STYX Brings Their Classic Rock
To Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez
L.Paul Mann
Styx rocked a packed venue at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Thursday night February 7th. The group, still consisting of some of it's original members, is a classic rock band in the truest sense of that heady moniker. The band has been rocking under the Styx name since 1971, and achieved the extraordinary feat of recording four consecutive platinum albums between 1977 and 1981.
The band was led by energetic lead singer and screaming lead guitar player Tommy Shaw, who has been with the group since 1975. His daughter, with long blonde locks like her father, and sporting rock and roll tatted arms, appeared onstage before the concert, holding a flashy guitar autographed by the band. She announced that the band has a raffle on each stop on their tour, for a local charity. Fittingly, the charity in Santa Ynez was for and Eagle conservation group.
The band exploded onstage right on time, in front of a wall of old school rock and roll amplifiers. Tommy Shaw immediately took the lead, singing, and flailing his guitar in theatrical gestures towards the crowd. Original guitarist, J.Y.(James Young) was also on hand to add his vocals and wailing guitar skills to the mix. The band was rounded out by drummer Todd Sucherman, who has been with the band since 1995, keyboardist extraordinaire Lawrence Gowan, who has been with the band since 1999, and bassist Ricky Phillips (The Babys and Bad English). Phillips, who also played in the legendary Coverdale-Page band, sits in for original bass player Chuck Panozzo. Panozzo and his brother the late John Panozzo, first formed a band in 1961, which would morph into Styx a decade later. Surprisingly, Chuck, who has been in a very public battle with the AIDS virus for over a decade, also appeared at the Chumash Casino, joining the band for several select songs.
With the benefit of the Chumash Resorts awesome lighting, video , and sound production, the band staged an arena style rock show for the Santa Ynez home crowd. The group tore through a set of 14 of the bands biggest hits, showcasing the immense talents of all the musicians on hand. Half way through the set the crowd surged from their seats and crowded the front of the stage to be close to the aging but energetic rock idols. The two hour set featured mostly older classics like “Lady” and “Come Sail Away”, much to the delight of the adoring crowd, but they also threw in material from many of the 15 studio albums that the band has recorded. Led by Tommy Shaw's crisp clear rock and roll wailing voice, this version of Styx still has plenty of Rocking left to do.
Setlist:
1. Blue Collar Man
2. Grand Illusion
3. One With Everything
4. Fooling Yourself
5. Lady
6. Light Up
7. Man In The Wilderness
8. Miss America
9. I'm OK
10. Crystal Ball
11. Too Much Time
12. Come Sail Away
Encore: Rockin The Paradise
Renegade
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