OK.

I admit it.

I grew up in the 80’s and I absolutely LOVED REO Speedwagon and Styx when I was growing up. This weekend I got a chance to relive the past a bit by going to the REO and Styx concert at the State Fair.

Let me start off by telling you that the weather was miserable. I went to concert in a full rain suit, as it had poured rain all afternoon at my house and the concert was in the State Fair Grandstand, which is only partially covered. It was a good thing I brought the rain suit too. We spent quite a bit of time outside waiting for the concert to begin.

The concert started late. The Fair officials were reluctant to let us load up the Grandstand because of the lightning that was going on. Instead, we crowded into the interior of the Grandstand building, which is actually a pretty good storm shelter. The building has been there since the 1930s and is constructed of concrete, steel, and brick. Once the concert started it was a lot of fun…..until they stopped it 30 minutes into REO’s set because of lightning. They made us all evacuate the Grandstand and go back inside for another 30 minutes while some more lightning moved through.

Because of all of the interruptions, REO’s set was short and a little flat. They played a bunch of their old classics, and I enjoyed them, but you could tell they were a bit rattled.

Styx, on the other hand, was absolutely AMAZING. Like most bands of that era, they have gone through their share of changes. The current lineup includes only Tommy Shaw and James Young from the original members. Dennis DeYoung, who did lead vocals and keyboards is no longer with the group. As the concert started, I was really skeptical that they would still be Styx even without Dennis DeYoung. Man was I pleasantly surprised. DeYoung was replaced by a guy name Lawrence Gowan who, it turns out, is a very talented musician. In addition, he can do an UNCANNY imitation of Dennis DeYoung’s singing voice and was almost indistinguishable from DeYoung in some of the classic Styx tunes like Come Sail Away and The Grand Illusion. WOW!

I was also pleasantly surprised at the level of skill and musicianship from the current Styx drummer Todd Sucherman. Todd replaced John Panazzo, who died in 1996. As much as I hate to say it, Todd is a MUCH better percussionist than John was and easily replaces John with a steady beat and an excellent performance.

And with that…I’m going over to the iTunes Music Store to download some more Styx!

–Pete