands like Styx or noone will come back to Glasgow.
On the endless debate on DDY. I loved the guy and his part of Styx, but he is gone. He did not want to be part of a rock band anymore and Styx want to exist and thank gawd they do. Lawrence Gowan is a star and I really dont think there could have been a more suitable replacement. How many bands out there actually tour with their original members ???. All I can say is thank goodness the band are still touring and that they came over to the UK. Next time guys, I will get to as many venues as I can in the UK and I am certainly not alone in this sentiment. To anyone else considering whether to go or not...get your finger out now...you are unlikely to see such an accomplished ROCK band anywhere ever again.
From everyone that was there in Glasgow THANK YOU STYX !!!!!!!!!!

Froy says:

Call me I will sing it to ya

Okay, just like when you were singing "First Time"
I'll take you up on that.

Even though I don't like what happened 6 years ago and yada yada yada, I still enjoy listening to Tommy's Styx songs (before 1999).

totobob wrote::D last night I caught Styx live in Glasgow for the first time. I actually travelled down to Stafford to see them in 1981, but the show was cancelled.
First comments on last nights show was that the wrong venue was selected. everyone I spoke to knew this was the fact. On top of wrong venue was the price of the tickets. Europe played the garage a couple of weeks before and the tickets were approx £10 cheaper. These factors played a part in the fact the hall was less than half full. Another factor however is the apathy of Scottish audiences. I site the fairly recent Danny Vaughn/Pride/Firehouse show at the Renfrew Ferry, part of a UK tour. Glasgow was the poorest attended. I hear a lot of people moaning that we never get to see good bands....well that wont improve when you dont get up of your backsides and support the bands that do play here.
Anyway, now thats out of the way last night must rank as one of the top 5 gigs Ive ever been to. My 7 friends who attended all felt the same and we all have a various range of musical tastes. Im 48 and have seen many bands over the years, so I feel I am well qualified to pass a sensible opinion. The band were sensational and this had to be the most consistent performances Ive ever seen. Hard to pick out any highlights, but I agree the way Boat on the River came together was outstanding. Its brilliant to see a bunch of guys enjoying themselves so much and at the same time never losing their professionalism. The fans that were there gave the band a tremendous reception and it was great to see people of all ages attending, especially two wee lads who were there with their parents. I saw JY taking the time to pat one of the lads on the head at the end...nice touch. What a show and what a band, Ive only just got my voice back. Guys you have just got to come back and see us. Word of mouth is a fantastic advertisment and I am certain you will get a bigger turn out next time. For thoses who did not turn up, get off your asses and come and support bands like Styx or noone will come back to Glasgow.
On the endless debate on DDY. I loved the guy and his part of Styx, but he is gone. He did not want to be part of a rock band anymore and Styx want to exist and thank gawd they do. Lawrence Gowan is a star and I really dont think there could have been a more suitable replacement. How many bands out there actually tour with their original members ???. All I can say is thank goodness the band are still touring and that they came over to the UK. Next time guys, I will get to as many venues as I can in the UK and I am certainly not alone in this sentiment. To anyone else considering whether to go or not...get your finger out now...you are unlikely to see such an accomplished ROCK band anywhere ever again.
From everyone that was there in Glasgow THANK YOU STYX !!!!!!!!!!

Three Cheers For Larry hip hip..........hip hip....hip hip......actually scrub that it reminds me too much of High Crimes And Mis off BNW.

A few more comments on last nights show.

I felt that the band were up for the show from the start and their interaction with the audience was fantastic.

I thought that the setlist was well balanced and the songs from the latest album stood up favourably.

The way in which Boat On The River came about was a highlight and the band genuinely seemed the be surpirsed by the reaction. It wouldn't surprise me if this is added to the setlist for the remaining UK dates.

I think the strength of the band is that they perform as a band and everyone has a part to play.

I've read with interest views of the fellow fans on this forum on how good the show was - and the "childish" put downs from others.

I am a music fan who likes all genres of music. I attend over 100 shows per year (yes I'm that sad). I judge shows on how they live up to my expectations rather in relation to each other.

Last night's show exceeded my expectations and was as good a "classic" rock show as I've seen in a long time and certainly enjoyed it marginally more than the other time I saw Styx in 2002 in the USA - due to the fact that this was in my home town and the setlist was ever so slightly better. Everyone that I saw in the audience seemed to be having a great time.

As for the Lawrence Gowan debate. I was sitting within a few feet of his keyboard last night and he put on a fantastic performance and I personally think he adds a lot to Styx and the band would suffer without him.

Finally in response to the issues raised by totobob about Glasgow audiences apathy etc. There was no way that Styx were going to fill the Clyde Auditorium unless they toured with another similar band in tow. The Royal Concert Hall may have been more suitable.

The comments about the Vaughn gig was due mainly (in Danny Vaughn's words) to the location of the venue and the reluctance of the audience to go there.

I hope JY keeps to his word and Styx return to Glasgow soon.

Agree with snhmg12 re the venue, it was rather optimistic, but on a note of optimism I thought more would actually turn up. I asked one of the guys at the door and he said that they had sold 830 tickets. It will be interesting to find out the turn outs from the other UK gigs. Re the Renfrew Ferry's location. no excuse !!!! I saw both Asia and Uriah Heep at the Garage with poor attendances. Lets just spead the gospel and try and get more people to attend.
Your comments on the gig are spot on. I read elsewhere that a few people felt the crowd were subdued....I dont agree. It was superb anyway an absolute pleasure to watch such gifted musicians.

Hey Glasgow people, did you check out the picture on Styxworld? Were any of you in the front row?

Asia did not get 830 in Manchester or Bradford may of done in Cardiff tho. Styx sold poor in Glasgow but done quite well in Manchester and sold out Bristol........strange how it flutuates between cities.............I remember seeing Uriah Heep on the Head First tour and they sold 530 in Manchester but 1900 in Blackburn the next night and the distance between both venues is a 50 minute journey. Poor attendances does not make a gig any less special to me as one of my fave shows ever apart from the times I have seen Styx was a Dare concert in front of 400 people in 1992......and Giant in the same year at Nottingham in a room the size of a bedroom there was no more than 500 people crammed in......what a gig that was. A friend went to see U2 in front of 70,000 people and hated it (not the band, the venue) because he could not see the stage just a screen and he said he should of waited and bought the DVD instead.

I thought when I first saw the photo on Styxworld from the Glasgow show that I would have been on it. However I must have been standing a fraction to the right of the photograph directly in line with LG keyboard.

I'm sure it will be a good momento for those pictured.

Great show and it seems from TS comments that the band enjoyed it as well.

Hope those attending the remaining shows have a great time.

No I am not in picture either, but did manage to get down to shake LG and JY's hands at the end.
On a matter of attendees...I saw Lawrence Gowan at a venue named Bourbon Street, I think in 1998. It was a solo performance and it appeared that there were only approx 40 people at the gig. Mattered not to Mr Gowan who carried off a fantastic performance and now he is an integral part of the phenomena that is STYX !!!!!!