Tommy and Dennis

[Zan]

I go into this in pretty great detail in the book, since I interviewed so many of the same people. I asked each of them in turn what they thought of the finished product of BTM, and no surprise, almost everyone was dissatisfied with the show's final edit.

Bob Garcia thought VH1 was simply trying to elicit negative reactions from everyone regarding the relationships between the band members, while ignoring that it was all of them together that made the band as good as it was. Jim Cahill thought they missed out on how good the run was at the top . . . from 1977 until 1982, how good that period was for the band, that's what he thought they missed. Derek Sutton thought the whole thing was unfair to Dennis, believe it or not, while Jim Vose thought VH1 was too nice to Dennis. Todd and Glen were both interviewed for more than an hour, then only tiny little quotes were used, and neither one felt represented. The new lineup was only barely touched on. VH1 didn't even try to talk to anyone from Wooden Nickel, didn't even try to talk to any of John Curulewski's family. I also feel that Dennis, JY and Tommy all came off badly, because VH1 took some negative things out of contect and broadcast them. The whole thing is really a bare bones storyline fleshed out by a lot of out of context footage that tells an overly simplified and overly dramatized version of the Styx story.

Having said that, hey, that's kinda what BTM is all about, isn't it? It's infotainment, not real journalism. Minus commercials you have 43 minutes to tell a story spanning more than thirty years . . . a little over a minute for each year of story. They also conducted the interviews at the worst possible time, at a time when people's recollections were colored by their anger at what was going on in deciding how to split up the business and assets of thirty years. It just didn't come off . . . but then again, it was enormously successful, and after it aired the Styx back catalog exploded in sales. So in that sense it was positive. That's TV junk journalism in a nutshell . . . .

Yes. Exactly. Yet, 7 years later, Yogi and others are still going into cardiac arrest over it. lol

[styxfansite]

I think it is safe to say that Sterlings book as well as Chuck's book will tell more truth than what VH1 told, since VH1's show was almost a work of fiction.

[epresley]

Alright, let the bashing begin. I too was at the Cotton Bowl in '83 at the Texxas Jam. All week there had been playful banter between Hagar's camp and the Styx camp as to who was going to rule Dallas that day. Hagar was second-to-last on the bill and has always been huge in Dallas (and in Texas for that matter). He killed. Nugent came out and played Zep's Rock and Roll with him as an encore. Took a long time for Styx to come out. When they finally did, they were in full "Kilroy" mode. Now, don't get me wrong, they were UNBELIEVABLE. I still remember Dennis sitting at his piano playing "Don't Let it End" and how awesome it was. Anyway, the crowd did become restless with the "acting" portion of the set. Yes, it was a long hot day, but I have been to many Texxas Jams and did not witness what I did that night. There was a crowd of 53,000 in the Cotton Bowl. Toward the end of the Styx set, several THOUSAND, not a few, started chanting "BULLSHIT", "BULLSHIT", etc. etc., etc. I was on the very top balcony on the side and it was plenty loud. Styx finished their set, left the stage and did NOT play an encore. They came back in 1991 without Tommy and played the Cotton Bowl again with Cheap Trick opening the show, about 30,000 there for the 4th of July. They came back and certainly redeemed themselves, as they were very warmly received. That's just my take on what happened. That being said, before you crucify me, I love Styx and have supported them for many, many years--

[cinj]

Toward the end of the Styx set, several THOUSAND, not a few, started chanting "BULLSHIT", "BULLSHIT", etc. etc., etc. I was on the very top balcony on the side and it was plenty loud. Styx finished their set, left the stage and did NOT play an encore. --

Thanks for sharing this. I was wondering if you could clarify specifics for those of us who didn't see them on the tour. Based on the CITA video, I assumed "Renegade" was <B>not</B> part of the encore, but the part of the show where "Dr. Righteous" stormed the show and "pulled the plug".
Then we flashback to the Paradise Theatre and there's Kilroy and Jonathan. Jonathan sings "Haven't We Been Here Before" and then they close the show with "Don't Let it End (Reprise)". Is that how the show was <I>supposed</I> to happen? Because if it <I>was</I>, couldn't the crowd have been shouting "BS....BS" because Dr. Righteous stormed the stage and the audience was in "character"? I mean, the crowd on the video was "in character" when they were booing Dr. Righteous during "Heavy Metal Poisoning" (yet BTM mucked this up and led us to believe they were booing the actual <I>concert</I>).
Sooooooooo, I'm being long winded, but I guess I'm curious as to, was the crowd "pissed" at the Styx concert in general, or were they just "pissed" because Righteous and crew stormed the stage?

Cinj

[Zan]

Toward the end of the Styx set, several THOUSAND, not a few, started chanting "BULLSHIT", "BULLSHIT", etc. etc., etc. I was on the very top balcony on the side and it was plenty loud. Styx finished their set, left the stage and did NOT play an encore. --

Thanks for sharing this. I was wondering if you could clarify specifics for those of us who didn't see them on the tour. Based on the CITA video, I assumed "Renegade" was <B>not</B> part of the encore, but the part of the show where "Dr. Righteous" stormed the show and "pulled the plug".
Then we flashback to the Paradise Theatre and there's Kilroy and Jonathan. Jonathan sings "Haven't We Been Here Before" and then they close the show with "Don't Let it End (Reprise)". Is that how the show was <I>supposed</I> to happen? Because if it <I>was</I>, couldn't the crowd have been shouting "BS....BS" because Dr. Righteous stormed the stage and the audience was in "character"? I mean, the crowd on the video was "in character" when they were booing Dr. Righteous during "Heavy Metal Poisoning" (yet BTM mucked this up and led us to believe they were booing the actual <I>concert</I>).
Sooooooooo, I'm being long winded, but I guess I'm curious as to, was the crowd "pissed" at the Styx concert in general, or were they just "pissed" because Righteous and crew stormed the stage?

Cinj

That's what I'm thinking.

[cittadeeno23]

VH1 turned this story into a tabloid.
The whole thing was pure trash. Take it all with a grain of salt. The number 1 purpose for them was to get viewers and create controversy. They could care less about telling the truth about one of the greatest bands of all time. All they EVER focus on in these stupid stories is CONTROVERSY, DRUGS and DEATH in the band. They could care less about how good the music was.

[epresley]

It was my impression that the crowd was chanting "Bullshit" at the theatrics of the show. I did and still do think that STYX music stands on it's own and the whole "Kilroy" thing was unnecessary, but it's not my band and those guys paid their dues to get to try it. One of my other favorite bands, KISS, has definitely had it's share of missteps, hell, I should know, I bought Peter's solo album..........my point being, they didn't ask me. I didn't care for the "Kilroy" acting, but I did think that the album had some merit, and the Boys have provided me with more than enough enjoyment over the years for me to dislike a thing or two over 30 years.

[yogi]

There was not an encore for any of the Kilroy shows.

After Renegade and Rightous's men storming The Paradise Tommy goes into his his acting bit( Damnit Damnit) , then the 'play moves into Tommy & Dennis singing Havent We Been Here Before, this is followed by the Dont Let It End Reprise.

Show over.

They NEVER played an encore.

As for the Bullshit chants I never heard em from where I was sitting(Standing).

You must of been sitting way the hell up. I didnt know the Cotton Bowl had a balcony. There were a few fights in front of us( on the infield ), but we(I) never heard ANY bullshit chants.

[cinj]

You must of been sitting way the hell up. I didnt know the Cotton Bowl had a balcony. There were a few fights in front of us( on the infield ), but we(I) never heard ANY bullshit chants.

I think he means the upper level of seating in the stadium. And I was there for the 1991 show and Styx <I>was</I> very warmly received. Of course, there were still a lot of drug crazed, drunken lunatics all throughout the whole day that made it a less than perfect experience - but it was still a great show.

Cinj

[rajah2165]

I think it is safe to say that Sterlings book as well as Chuck's book will tell more truth than what VH1 told, since VH1's show was almost a work of fiction.

I'm not so sure about Chuck's book..after all he does have an agenda...

[styxfanNH]

and what would Chuck's agenda be?

Living as a gay man at a time when it wasn't ok to be gay?