2000: This page is a preliminary document - a placeholder if you like - for some text entries for the BOC history for this year.
I have some more images to add to this page when I get the chance - so if you've sent me stuff for this page and can't see it yet, please be patient - I'll get there in the end.
The reason I'm posting this page before it's even remotely ready to go online properly is that as soon as a new History page goes up, people start sending me stuff for it. So my logic is this - I'll put this up quick and maybe you kind folks will get typing and scanning and start sending me info for this year...
Have you got anything to contribute to this page? Reviews, missing info, ticket stubs, posters etc etc - if so, let me .
One of those tight-ass security dickheads snagged my tape as I flipped it over and snapped the thing in half like a fucking twig!!!!!!
I was down in the pit, right in front of Buck. When it came time to flip the tape, I peeked around, and didn't see anyone. (Not that it's easy to pick people out when it's the crowded.) I reached into my pocket, discreetly removed the tape, flipped it over...and then WHAM! FLASHLIGHT RIGHT ON ME! Fucker snapped the tape in half and asked me if I had more. I said "no."
It turns out he was on his way to bust the kid standing right by me who had snapped a photograph. Poor timing, eh?!?!?!?
(They made the kid snap off the rest of the pics at the floor and then confiscated the roll of film.)
I was so fucking pissed. They are SOOOOOOO uptight at the Newport. At the main entrance, they had a gazillion signs saying no cameras, recorders etc. I guess they meant it!
To make matters worse, shortly after they snapped my tape, Eric walks up to the microphone:
"Hey! We've been workin' on a new album! We don't have a name for it yet... it's sill in the early stages. But for the first time ever, in our firstshow of the century, we're gonna play a new song off our upcoming album! It's called Eye of the Hurricane."
I was torn... excited at hearing the debut of a new tune and even more PISSED that that asshole busted me!!!
Eye of the Hurricane was pretty cool. It was an Eric tune... not much of a departure from his faux-Metallica tunes like SYIB and Hammerback.
Here's what they played... the order should be close:
At the very end, Buck tossed his pick right at me and I dropped the *&%*%&$% thing!!!!!! Someone naturally scooped it off the ground before I could.
The show was awesome and I had a great time... unless I think about the tape and the pick! :-)
Jan 20, 2000 was the latest time I have seen BOC (House of Blues, Chicago.) The opening act was a local Chicago band named Wotan. There is a band with this same name from Greece, but these gentlemen were not them.
Great show, but ruined by having to drunk-sit the person I took with me. He was a friend, but not a BoC fan. He was cut off by the bartender and was not allowed to be served anymore.
And upon leaving I found that the parking cost was doubled for events and not posted anywhere, so I had to scrape up cash to get my vehicle released.
Here's a setlist:
Best concert I've ever been to - the venue small and unbeleivably not smokey all though there was the odd renegade pot smoker.
The gear at the venue was not extremely amazing but it was good enough, cool light shows.
The setlist as i remember was:
PS: add teen archer and cities on flame to that list...
Saw this - now offline - post on a page called Moonguy7's Concert Timeline:
Moonguy7:
"Feb. 18 2000: Blue Oyster Cult in Blaine Washington. In a small Club, now named the Dakota Creek Roadhouse but the largest dance floor in Northwest Washington.
It was a very cool show, and I got up to the stage, and was right there by the singer. I did get to shake the hand of Buck Tharma. My favorite was cities on flame, don't fear the reaper, and burning for you..."
I'd love to shake the hand of "Buck Tharma" myself...
Another set list to report, this one last night in Tacoma. My brother Brian will be at the show in Portland tonight!
The boys were in great spirits, relaxed and animated throughout an incredibly tight show.
Nope, neither Astronomy nor Last Days of May were played. All in all, another great show.
Having seen many shows at the roseland, i was very pleased by woody's mix. while, of course, i would have liked a me262 or ldom, i was content with the subhuman (can you say duh?) and the redcap.
buck's voice was strong and present; alan was rockin' and eric was really pumped. the miranda/rondinelli connection was really stoked and they seemed really up about the performance.
All the roseland regulars really got off on the crowd response. the room is a little low-mid heavy but everything was audible. really liked the gong in subhuman. wish i had taped it...
oh yeah, the sea shanty opening to leather really rocked me! now it's time for sleep. gotta be at work in 6 hours (yikes)...
Setlist Eureka CA 2-21-00:
Slim's-San Fran 2-22-00:
Here's a setlist and a few notes about the Feb 23rd 2000 gig at the Boardwalk in Orangevale, CA :
This was a weird night! The band played great, and by encore time had won the crowd over, but the show was marred by a very bad sound mix, there were delays and problems, either with the soundman not doing a good job, or the mixing board... especially for the first 2 or 3 songs-due to these sound-mix problems, we got a few songs cut out of the setlist.
"Subhuman" was started twice, because Eric Bloom thought it sounded bad. Also during the opening number, a fan was video-taping the show right in the front row, Eric took offense to this and a tug-of-war ensued between him and the camera man... (security took the video camera) although this concert was ok, it was a comedy of errors, so to speak. Oh well.
I do recall a gig at The Key Club, where I happened to be working alongside my Roxy shows, and I recall it as Feb 24th.
The Club actually filmed this show with 2 steady cams and a rear solid, and the show was extra fun because Chuck Bürgi joined the band on a couple of songs there...
I taped the show as an audience recording, but as you know I abandoned all those tapes years ago, so I cannot go back and check it out again...
Still a fun memory of a not so a-typical show there!
This was a real curate's egg of a show. A long show with some real treats... but, for Sue and I this was probably the worst watching experience of any BOC show we've seen.
Anticipation was high; the locals were telling us what a great venue the Sun Theater is, with a state-of-the-art sound system. Also the band had been ringing the changes on this West Coast tour, with a lot of old favourites reappearing.
So what a disappointment when we finally got to the show!
The venue was divided into blocks. The front block, as afar as I can recall, had a few rows of seats at the front, then tables in the rear part. The second block - which we had tickets for - was all long tables, placed pointing at the stage - so most people were sitting side-on to the action.
To make matters worse, quite a lot of people were eating - chicken-and-chips-in-a-basket kind of food, which I find very off-putting when you're trying to concentrate on a show. Plus, we were constantly being interrupted, as those folks stting at the stage end of the table pushed past to get more drinks, or to visit the toilet.
I'm sure this was a great show, if you were one of the lucky ones up front. But for us, the Sun Theater will always live up to its new name, courtesy of Laser Dave - "The Flaming Bucket of Shit"...
Here is the setlist for the Riverside County Fair Indio show:
Courtesy of BOCFANBOB... Who kept a great record - a most amazing show!
This may be the best BOC Set List
And I'm guessing the star next to Burning for You is where Eric talked about BOC's tour starting from way up in vancouver and playing all the way thru Wash, ore Norcal and Socal...
And how there was one guy who was there the whole way... BOCFANBOB...
He was at JAXX in Nov, had flown out to see the show... I talked to him for an hour before the show, and during the warm-ups, Danny yelled to Eric..."Eric...LOOK!! It's fucking BOB!! BOB'S HERE!!"
Eric just shook his head, he seemed stunned...he then explained to the crowd that Bob flew all the way in from CA to see the show, and the whole band seemed impressed... I know I was!
Actually, that was Rob Miller. BOCFanBob drove the entire West Coast tour.
Miller, OTOH, has been known to fly to Europe, Hawaii and a boat load of East Coast shows.
Did anything happen in March? If you know, please let me ...
On April 8, 2000, Will Ferrell starred in a comedy skit on "Saturday Night Live" that featured Blue Oyster Cult recording their hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" with Christopher Walken as record producer Bruce Dickinson.
With each take, Ferrell amps up the cowbell at the urging of Walken ("More cowbell!") and to the dismay of the band members.
"I was sitting in my house with Saturday night off, which is rare, watching it live in my family room," says Eric Bloom. "It was more of a shock than funny because we were getting sent up by 'SNL.'"
"My first reaction was relief that they didn't savage the band," added Donald Roeser. "But I thought it was just hilarious."
Setlist
Eric says this is the first show in six weeks so nothing in March of 2000 and it's the first time they play the The Old Gods Return.
The shows were right after the Saturday Night Live's first airing of "More Cowbell" with Christopher Walken. A large group of on line fans from AOL (who had all posted, discussed and laughed at that skit) traveled to the show.
I was in the front row and standing right in front of Buck when he started Don't Fear the Reaper. I'll be darned if Tommy, a BOC crew member (forgot last name, but I can get it if you need it) came right out with the cowbell and a drum stick, banging away on that thing.
He got right next to Buck and in his face... banging away on the cowbell and when Tommy noticed me with my BOC staff (like from the Heaven Forbid cover) he held out the cowbell to me. I banged on the cowbell with my staff and it has a cowbell dent to prove it.
The incident was filmed and for a while on BOC's website at blueoystercult.com, although you can't see my face, you can see Brizo's BOC staff banging on the cowbell with Tommy!!!
BOC encored with a great Born to Be Wild in Houston on Friday night. Buck played some incredible guitar in Houston, including the opening of Lips In The Hills during Buck's Boogie. Gotta love it when the Buckmeister is ON :-)
I see you don't have a set list for 5/5/00 at the House Of Blues in Orlando Florida. Here it is:
Set list:
Show time 112 mins 10:38-12:30
A great club approx 900 people. Huge club holds well over 1000. The theme is underwater. Real waterfall,neon boats and sea creatures hanging from the ceiling.
Abstract paintings on the wall with underwater stuff. Beer stands every 10 ft. One of the best clubs i've been to.
Great to see all my old East Coast Friends from AOL. Bill Stanton (WRS1956), Wayne (WGroll) and Peggy Groll, Doug Wilham (Latenite27), Frank (F1030a), Ted Jones (Swansfc) and The Captain from Jacks BB.
Most of us stayed at The Comfort Inn where the band stayed. Just a block away. Great conversation with Woody as always, Who had the time to relax a bit since the show was over early and sit with us and have a few drinks (Woody perfect sound as always), as well as Buck and Danny joining us for awhile. Got to meet Allen's wife Dory for the 1st time who was there.
The new tune Old Gods is just great. Shirley/Bloom tune. Subhuman sounds so true to OYFOOYK.
Bobby banging the shit out of his Gong during his drum solo in Godzilla, and uses it at the start and finish of Subhuman
Had great fun, finally after working so much lately.
Rob wish you could have made it.
And Woody - like I said - "George Who?" :-)
Just a quick rundown of the show from Thursday, May 18th at The Riviera in Atlanta
All around a great show, though it seemed Bobby the drummer was a little behind the beat a couple times. As a whole though, the band didn't quite hit that next plateau like in Cumming or Chattanooga '99.
Still, I'll take a so-called half-hearted BOC show anyday because you know there are plenty of fine diamonds within the bag of coal. The band was actually more loose than I've ever seen them. Buck had a wild grin while gnawing on a couple guitar picks.
And yes, Eric brought out the infamous Saturn Kronos guitar. A friend of mine had a blown-up photograph of Eric with that very same guitar from Johnson City, TN in 1977, which was later signed by "Jessie Python" himself.
Also, does anybody ever notice Allen Lanier's teeth. They're pretty gnarly, aren't they?!! I swear he could play a great vampire in some B-movie.
Only slight complaint - I REALLY wanted to hear "Redcap". Oh well, maybe next time. I'm glad they brought that song back.
Until next time...
Can't remember what they played, but it kicked ass. We had some drunk red necks in front of us and my ex wife got security to throw them out...
I have seen the band many times over the years and have either tickets stubs, handbills or both to recall specific shows.
However, for me the best show EVER was 27 MAY 00 at the Garage in Washington, DC. This was a unique opportunity to see the band up close. There MAY have been 50 people there, but that would be generous. No matter, this performance would have to rank as one of their finest. The lads played as if there were 50,000 watching. Sound was outstanding.
I was even fortunate enough to meet the band after the show (excluding Buck). Icing on the cake is the 2' x 3' beautifully produced poster of the show that I obtained from the venue's entrace and now have framed.
Although this venue was small, (I mean small) and was off the beaten path (hidden up a long long flight of stairs through indistinguishable doorways to a tiny yet elevated stage), it is this type of gig that makes BOC stand out from the other great bands concerning appreciation for their hard core fans.
WOO HOO! here's the setlist for manchester
the fireworks were truly spectacular - it was nice to see BOC playing in front of THOUSANDS of screaming fans! buck's voice must've been hurting 'cuz he hardly sang - eric seemed pissed when the strobe thing didn't happen for "telepaths."
danny added a third harmony on "stairway" and (i think) "ETI" which i'd not heard before - no "teen archer" or "subhuman," gee i guess i'll just hafta keep goin to those shows! - in short, A BLAST, despite curfew!
Live at Aquafest in Rice Lake, Wisconsin; June 16, 2000
I believe Nazareth opened for BOC on this show. There was a third band that kicked off the evening, but I have no idea who they were.
The show was held out back of the Full Moon saloon in a field. It must have recently rained because due to all the traffic the place was pretty torn up and muddy.
They had to take one of the ramps of the ryder truck and kind of make a bridge so the band could get to this makeshift stage.
This date was originally listed on the official site as "Cancelled", but no reason for the cancellation was given.
This date was originally listed on the official site as "24 June", but subsequent investigations have shown that it was actually on 25 June 2000.
There is a nice video of Golden Age Of Leather recorded that day here:
The sound is quite good.
Here's an article from The New York Times which was posted on altMusicBOC by CultJacket (via Edosaurus) and concerned this gig:
"Blue Oyster Cult Hoping for a Resurgence" by SUSAN KONIG
BLUE OYSTER CULT, once a multiplatinum rock 'n' roll band that filled arenas and had hit songs like "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "Burning for You," is back in the studio after a decade-long hiatus from recording.
Though it has long since fallen off the Billboard charts, the Long Island group hopes to recapture its glory.
"We've never stopped touring," Eric Bloom, the band's lead vocalist, said of the group. "We play the whole country every year. I mean, we're playing smaller venues, but we sell out almost every night."
Most of the five-member band's 15 albums were made before 1985. And while the group has maintained enough of a hard-core, heavy-metal fan base to support regular tours of the national club circuit, it began faltering with mainstream audiences some 15 years ago.
Last month, the band, three of whose members are longtime Long Islanders, released a compilation of its greatest hits titled "The Best of Blue OysterCult." The group is to release an as-yet-untitled recording of new music later this year. Both deals were made with CMC Records, a division of BMG Distributors.
Last year, Blue Oyster Cult -- which features three of its original members, Mr. Bloom, Donald Roeser and Allen Lanier, along with the Long Islanders Danny Miranda and Bobby Rondinelli, released "Harvest Moon" for CMC. It was the group's first new album since 1988, and met with more critical than commercial success.
Long Island is an integral part of the band's story. "This is where we started and where three of us still live," said Mr. Bloom, a 30-year resident and married father of two sons, ages 22 and 18. "It's been a great place to raise a family. We've toured all over the world, and we never had the desire to move anywhere else.
"In the early days, we all lived together in a rented house in Great Neck," he said. "We'd all set up in the living room and jam, and that's how a lot of the songs of the first couple of albums came together."
The group has rented other Long Island houses to create music over the years, and is rehearsing for its next album in Massapequa.
Last December, Blue Oyster Cult, which tours 120 days a year, headlined a "Home for the Holidays" concert at the Vanderbilt in Plainview. "With 1,200 people in attendance, the concert was a sell-out," said Beverly Fortune, a spokeswoman for the Vanderbilt.
The group was cultivated in the 1960's at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
"The biggest myth about us is that we were Stony Brook students," said Mr. Bloom, who graduated from Hobart College in upstate Geneva in 1966 with a degree in romance languages. "We weren't. But in the 1960's, Stony Brook was a hotbed of counterculture. And the communal house was a place where lots of local musicians would hang around and jam."
Among them were Albert Bouchard, drums; Allen Lanier, keyboards and guitar, and Donald Roeser, lead guitar. With a changing lineup of bass guitarists and lead singers, they formed a couple of short-lived bands.
In 1969, Mr. Bloom said, the musicians caught the ear of two former Stony Brook students, Sandy Pearlman and Richard Meltzer, who were music critics for Crawdaddy magazine. At Mr. Pearlman's urging, they formed a band called Soft White Underbelly, signed with Elektra Records and recorded an album that was never released.
Then Joe Bouchard, the drummer's brother, was added as bass guitarist. Mr. Bloom was recruited for lead vocals, keyboards and some guitar work. The group changed its name to Blue Oyster Cult and in 1970 sent a demo tape to Columbia Records.
Melding Mr. Pearlman's lyrics with their own and creating a stage setting with Hell's Angels imagery, lasers and pyrotechnics, Blue Oyster Cult quickly became a force to be reckoned with. Their first album, a self-titled 1972 recording, quickly went gold. Four more successful albums followed in the next four years, with songs featuring sophisticated lyrics about Nazi atrocities, pop-culture satire, drug deals gone awry and love.
The group's ambition to explore uncharted song-writing territory earned it the moniker "the thinking-man's heavy metal band." "That came from the former Creem Magazine rock critic Lester Bangs," Mr. Bloom said, "and it sort of stuck. Though we never really considered ourselves heavy metal, it was a compliment."
The group's fourth album in 1976, "Agents of Fortune," catapulted it to the height of its fame. The album featured "Don't Fear the Reaper," which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976 and stayed there for 12 weeks. A 1981 release -- "Fire of Unknown Origins," put out by Sony Records -- resulted in two hit songs: "Joan Crawford" and "Burning for You," after which the Bouchard brothers left and were replaced by a series of musicians. More albums followed, but the group could not replicate its earlier success.
"In 1987, we were dropped by Sony Records because our record sales had fallen off," Mr. Bloom said. "We were still writing and performing, we just couldn't get a label to back us. In 1988, we decided to call it quits as a band. But that only lasted nine months, because we continued to get so many offers to tour."
For the next decade, Blue Oyster Cult continued writing and performing, both together and with other artists. Then, in 1997, "a big fan of ours happened to be the head of a German recording label, and he signed us for a new album," Mr. Bloom said. "It did well in Europe, so we made a demo tape using a lot of that material, and we sent it out in the States."
CMC Records offered Blue Oyster Cult its first new American record deal in a decade. "The fact that "Harvest Moon" ended up getting good critical acclaim and good radio air play, even though sales weren't huge, brought us back to the studio," Mr. Bloom said.
Mr. Roeser, who performs under the stage name Buck Dharma, said: "We've always stayed true to the stuff we like. Maybe it was a weakness at times, but maybe it's also what's allowed us to continue for 30 years. I think we're still doing stuff that's different from what anybody else is doing."
At a sold-out concert on Jan. 29 at the Bottom Line in Manhattan, the group's fans seemed optimistic. Some 400 people, in their early 20's to their late 50's, attended.
"It was great to hear the old songs again," said Susan Bennett, a 35-year-old book editor from Merrick. "I love 'Godzilla,' 'Burning for You' and, of course, 'Don't Fear the Reaper.' They bring back a lot of memories of high school. And the guys still sound great. I hope they do make a comeback. But I know that certain songs like 'Don't Fear the Reaper' will always be classics."
Mick Donahue, 48, and his wife Andie, 49, from Queens, could be seen mouthing the lyrics to nearly every song. "Do I want to see them come back?" Mr. Donahue said. "Yeah, definitely. But they never stopped touring. And we've been following them religiously for so long that, to us, they never left."
I was also at the 22 July 2000 show at Old Tucson. Outdoor rodeo arena with a backdrop of beautiful desert mountains. The opening act was a local cover band; much to the dismay of the die-hard BOC fans present, they played for far too long.
During the main set, a typical summer monsoon storm blew in. The lightning was most impressive, but as it rained harder and harder, our boys had to cut it short. It was lost on no one that some of their potential time was taken up by a cover band...
Playing email tag after the show, Eric asked what I thought of "the light show we set up."
I was at this show.
The final song was Godzilla as the thunder and lightning came in.
Even though it was short I thought it was a great show and that ending was fantastic!!
I was working for an online game company in the St. Louis area when it came to my attention that Eric Bloom played our game. I'm not sure how it came about because it happened before I started, but, we were comping him an account. So I find out that, not only are BOC coming to town on July 27, 2000, but that Eric will be coming by the office that day. AWESOME!
The funny thing was, I couldn't find anyone that worked there who knew their music. I'm sitting there, trying to explain songs like Black Blade (hoping to interest their D&D-type interests) and all I got were blank stares.
Early on the afternoon of the show, Eric comes by the office and we get to hang out and chat for awhile. As someone who was hired into the billing office, I knew very little about the game itself as it wasn't my thing, so when I got to meet him, I wanted to talk about the music and he wanted to talk about the game! I was a little disappointed at the time, but now I get a chuckle out of it.
As it turns out, we had been invited to the show at Pop's Saloon in Sauget, IL (just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis) as BOC's special guests. How awesome is that? At the show, I HAD to get the signature of the author of "Don't Fear The Reaper" but Buck was pretty aloof so Eric went back to the dressing room and brought him out just so I could meet him! After which, I asked if they could play "Joan Crawford", which they said they would. Eric even dedicated it to me when they did.
The best part of the night was when my boss's girlfriend was asked to come on stage and present a birthday cake to someone in the band (I wish I could remember whose but I can't). The rest of us knew this wasn't a good idea because she could be pretty clumsy and, sure enough, as she ascended the steps to the stage in her high heels, she tripped and dropped the cake to the floor. What an awesome day!
It was a beautiful day for a show this July, 26th! Trempealeau is a small town on the Mississippi River, @20 miles north of La Crosse, Wi. A tourist type town with a ton of scenery. Rivers, Bluffs and Historical sites. The Hotel itself is like being in a large back yard, the smell of fresh phlox and other assorted garden flowers were in the air as well as the grill from the kitchen. Hardly the setting you would expect BOC to play in! The stage....was about 30 feet wide, by 12-15 feet deep. Much like my basement. This was an Out Door show on the very banks of the Mississippi River, Barges, and Rail Trains going by all day, off and on.
We, including of my brother Mike, and a good friend Paul, got to the site around 2:00, had a bunch of beer, and some of the fine food the Hotel has to offer and got down to the business of making friends. @ 4:00 we had a brief shower that only added humidity to the air, and thirst to the throat....
It was about 7:00 that the New Zither Band took the stage. A very good cover band doing tunes from Janis to Skynard. A Great way to start the evening! Thank someone the restrooms were close, and the river was there for a back up, ,as the beer began to take it's toll...
It Will be Time! 9:00, or somewhere in that area the Blade Runner theme starts!
I'm caught outta the Buck zone so I settle for a spot in front of Eric and Allan... shoe tying distance ;-) This will work! Expected "Stairway" for an opener....A given of the time...Redcap to follow! ETI, Seen it... Harvest Moon was a 2nd time for me and the tune rocked hard! Slide into the Boogie...what can you say....
Teen Archer was also the 2nd time around viewing for me, totally enthrawling, as was Joan. Then on this small stage the assult of the Last Days began.....I dont believe words other than Holy Shit can come close to the solos in this tune...
Off to the Standards, Burnin, Harvester, Cities, Zilla, Reaper, and for an e: D & S... 14 tunes in a place that was 5 times the size of my yard... which for the few who have been here, ain't that big......
Totally Great Day all in all!
My 1st show to go to after I got on line... the rest is another story...
08/13/2000: Vernon, NY - Blue Oyster Cult, Todd Rudgren, Nazareth, Joan Jett, Edgar Winter, Rick Derringer
Notes: Went up with Brother John, Karl Von Schweiger, his brother Doug and my hag. Met up with Darkness, John & some sick dude. Some car caught fire in the parking lot... mega fucking loud show!!!!
Breakdown:
Rick Derringer - Arrived late, but gold guitar playing...
Edgar Winter - Killer jams, a little long winded. Ed's a goofy lanky geek, but a monster player. Mitch Perry on guitar (from Phil Naro Talas days)... ripper player, but a mega beat-up old pretty boy cheezer
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - The Blackhearts looked a bunch of beat-up old Sex Pistols dudes... rocked out with a bunch of punk heavy tunes. Joan looked nuts with her head all shaved... must have snorted a pound of snow before the show... her nose kept twitching and she kept blowing it between every song with Kleenex... guitar players arm looked like a pin cushion with all the needle marks. Joan snapped middle of the set about not having earplugs on stage... work no underwear under those leather pants... which the laces came undone (Guess Who style)...
Nazareth - just came out, slaughtered the audience and stole the show... what more can I say. Crowd started getting all gay and nuts... got a little scary...
Todd Rundgren - had a mega headache after Nazareth... walked back and dug the tunes from a far. Wish I could have snapped up front...
Blue Oyster Cult - I've had it with this dudes... patch it up the with Bouchards so we can stop having the Buck & Bloom show and start hearing some good tunes... and while your at it, get rid of that Bobby Rondinelli cheezer. He and Frankie Banali (Quiet Queer) suffer from the same, I'm So Good I'll Overplay disease. He just charges through those tunes like bull in a china shop with those gay double kick drum fills... overplayer of the year award 1980-2005... Harvester Of Eyes and This Ain't The Summer Of Love weren't enough to salvage this show. Left during Godzilla...
Rocky said it best, "They're just getting lazy!" And it's true, they play like they'd rather be golfing, where as Nazareth comes in screaming with vengeance (Priest style)
Blue Oyster Cult Setlist:
This was a long day in the sun in Central NY. I had attended a wedding the night before in Bennington, VT w/my GF at the time. So we cut across the NE to Verona and trudged out to the field in the middle of the race track at Vernon Downs. Turns out it had rained a lot the day before so the ground was muddy. Sitting down wasn't an option.
Good thing was every band sounded solid to me. Derringer broke out some classics and was still alive and well. His old pal Edgar Winter was up next took us down Tobacco Road and laid seige to the castle of Frankenstein.
Joan Jett and her shaved head sang well and added a punk attitude to the "classic rock" day.
Nazareth (who I've seen a few times) always rock and are a tough act to follow. If it's not Scotch, it's crap, as someone once said.
Half of Utopia came on when the sun was going down--Kasim was on bass. They def played a heavier set of Utopia rockers w/all the heavy rock that day going on before them.
BOC had the tired, sunburned crowd on their feet just after dark. I was closest to Danny and produced my red-spraypainted Kronos symbol I made the week before. Kinda embarrassing now to think back, but oh well.
It was a standard set for the most part. Fireworks followed, and we'd see BOC a week or so later in N. Tonawanda.
08/19/2000: The Majestic Theater, North Tonawanda, NY - Steppenwolf/Blue Oyster Cult
Notes: Went with V... met up with BOC hardcores Rocky, Dave Sheppard, Mark Surra and Karl Von Schweiger.
Unless there is a reunion tour, I will never see BOC again. They are lame, boring and the set list sucks.
I have an idea... let's shit can the cheezy bass/drum solo in Godjirra and play an extra tune or two.
So it shall be written so it shall be done. Oh by the way, Buck's Boogie is one of the dumbest instrumentals ever.
Bloom... bury the hatchet with the Bouchards so we can finally listen to some good tunes again.
Steppenwolf kicked ass... great tunes, great harmonies and great performance.
Blue Oyster Cult Setlist:
Me and 3 others drove over to this show from our hotel in Toronto where we were vacationing. My sunburn from the previous weekend at the Verona, NY gig was just starting to peel.
The theater has a revolving stage and it was kind of odd to have the band slowly turn in a slow circle away from our view. Unique but I def prefer a traditional stage. Obviously that type of stage limits the effects of what little lightning/effects were being used.
The set list didn't set me on fire but of course BOC were openers and didn't have a mega-amount of time. Steppenwolf sounded fine and played a few obscurities like "Skullduggery."
Danny signed my Kronos symbol (now defunct) and said he'd "been staring at that thing all night."
My son and I attended this show at the Ohio State Fair. Despite the appearance of the billing on the ticket stub shown, Blue Oyster Cult actually went on stage first.
They cooked for a full hour set, and then John Kaye and Steppenwolf took the stage, really more like John Kaye band playing Steppenwolf.
Regardless of the flip flop, BOC knocked it out of the park rolling through all their top hits and more.
I saw the band at Cowboys in Calgary on Aug 22, 2000. In the interests of accuracy the venue is (or was, it's gone now) just called Cowboys. It was not a concert hall, just a craphole bar. Same goes for the one in Edmonton.
Great show, I was thrilled to finally hear a live version of Flaming Telepaths.
When I went online to buy tickets for this show (only $10! Canadian!) there were five gigs listed in Alberta, which appeared to be the only Canadian shows they were playing (your list confirms this), which I thought was odd.
The other two shows not on your list were in Red Deer and Grande Prairie. All the venues were part of the Cowboys chain of scuzzy redneck bars (think 'Bob's Country Bunker' from the Blues Brothers movie) but I don't know if they were all called 'Cowboys'. I'm pretty sure that BOC played all five shows.
Sorry I don't have dates but I do know the Calgary show was the first of the five. No opening act.
Thanks for that info, Richard. I like the mental image of BOC playing Bob's Country Bunker - I bet they could do a great "Rawhide"!...
I've listed below the two extra shows you mentioned. As usual, if anybody knows for sure whether or not they were actually played, please let me know...
Anybody know for sure if this gig was played?
Anybody know for sure if this gig was played? If so, was it on the 25th or 26th of August? And was the venue called "Cowboys"?
Anybody know for sure if this gig was played? If so, was it on the 25th or 26th of August? And was the venue called "Cowboys"?
BOC's original giglists had this venue down as "Friar Tuck Inn", but an unused ticket for this show appeared on ebay recently which gave the venue as the "Buckingham Palace Theatre" on Rt 32.
I was somewhat confused by this, but a quick google revealed the following ad in a 1989 copy of the "Poughkeepsie Journal":
The new Buckingham Palace Theatre - Upstate New York's premier entertainment facility... at the Friar Tuck Inn Catskill NY Rt. 32 near Catskill Game Farm".
So that sort of makes sense - one venue, two very disparate names...
9/16 Show, Catskill NY, The Friar Tuck Inn
Just a quick review of the show in Catskill, NY this past Saturday. Have to say I was a little dissapointed.
Let me first mention tickets were $35, $30, or $25 with a 2 drink minimum, depending on how close to the stage you wanted to get.
This place was a gigantic convention center, with a 2500 seat capacity room that looked like it could be in Las Vegas. Had about 700 energentic fans in there.
My beef is that they only did 13 songs. They were the only ones performing there - no warm up or follow up.
There are no time constriants either in Greene County, NY - I know this because my uncle is on the County Board. They came on around 10:15PM and were done by 11:30 PM.
Crowd was very alive and we should have gotten more- especially for those ticket prices!!. Only got one encore song (Setlist below).
Sound quality was real bad - no cymbals, light leads, etc. - sounded like you were in a jet hanger at times - probably because of the room size.
The band played with no energy at all - seemed they couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. Now keep in mind I paid $35 for this ticket. I just Saw Ted Nugent, Kiss, and Skid Row for $35.
I heard a lot of grumbling from the crowd afterwords about this quick and lousy sounding show. I've been a BOC fan for 28 years and seen about 150 shows - this one was one of the worst considering all the above mentioned factors.
My band used to warm up for them when they used to play The Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY on an annual basis and I got to know them well. They usually put on a great show, and do around 18-20 songs when they play alone/headline. I don't know what happened here.
Anyone who went to Toads on Friday please print the setlist and review - I'm very curious to see how the 2 shows stacked up. Also, any otherfolks at Friar Tuck send out your 2 pennies about this bummer.
Absent in the setlist for the first time since 1995 was Harvest Moon - my friends favorite song. I had to pull teeth to get him to go and told him they would do it. Figures they cut corners and don't do it on this night.
The Short Setlist, in order:
BOC was contracted to do a 75 minute show at Catskill, NY. Toads and Maddies were contracted as 90 minute shows.
For beefs about show length, look to the venue who contracts the entertainment.
Great Train Robbery opened for BOC at PAX River...
Us locals call it PAX river, but it is actually call Naval Air Station at Patuxent River.
Setlist for 2000-11-02:
The support act for this gig was confirmed on nippertown.com.
In the Heartland winter begins early. Only a few weeks ago, I was wearing shorts and sitting on the front porch. As the time zone changed so did the atmosphere. Gone are the days of Summer. Gone are the colors of fall. For it is the Midwest. Here it is cold. Saturday, November 11, 2000 was no exception. The wind began swirling and fog rolled off the lake. Animals were cuddling against each other to stay warm. It seemed to be a great day to light a fire, drink hot chocolate and curl up with a good book. Ahhh, there is nothing like kicking back and being lazy on a cold day in Kansas . Roads were closed all over the state. Ice storms were moving in.
But alas, I would not be able to enjoy the quite serene setting that my fellow Kansan's enjoyed. For I had taken an oath similar to that of the weatherman. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow shall keep me from reporting on the state of Classic Rock. Only a few hours away, a rock and roll assault was preparing to wage war against the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the worlds best live bands was within shouting distance and I knew that no matter how hard I fought the urge, eventually it would consume me. I packed up my belongings and called my friend Jon Fultz. We had no choice, for this was no ordinary concert. This was Blue Oyster Cult.
We decided to take Jon's 11 year old son, Seth with us. Seth is a beginning guitar player with great taste in music. His favorites are Stevie Ray Vaughn, Gov't Mule and BOC. He was thrilled at the chance to see the concert. Within a few moments we loaded into Jon's Expedition and began to drive south on Highway 77.
The show was a triple bill. First up would be 80's popsters Starship, featuring Mickey Thomas. Next would be a reformed Foghat, less than a year after the tragic death of front man Lonesome Dave Peverett. The grand finale would be New York's best Blue Oyster Cult. When we arrived at the Tulsa Convention Center, we saw that the crowd was less than capacity. The cold weather could be blamed but I feared that the show was not promoted well enough. If I was not a frequent visitor to the Blue Oyster Cult website, then I would not have known about it myself! As fans of Classic Rock, we need to be on the lookout for shows to attend. Our music is not the flavor of the month in the industry anymore so it is up to us to make sure it is promoted and attended!
Starship has a tight sound and they performed the hits one would expect but they are far from an exciting show. Thomas showed true professional patience as the local sound company was having problems. At first, Thomas' microphone was not turned off. Later, when he went to get his acoustic guitar, it was discovered that it had a bad cord. The highlights of the show were Jane and Familiar Stranger. The latter was an extended version that featured an exceptional keyboard solo. In the end, Thomas is still on the road performing his hits but he seemed out of place in a hard rock setting.
Next up was Foghat. I was very curious to hear the band since they have reformed. The groups future was put into jeopardy last year when founding member and lead singer Dave Peverett died of cancer. How could anyone front Foghat other than Lonesome Dave? The job of replacing him went to former Ted Nugent vocalist Charlie Huhn. Huhn, along with bass player Tony Stevens, Roger Earl and Bryan Bassett walked in unison on stage performing a mock doowop while snapping their fingers. The band wasted no time getting the crowd in the mood as they opened with the classic track Home In My Hand.
Next up was Driving Wheel. After that, Huhn introduced Stone Blue. The band rocked on this one! The slide guitar was greasy and the rhythm section of Stevens and Earl put down boogie groove that had people dancing in the isles. The crowd had sprung to life. Huhn did not try to imitate Lonesome Dave. He has a very strong blues/rock voice of his own and it complimented the music well. He introduced songs and had fun with the crowd.
Huhn quieted the crowd after the song and explained how much the band missed Lonesome Dave. He said that every performance was dedicated to him. With that the band continued to play the boogie oriented rock and roll that everyone had come accustomed to. The highlights of the show were Sweet Home Chicago, Fool For The City, I Just Wanna Make Love To You and Slow Ride. The songs were extended and the upbeat tempo had the crowd on their feet. While purists will argue that the "real" Foghat were not playing, the crowd on that chilly Tulsa night could have cared less. I have seen Foghat live many times and they are truly one of the most fun live shows around. The music infiltrates your soul and makes you want to boogie all night long. The are still living up to their name as one of the best bar bands in music history!
It seemed to take the road crew forever to change the set. The anticipation for Blue Oyster Cult was getting immense. At one point a woman dressed in black leather and a zebra coat came up to me and said that she and her husband were guests of BOC drummer Bobby Rondinelli. She must have mistaken me for a security guard. I shook my head and let her into the reserved area without a second thought. I always thought it was unfair that the good looking girls got all the attention at concerts but now I have a much clearer understanding of why that is! Finally, after almost an hour it was time.
"Tulsa, Oklahoma..... ON YOUR FEET OR ON YOUR KNEES!!! PLEASE WELCOME THE INCREDIBLE...... BLUE ..... OYSTER.... CULT!"
I was stationed directly in front of Eric Bloom for the first three songs and all was well except for an asshole (you know who you are) who was upset that people were standing in front of the stage at a concert (like that's never happened before). I told the guy that I had a photo pass and that I had a right to be there and he had the audacity to tell me to "shut my mouth and not say another word and move over." I looked to my right where I was wedged up against a thousand other people and told him, he was out of luck. In a way, I felt sorry for him because he obviously got to the arena early and got front row seats. He was just pissed that others came later and then stood in front of him. Sorry pal. That's rock and roll. I am getting to old to fight the masses for a whole show so I took my shots and went back to my seats. I must admit I got a laugh outta the guy. Whoever you are, you don't say much for people who live in Tulsa! I hope you enjoyed yourself at the expense of the otherwise friendly and peaceful crowd!
Now let's get back to the music! BOC came out with the Stairway To The Stars. Buck Dharma may be getting older and he looks more like a banker than a rock star but he can still jam! He played his guitar with such virtuosity that it ought to be against the law! The beginning of the set continued with Burnin' For You, ETI and Cities On Flame. The real treat was the instrumental Buck's Boogie. Dharma has always been a very underrated guitar player. His tasteful use of delay is in perfect harmony with his fast fingers. The effect only adds to the barrage of notes that come flying off his fret board!
The band was having fun. Allen Lanier, Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom, the three remaining original cult members were exchanging glances and smiles onstage. Lanier was particularly outgoing. The usually stoic keyboard/guitarist even posed for the camera a couple of times! Bloom, the evenings MC introduced the songs and went throughout the usual theme of the Lizard King when introducing Godzilla. "Oh no..... could it be?? Could it be here in ..... Tulsa????"
The song rocked and in the middle section Danny Miranda and Bobby Rondinelli took over. The crowd was soon moving to the dynamic rhythm coming from the bass and drum. Miranda went into a solo and was soon thumping arpeggios up and down the neck of his bass! Bobby Rondinelli took over on the skins and played the type of drum solo one would expect from a veteran of several 80's heavy metal bands. The solo ended as Bloom and Company went into, "History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men." The crowd erupted in approval.
Bloom announced the band is working on a new CD that will hopefully be out by June 1, 2001. The band played a song called, Eye Of The Hurricane. The song began with Buck and Eric playing a harmonic lead line and went into a strong rhythm. This tune reminded me of pre-Agents Of Fortune Blue Oyster Cult. It has an eerie feel to it but rocked at the same time.
Another highlight of the evening was Harvester Of Eyes. The main show ended with Don't Fear The Reaper. The band left the stage and the person in charge of the venues lights made a mistake. He did not realize that the crowd would demand an encore. He thought the show was over and turned on the houselights. Now these were the type of houselights that do not come on automatically. The bulb must warm up. At first all that is seen is a dull orange glow then as they warm up, they become very bright. The problem is that once turned on, they can't immediately be turned off. So in the middle of Dominance & Submission, the arena lit up like a Christmas tree! The band seemed surprised as Buck Dharma was shifting his eyes back and forth, shaking his head and smiling! The group continued to jam and the audience echoed Bloom's shout of "dominance" with their own shout of "submission."
In the end, Seth had a great time. He got to meet a couple of the guys in the band, got a backstage pass and even caught a Foghat guitar pick. Not bad for an 11 year old! Foghat was a welcome surprise and Blue Oyster Cult continues to be one of the best concert bands left in the world. If you get a chance to see them, I suggest you take it. BOC is on the road forever so finding them at a town near you should not be hard. Keep up with all BOC activity at www.bocfanclub.com and check out Buck Dharma's new web site as well! Special thanks to Bill Lotzko for being a class act. Very special thanks to Eric Bloom for everything else.