Intro band gives stronger performance than headliner
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
By Tiffany Bentley Contributing writer
Tuesday night's Styx and Boston show may have been the loudest concert at the New York State Fair Mohegan Sun Grandstand this year.
Intro band Styx, were not only louder, but performed better than headliner, Boston. Many concertgoers left after Styx, begging the question of who should have really headlined the show.
"I like Styx better than Boston," said Chris Fisch, 42, of Granby, who came to the show with his wife Helen, 44, to enjoy both bands.
It appeared to be the general consensus of the crowd.
Styx took the stage at 7:30 p.m. on the dot, which is practically unheard of in the rock music industry. People were literally still running to their seats and the line at the gate was still backed up with patrons trying to get in.
Styx put on a strong performance both vocally and musically. The only real ear-piercers occurred when talented keyboardist Lawrence Gowan decided to break out his vocals that were a bit rusty.
He made up for the blunders, however, with his classical-style backward and sideway keyboard playing that wowed the crowd and reminded them of the electric organ sound, Styx is famous for.
"Come Sail Away," and "Grand Illusion," were crowd favorites by Styx, sounding very vibrant and loud, but also familiar.
Overall, Styx just sounded a little more together than Boston.
Boston drummer Jeff Neal missed beats while Utica native, singer Tommy DeCarlo, just could not keep up vocally. Filling the shoes of his predecessor, Brad Delp, who committed suicide in 2007, would be a tough task for anyone, but DeCarlo just didn't seem up for the challenge. At times, the louder sound of the guitars was necessary to make up for general lackluster vocals.
But Boston did put forward a valiant effort, playing for more than two hours. Even though most of the crowd response came from singing familiar songs, rather than being moved to stand or even interact as much as they did during Styx, the crowd seemed happy to at least be able to hear Boston songs performed.
While classic rock is meant to be loud, the loudness shouldn't be to cover up problems in sound. Styx pulled its volume off because the band sounded good. Boston just seemed to be trying to cover its less-than-dynamic sound by convincing people to have fun just because they were at a rock show.
COMMENTS (FANS POSTED AFTER READING ARTICLE)
1. I could not disagree more with the review of Boston's performance. Founder Tom Scholz is so committed to excellence in everything he does with Boston, and this show was no exception. The mix was crystal clear. One of the only great sounding shows I've ever heard at the Grandstand, as a matter of fact.
Jeff Neal missed beats? Are you kidding me? He was spot on the whole night, while practically never getting to take a break. As a long-time drummer myself, I was particularly keyed in to the fact that he was pretty much playing the original drum parts from the albums note-for-note, with nary an improvised beat the whole night. If Ms. Bentley is comparing him to Styx' Todd Sucherman, she's making an apples-to-oranges comparison. Sucherman is an improvisational monster and a totally different playing style.
Furthermore, she never mentions that lead vocal duties were shared by three people: DeCarlo, Michael Sweet and Kimberly Dahme. All did a fantastic job, and DeCarlo has to be commended for looking like a natural up there even though he had never done this before in his life. Michael Sweet was all over the stage the entire night, and his vocals (as always) were clear and powerful. Not to mention, every single member in the band sings, so there were fantastic choruses all night. I truly don't know what show she was at.
What about Scholz' amazing organ improv in the extended "Walk On"? Dahme's rock solid bass playing?
Yes, I agree that Styx were phenomenal, as they always put on one of the greatest live shows of any act out there. But Boston were also very energetic and the crowd were also on their feet for the entire set, even the ballads.
2. Boston was absolutely Fantastic! Not that Styx wasn't. I dunno what Concert you saw, but I saw two awesome bands. For the record both bands made a few mistakes .....so what these guyz have been playing along time and they can still rock their asses off!
3. I'm not sure what concert this woman attended. Any issues that Boston had seemed due more to technical difficulties rather than the performers. Lawrence Gowan seemed to be spot on with his voice, and thought he did an excellent job, and DiCarlo the same. Wasn't disappointed a bit with either group. I guess I was there to enjoy 2 awesome bands and not dissect them like a biology frog.
4. Oh My God! Are you kidding me Ms. Bentley? I came in from Rochester to see BOSTON and the legendary Tom Sholz. A man that has done more for music and tens of millions of fans.....than you ever have with your so-called written word. Where was Mark? He would have given this concert the review it deserved. Hde knows how to properly review a show. Styx was great - no doubt. But Boston did what it was supposed to do - steal the show. For 20 seconds, the vocals were slightly under the guitars - that was fixed quickly. A minor offense. The drumming was near perfect. The enthusiasm of the band was spilling into the crowd. People left this show with smiles on their faces - they got what they paid for. In my humble opinion, you owe this band an apology and a retraction.
5. Considering the historically craptastic sound of the grandstand, I thought both of these bands rocked, and rocked well. Styx did have the better performance, but Boston still sounded great. Easily one of the better shows I've been to at the fair.
6. I HAVE BEEN INVOLVFD IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR OVER 50 YEARS BOTH AS A MUSICIAN AND AS A LEAD VOCALIST. I HAVE APPEARED WITH AND LISTENED TO MANY PERFORMERS THROUGHOUT MY LIFE.
ON TUES. AUGUST 26,2008 I ATTENDED THE NY STATE FAIR AND DECIDED TO ATTEND THE CONCERT AT THE GRANDSTAND BEING PERFORMED BY STYX AND BOSTON.
I WAS VERY INSPIRED BY BOTH BANDS AND FOUND IT VERY HARD TO UNDERSTAND THE BAD REVIEW GIVEN TO BOSTON BY CONTRIBUTING WRITER TIFFANY BENTLEY.
I THOUGH BOSTON PERFORMED FLAWLISLY WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A SMALL TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION IN THE SOUND SYSTEM. THE LEAD SINGER TOMMY DECARLO WAS IN MY OPINION AN EXCELLENT PERFORMER. HIS VOICE NEVER FALTERED , HIS SHOWMANSHIP WAS TREMENDOUS. THE WHOLE BAND HEADED BY Mr. TOM SCHOLZ CERTAINLY WAS ONE OF THE BEST ROCK MUSIC PERFORMANCES I HAVE EVER ATTENDED.
TIFFANY YOU WERE WAY OFF BASE ON THIS ONE....
