2015: BOC still on tour forever!!
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Sold-out show in Milwaukee last night. I really like that venue, Woody had the sound perfect. How cool is it that it's 2015 and my favorite band still sounds amazing? Top notch performance. The set:
Clocked in at 95 minutes.
BTW: I called the noodle Mark 2 as Buck changed it up more than usual, different version I'd say.
I made the 4 1/2 hour trip to see the Band for the 41st time.
I met up with a few fellow Northwest BOC fans that I have become friends with on Facebook over the last few years.
Eric Bloom made it a point to give my buddy Chris Conn a guitar pick. He announced it to the crowd. Chris is a huge fan and this was show 47 for him.
The band was very strong, especially since they played the night before in Milwaukee WI.
Here is the set list:
We played Burnin', Godzilla, Cities and Reaper. The fans would've been bored stiff. :D
Rudy and Bobby did some other stuff off site in the evenings. Eric and I just enjoyed the NAMM show. I did some impromptu playing at Supro and 65amps, but it's unlikely it was recorded. But you never know.
Some clips:
Game of Thrones
The Smallwood Brothers opened the show. Fantastic show!
Proposed Itinery:
Thu Feb 19 2015: Ft. Lauderdale, FL [Depart: 5:30 pm]
Fri Feb 20 2015: At Sea
Sat Feb 21 2015: Nassau, Bahamas [9:30 am - 4:00 pm]
Sun Feb 22 2015: At Sea
Mon Feb 23 2015: Ft. Lauderdale, FL [Arrive: 7:00 am ]
Scheduled BOC shows:
Thursday 19 February: Platinum Theatre
7:00 pm Dave Mason
9:30 pm Doobie Brothers
11:45 pm Blue Oyster Cult
Friday 20 February: Deck Stage
11:45 am Outlaws
2:00 pm Ten Years After
4:15 pm Blue Oyster Cult
6:30 pm Don Felder
8:45 pm Paul Rodgers
11:00 pm Uriah Heep
Saturday 21 February: Studio B / Ice Rink
2:30 pm Blue Lords
4:45 pm Blue Oyster Cult / Acoustic
7:00 pm Kim Simmonds & Savoy Brown
9:15 pm Doobie Brothers
11:45 pm Marshall Tucker Late Night Jam
Details here:
Acoustic setlist:
Gil Blanco and ME262 were on the setlist but were not played.
Here's some video from this show:
Tonight's Set List - West Palm Beach, FL:
They played almost 2 hours - great show
An unusual BOC show. Supposed to be with April Wine but they are stuck in Dallas, weather related cancellation. Then Buck texts me, he's stuck in Denver, same problem.
We land in Albuquerque ok. And figure out a 4 piece set. Not the same of course but we survived with Kasim singing Burning for the first time and Richie picking up a few tunes.
A unique evening. Plus Andy Ascolese on drums.
Setlist was:
Eric and I were very sick from the cruise. Eric handled singing while sick better than I did. It was a real challenge, but the crowd was unbelievable.
Here is some more info on the BOC show in Santa Fe:
I drove up from Phoenix to see the show. Albuquerque was hit by a snow storm on Friday afternoon with over 4" of accumulation. Driving on Saturday morning was very bad. By afternoon, however, the sun came out and the streets cleared up. We called to see if the show was still on in Santa Fe, and they said yes.
When we got there, signs were posted in the casino that April Wine would not be appearing. They were stuck in Dallas due to the bad weather. When BOC came on, there were two clear facts: no Buck Dharma and no Jules Radino behind the drum kit. Andy Ascolese filled in on drums and he was amazing.
Eric announced that Buck was stranded in Denver, but they would play as a four piece. So, a very different BOC show was to be had.
Eric dedicated the show to Leonard Nimoy, who had passed away the day before.
So we were treated to an interesting show that did not disappoint.
Set list:
Very short set, just about an hour. Was hoping for a longer set since April Wine was not there. Eric did mention that he and Richie caught a bug on the recent Rock n Roll cruise.
Band was very tight, large ballroom crowd (sold out). Musicianship and vocals were outstanding all the way around, as always. I was lucky enough to get a set list after the show.
Even a partial BOC still amazes!
Here's some video from this show:
Here's a review of this gig from soundcravemagazine.com:
Join Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp for our "Classic Rock Camp" featuring Cheap Trick members Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson, Robin Zander and Blue Oyster Cult members Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom at Mandalay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on March 5-8, 2015.
Details here:
Note Eric and Buck's inclusion in this Camp did not preclude them playing Wendover on 6 March with BOC...
BOC at a new venue. More of a bar than a theater. It appears to have been a steakhouse at one time. Really nice place.
They are bringing in many older acts. Which makes the start time a bit odd. BOC did not start until 11. Boo!!
We had a very long drive to the LA basin in the morning. It was very hot by the stage. I felt bad for the guys. What a ripping set they performed! ME 262 was metal! My first Before the Kiss since 2012.
There seemed to be some trouble with Buck's rig, he championed through, as he always does. Go Andy! Hot room, hot set!
There were two support bands. My Heavy Memory was first (they were ok, they thought they were the show).
Featherwitch was second. Featherwitch was led by two female singers. Mostly covers. They were ok.
Very good rockin' evening. Thanks guys!
We had a wonderful drive down the California coast from San Jose to Beverly Hills, about 6 hours from San Jose. Second year in a row at this venue. An awesome, ornate, great sounding theater.
Uriah Heep opened the show. They were very good, however, I do not get why they were given more time to play. BOC was on stage for barely 90 minutes, including encores.
Mr. Bloom tried to get in another song but was voted down by Buck. It was after midnight, I understand they did not want to pay the fines.
A ripping set none the less. Very enjoyable evening. I was across the aisle from the douchebag that was heckling Mr. Sulton during his solo.
Buck tripped over his pedals and kicked out his cord. Andy to the rescue just in time for his solo during Shooting Shark. ME 262 was on fire again!
I sensed a bit of competition between drummers. There really was no contest, Jules kicked his a#$ in.
Thanks for the rock guys. BOC!
Tonight at the Concert Hall setlist:
I wanted to talk to them about the Allen birthday bash but it's still up in the air. They asked me sit in and I was honored to do it.
We knew Albert was attending the show and meeting before we went on, asked him to sing Death Valley Nights and then drum and sing Cities during our encore.
He was up for it, and we did!
Here's some video from this show:
Palace Theater, Greensburg, Pennsylvania, setlist:
Awesome show!
I didn't hear the two warm-up bands but BOC put on a fine concert. Just under two hours. The weather was great and the crowd into it.
Not quite in order but the set list was:
This was an awesome show! It's been a while since BOC has played in the central Florida area - hopefully there will be more in the near future since apparently both Buck and Eric are now residents of the Sunshine State.
It was great to hear "Career of Evil" and "Harvester of Eyes" which are somewhat unusual to find in their sets over the last few years.
Buck played some kind of double-neck guitar during "Career" and alternated back and forth between playing the song's riff and going off on some tasty guitar fills and solos.
The crowd was very appreciative and enthusiastic. It always strikes me how BOC is able to win over any audience on just the strength of their songs and their performances - no gimmicks or visual tricks, just a bunch of very talented and self-assured musicians playing catchy and satisfying hard rock.
My only complaint was that the show was too short - they hit the stage at 7:15 and were gone for good at 8:45. There was no other band following them - why not throw in a couple of more obscure numbers to go to at least 9:00?
Anyway - Long Live BOC!!
The set list:
My brother and I made the 7 hour drive from Sacramento. We arrive to find a really nice theater in a strip mall! Easy parking, walked in about 7:45, no opening band, score!!
Band came on at 8:05, then proceeded to rock for 2 hours!! Jazzy vibe throughout the evening, especially Buck's Boogie. All songs were performed with subtle snazzy changes.
I find it awesome that these guys still change and grow. Eric introduced us to Black Blade co-writer J. Trivers who was in attendance. He also made mention of a local DJ for believing in them 40 years ago.
Kasim's bass went out during his solo, he handled it graciously, as they always do. Jules extended his solo like a true professional. The Joan Jett part of Godzilla was I hate myself, not I Love RnR. Kasim and Richie were having a lot of fun on stage together.
Maybe the passing of B.B King inspired the jazzy feel to the evening. They mentioned his passing before starting the Reaper. Buck's noodle was awesome, this is a favorite part of the show for me.
Big thanks to all the fine folks of La Mirada. A perfect evening of blistering rock! Great audience, excellent theater!
My brother and I made the 2 hour drive from Sacramento in 80 minutes! Zero traffic! Not even on the Bay Bridge!
The Deadlies opened the show again. They were not as good as last year, still fun though. This place has an 11 oclock curfew, why then did the Deadlies get to play forever? Boo!!
BOC came on around 9:30. We camped out right in front of Mr. Bloom. Awesome! Really fun audience.
When Burnin' is played second, you know time is short. Dancin' and the Vigil were added in. Great show! Jules' performance was exemplary!
Due to the time constraints, there was no Buck's noodle. Boo!!
They did allow them an encore. There was no double ending to Cities. These guys are veteran rock stars, to make them hurry is despicable.
F Slim's! If you can't give great bands their proper respect, don't book them. Thanks for another great evening of rock!
BOC never sounded better! The Vigil was a masterpiece, Buck and Eric were so in sync, it was spine tingling! Rest of the oyster boys were amazing!
The crowd was so enthusiastic it's a shame that they could only play 13 songs! Paying 50 bucks, we deserved another half hour of BOC! Worth every penny, but Slims nightclub is so afraid of noise violations and music curfew from San Francisco militant politicians, that the plug could be pulled any minute if you go past 11pm.
Regardless BOC is still the greatest live band in the world and considering they have been coming to San Francisco for years, they deserve to be treated like royalty in exile!
By the way, best 50 dollars I ever spent! Dancin in the Ruins, Me262, Bucks Boogie and Black Blade were spectacular!
Thanks boc for making your annual stop in the city!
BOC rocked as usual. My first time hearing "Dancin'" live. The crowd was a bit thin which I assume was due to the $50 ticket price.
The show ended around 11 and my friends and I were drinking near the bar talking about how the show kicked ass when a Slim's employee approached us and said we needed to finish up quickly and leave.
Friday night at 11 in San Francisco and Slim's is closing for the night? Lame.
Here's a review of this gig from "alcindorblock.blogspot.co.uk":
I've seen BOC at Slims in San Francisco many times, but skipped this one. (Fifty bucks is steep.)
People are saying that the club was responsible for a seemingly short set, but that's not true. Slims has no curfew of hard cut-off time of 11 pm. (I was at a show there the other night and the band I saw played to midnight.)
The band themselves decided to end it when they did, not the club.
Raggamuffin and I were talking to Buck after the show and he said he thought they would be playing longer but that there was an issue with the club / timeframe.
Hopefully that is true, can't imagine he'd bend the truth about that, but who knows.
I can't remember if shows run later, I've been there enough to know but don't pay much attention to time as it has a mind of it's own.
I do know that Slim's was nearly shut down a few years back due to "neighbors" complaining about the late nite crowds and noise..
Could there be certain nights that there are curfews?.. did the band have early morning flights the next day??...
I have NEVER heard Buck embellish facts. If he doesn't know what happened, he tells you.
You're right Sam, Slim's have had all kinds of legal problems with residential neighbours for years with one woman trying to get them closed down completely; she almost succeeded and they even lost their liquor license for a time.
I believe the strict curfews were part of the eventual deal that allowed them to keep their entertainment and liquor licenses.
I went to last year's Slim's show and it was the same, band finished dead on 11pm and security were sweeping people out the door on the instant.
I don't believe Buck lied about the curfew, there was no reason the band couldn't and wouldn't have played longer that night if they had been allowed to.
They love Slim's and the Slim's crowds, setlists and show lengths from previous years before the legal problems started bear that out plus they had a full 'gap' day the following day, Saturday, prior to their gig just a few hours drive away in Reno (we went) on the Sunday.
I know Bloom added about five songs to the set in La Mirada when the owner told him they could play longer than the first curfew that was established so I'm not buying the fact that they just wanted to cut out. They enjoy playing
They've always come to play for the people... if it's cut short, it's never likely to be their fault...
I was at a show at Slim's exactly one week later and I asked two staffers there (one bartender and one security dude) about the BOC show and its apparently short duration length. "Was there a 11 PM curfew?" I asked, and the answer I got was "no, we have many shows that go way later than 11 pm. If the band stopped at 11 that's their call."
The band I saw that night (another Friday night) was Wire, and they did play until almost midnight -- so I'm not sure what to make of this. The noise problems that Slim's was dealing in the past didn't seem to affect the show that night. BOC seems to be doing quite a few sets this year that last only 12-13 songs (or less in some cases), so I dunno...
I passed on the Slim's gig this time around (fifty dollars... yipes) but might catch them later this year when they do their annual stop at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (free show!)
My brother and I made the 2 hour drive from Sacramento to Boomtown. This is a casino just on the outside of Reno, NV. We arrived at the will call table just before 8pm.
Why is the band playing? WTF? We are an hour early. Then I see on the poster that there is a 7 and 9 o'clock show. Boo!!! I guess we were the only two people on the planet to not know this. Oh well.
The music hall is just a conference room with chairs in rows. Guys came on a bit after 9pm. What a rock show! Awesome from start to finish. It really felt like a full show.
Really enthusiastic audience. Kasim and Jules' solos were shortened during Godzilla. There was a couple a few rows in front of us that brought out a cowbell during Reaper. Enough with the f'ing cowbell crap!
Another great show from the fellas. Thanks!
Show 2 set:
No encore.
My wife and I attended the first show.
Evidently, they added a second show due to the first one selling out. We were unaware of the second show. They played just under an hour, which was disappointing.
The room was fairly small, so it wasn't a stretch for them to sell it out. Twice.
The band was very good and energetic. Eric announced the 2nd show and how the songs would be different 'cept for the Big Three.
The Red & The Black was well done. It was good having Eric singing and bantering with the crowd. Last time we saw the band, it was mostly Buck's songs, cuz Eric had a cold. Career of Evil was fun.
Last Days of May was well received as always.
The show was too short. Casino shows can really suck the fun out of it with their time constraints. They want their patrons losing money gambling, not enjoying a concert..
60 min set opening for Kansas:
They played bucks boogie, burning for you, reaper, gold age leather and Godzilla - I can't remember what else...
Setlist:
Here is tonight's set list from the June 25 show at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (NH). The Robby Krieger band opened.
Set list:
Jules' drum solo was shorter than usual. I also noticed Andy Ascolese running monitors for the band tonight.
This show had something that I usually don't get too often when seeing Cult, A great opening band. I never thought I would get a chance to see a member of the "Doors" live and Robby didn't disappoint.
His band's set list was full of old Doors tunes and even though I felt a little sorry for the singer that had to step into Jim Morrison's shoes to sing those songs, the show was very enjoyable.
The BOC set that followed was just another great show at this venue. I was blown away by the versions of Black Blade and LDOM they performed that evening. I was also pretty psyched to see them play Career Of Evil. It had been a while since I had seen COE and I just love when they do a song you haven't seen in a while and do it very well!
The chance of seeing BOC do something new every show keeps me coming back for more. I ended up walking the beach after the show and as always, the ocean was a great cool down from seeing a great show there!
Running Order:
12:00 - 1:30 PM: ArrowHead
2:00 - 3:30 PM: Junkyard Dawgs
4:00 - 5:30 PM: Poobah
6:00 - 8:15 PM: Madison Crawl
9:00 - 11:00 PM: Blue Oyster Cult
July 18th, 2015: Atlantic County Institute of Technology / Performing Arts Center setlist:
Lineup: Bloom, Dharma, Castellano, Radino, Sulton
What a show! I haven't seen a setlist like this since the 40th anniversary and that was three sets.
I was at the July 18 2015 show at Stockton University. It was an amazing show. It was actually my first rock concert.
I was seeing BOC with my dad as a a birthday present, because I'd REALLY gotten into them in the past 3 years. It was about a 2 hour drive, and we listened to the entirety of Tyranny and Mutation on the way.
I was a little nervous. I was worried I would be sandwiched between two big no nonsense bikers who would reak of cigarrettes and gasoline.
I was also trying to keep my expectations low. I had been checking out a lot of their old bootlegs, and I didn't want to expect some thing of that quality, or else I would disapoint myself. I just told myself that even if the vocals aren't what they used to be, the music will still sound great.
Once I arrived with my dad, I was really surprised. I was in a waiting area with about 20 other people, and 2 guys were about my age (early 20's late teens) and I'm just so taken back that I'm able to talk to another person and I could say buck dharma is awesome, without having to explain who he is; we both just know.
The auditorium opens up, (something I forgot to mention was that this was being held in a high school's auditorium, apparently they get 3 rock bands to perform each summer) and I see about 7 or 8 marshall speakers on the stage that's shrouded in this very atmospheric purple lighting.
Get to my seats that were dead center in the 5th row, perfect view. And I was sitting in a whole row of guys my age, even the two from earlier. There was maybe a 10 minute for the band to start. But Then I heard the red and the black. Its a great song, and the speakers are so loud I felt vibrations down to my enamel but I stared slack jawed like a camel.
When Eric started he sounded 10 years younger. He was hitting those high notes in a way that hadn't been heard for a long time. They played 18 songs and the audience was really digging it. Even played joan crawford. It was just a life changing experience.
Here are the Classic Rock Stage times for Saturday:
No Hot Ashes - 1:00pm
Toseland - 2:05pm
FM - 3:10pm
Blue Oyster Cult - 4:20pm
Saxon - 5:35pm
Dream Theater - 7:00pm
Scorpions - 8:40pm
Here's some information on BOC's August 1 performance in Council Bluffs.
Grassroots Music Festival 2015 - Day 2:
Major band performance order:
BOC Setlist:
Incredible show:
There was one more - didn't write it down! Too awesome of a show to remember to write it down.
They mentioned Detroit Tigers and trade of player to the Mets! Extremely tight musicianship! !!
Warmed up the crowd for Deep Purple, whom put on a hell of a show.
I flew a thousand miles to see this concert. Well, Well worth IT!!!
Nice weather, great crowd, extremely good music. L.A. Guns opened.
B.O.C. ON TOUR FOREVER
First song was indeed Red and Black.
Don't Fear the Reaper was dedicated to "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
Your reviewer for the August 4, 2015 gig mentions a missing song from his setlist.
I was there, the missing song was Golden Age of Leather in the #2 spot.
Great show, they opened for Deep Purple. Last time I had seen either band was back in the 80s.
Set list for Albany NY 8/6/15 at Alive at Five concert Corning Preserve. Started at 6:30pm ended at 8pm.
Outdoor event along the Hudson River. Beautiful evening 80 degrees, sunshine, breeze with no humidity.
Blue Oyster Cult, August 6, 2015 at Albany Alive at 5. I missed opening local heroes Blotto.
It was monumentally packed, which was not surprising: free show, great weather, epic band. The beer lines were literally hundreds of people long, which was not awesome.
The sound was a bit muted, especially at first, it needed to be way, way louder, but hey, it was a municipal gig. There was a new bass player who seemed to be learning some of the songs as he went, especially "Career of Evil" which he flubbed at the same point in the verse several times.
Other than that, a solid set list: not only the 3 'hits' you'd expect, but some cool deep Secret Treaties stuff, nice hearing "Career", "ME262", and "Harvester of Eyes". "Then Came The Last Days of May" was awesome, nice long jam.
They played:
06/08/2015: Corning Preserve, Albany, NY
Support: Blotto
Setlist:
Here's a review that appeared in the Daily Gazette (Saturday, September 10, 2022):
Albany's Alive at Five 2015 Concert Series ended Thursday night with Blue Oyster Cult, and with local fun guys Blotto opening for them.
If nothing else, Blue Oyster Cult delivered their three hits with some skill, and the audience received them well, but nothing came close to igniting the crowd, or the band.
They played "Burnin' for You" as the third song, a standard move for them and smart, since nothing happened with the first two. At first it sounded pretty cool, but soon enough it dragged into a cliché early '80s sound, prompting the person next to me to mutter, unprompted, "They sound stuck in mud."
Original member Donald Roeser, better known as Buck Dharma, was front man for most of the show, playing lead guitar and singing a majority of the songs, including "Burnin' for You." The vocal range on these tunes are minimal, and Roeser's singing sounded fine: the song asked for very little and he delivered the minimal amount needed.
To really bring things down early in the show, Roeser brought on his mother-in-law - with his wife - for us all to sing her happy birthday. The city should consider contractually ensuring no band ever do that again.
Eric Bloom, the other original on stage, told the crowd that he and Roeser met in a music store in 1968. That is a lot of years together. Long Island boys, the remainder of the band members were all from parts of New York.
After 45 minutes into the show - including the very weak "Career of Evil" - they played a lengthy, stronger instrumental song that sounded a bit like Molly Hatchet at its best. They warned us they were going to "stretch out" a bit, and they did in length, but not in depth. They played fast, and aggressively, but all safe and well-rehearsed parts and transitions.
And before you knew it, they were onto their two big ones, starting with "Godzilla."
"It just flattened Schenectady," Bloom yelled. "Now it's flattened Cohoes," he added, showing off his local knowledge. This song started well, the full capacity crowd packed across the entire lawn came alive. It's actually a silly song, and dated, but everyone took it seriously enough.
"Fear the Reaper" is a great song, the kind good enough to sustain a band all these years, and they played it smoothly, Roeser's voice sounding good here. For a free concert it finally felt like we were getting our money's worth.
While Blue Oyster Cult took themselves seriously, Blotto did the absolute opposite. That's not to say they didn't play hard, but they've always teetered on the satirical edge - part hard work, and part Saturday Night Live skit. The band and the act has aged well. In fact, you can't picture their shtick working for them in their old days, when they were a young group with a more ambitious agenda.
Songs like "My Baby's the Star of a Driver's Ed Movie" and "She's Got a Big Boyfriend" were thoroughly enjoyable, and no one seemed to have more fun than the Blotto members. While these comedy routines can fall flat with an outdoor free-concert listening-challenged crowd, the audience was clearly paying attention and rooting for their home-team band.
Along with a few covers, like the Stones' "All Over Now," which was quite good, and "Secret Agent Man," (I heard a nearby young man ask his friend, "Secret Asian Man?"), they closed with their big one, "I Want to Be a Lifeguard," a pure put-on that was fresh back in the day and had the good fortune of airing on MTV's first day of broadcasting.
We learned that they opened for Blue Oyster Cult at Alive at Five 17 years ago. And opened for them years before that in the Midwest.
"This is great. We should do this every 20 years," said one of the Blotto members. Mark it on the calendar.
Setlist - Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, Pompano Beach FL:
Here are the two setlists.
Set 1:
Set 2:
No encores.
Shows were pretty truncated, and I think this will unfortunately be my last time seeing the band in Santa Cruz for a while.
Crowd was generally dreadful and the long wait in the sun has me sunburned and violently ill.
Details here:
Songs performed:
Plus Summer of Love during soundcheck at 6AM or so...
Richie was practising some of the piano intro to Joan Crawford, maybe for the Chicago show...
Cinestage Schedule:
5:00 - Tafoya's Lost Boyzz
6:45 - Chris Medina from American Idol
7:45 - AyOH
9:30 - Blue Oyster Cult
This is set list I got from Woody after the show:
Od'd | Golden Age | Burnin For You | Harvester | Harvest Moon | Bux Boogie | ME262 | Last Days of May | Godzilla | Don't Fear the Reaper | Cities
However, the actual list is a little different. To the best of my memory:
Really good show!
Here's the setlist - don't think I've missed anything, and I think I recall the sequence correctly:
Pretty good evening. The band - for the most part - brought their "A" game last. Really good show, nice setlist (any night you get Buck's Boogie AND Last Days of May is a good one.) Pretty good energy from the guys.
Big crowd (Full house and Starlight holds around 7000.) Eric sang a bit more than usual and was in pretty good voice. Sound mix was good, not great.
Nice job on "Shooting Shark", which has become one of my favorites. I like it a bit better every time I see them do it. On a good night the groove is absolutely hypnotic, and the song has a killer hook.
Brother was with me and had never seen them perform before. He's a bit more of a folkie Parrot-head type, but was mightily impressed.
Eric noted in his intro to "Career of Evil" that J.K. Rowling has a book coming out based on the song. Interesting.
Other notes - Shooting Star, the scheduled opening act, didn't perform. Cancelled due to illness. Too bad. I know the guys in the band, and they were really looking forward to playing Starlight in front of a big hometown crowd.
They are a local act that had quite a good run back in the eighties, with nationwide and international radio airplay and MTV exposure. Check them out on the web.
Boston - IMO - didn't exactly suck, but they were largely a bore. Making matters worse, their mix was a muddy, bass-heavy mess from where I sat.
The songs were the tired, corporate rock anthems that sounded old to my ears by 1979. Cool production and video - I'll give them that.
My family attended the BOC/Boston show last night(8-30) and here is what they played.
Thanks to Gérard Guéro, I now know that this took place outside in the Boatyard of the "Blue Point Brewery in Patchogue. Earlier in the day, their FB page had been hinting:
You never know what's going to happen at the boatyard. We're expecting more friends than usual today for more Toasted Lager... and more cowbell.
Come down by 6 PM tonight but if our parking lot is full of our Snapchat friends' cars (since they were first to get the news), use the Watch Hill Ferry parking lot [150 West Ave Patchogue] or paid parking at the Patchogue LIRR stop.
The encore included a guest spot by Joseph Cumia on guitar:
From memory, BOC did the following play list on 09/05/2015 at the Reserve Casino, Central City Colorado, and kicked ass for my first concert EVER (I'm 46!)!:
The Reserve Casino is located in the small casino town of Central City, nestled in the Rocky Mountains about 45 minutes west of Denver. As Eric explained, "we came all the way from sea level, all the way to 8,300 feet to say hello to you".
The band played two sets during the evening, a 7pm and a 9pm performance.
Set 1: Opening with The Red and The Black, the band roared through a classic set. No surprises but high energy delivery. A short version of Godzilla left time for some extended solos and Eric made a light-hearted (?) rant about the "frigging cowbells" before playing The Reaper.
With the small stage crammed into a corner of the show place, it was not very practical for the band to leave the stage and come back on for an encore, so they effectively played on through with Hot Rails To Hell and Cities on Flame without an encore.
Set 2: No less energy for the second show and an interesting mix of tracks. Great to see Dancin' In The Ruins make a surprise appearance before an outstanding version of Last Days of May - Richie and Buck were completely on fire. There was more on the cowbell theme, with Eric calling out individuals in the crowd with "you've seen SNL!" and "you brought one of those, make sure you can play it".
Full intro to Godzilla for this set ("Millions of years ago.....") and an extended, extended intro to the Reaper. This time, the band feigned leaving after The Reaper, before agreeing to play Cities on Flame as the encore. Sometimes, you just wish something else would surface from the catalogue to replace a couple of the old classics but, this time, it was the perfect end to the set. This was BOC at their best!!
Each set was just over an hour long and the band was outstanding - they really seemed to enjoy playing both sets. A great evening. Thanks!
Set 1:
Set 2:
I had to go to Denver to see my ex wife's Uncle's new restaurant. Why not go the same weekend BOC is playing? Nice two and half hour flight from Sacramento.
Beautiful drive into the Rocky Mountains. Nice little casino towns. One of cleanest non smoky casinos I have ever been in.
The band was on fire. Mr. Andy did a great job filling in for Mr. Sulton. It really felt like two complete shows.
No solos during Godzilla. No Buck's Noodle for the first show, he did do it the 2nd show.
We were told the "Go,Go Gorilla" story. Very nice performances all around. This really was a terrible place to see a show.
If you did not arrive really early to stand in line you could not get to the pit area in front of the stage.
People crowding the stairs made it impossible to pass. I made it into the pit the first show. Upstairs for the 2nd,boo!
No good sightlines. You had to watch monitors or try to peek in between the seated folks. At least the sound was good up there.
Another light out performance from the guys. Thanks for the rock!
Show 1:
Show 2:
Set List:
What a fun night at a muddy, dusty racetrack!
This show was in Highland, Il, just east of St. Louis, at a dirt racetrack called Highland Speedway.
Strikeforce, a local (St. Louis) classic/hard rock band was the first opener. They had quite the following with the local crowd.
April Wine opened next, but bands both had tons of sound issues; Strikeforce being delayed to even start. I was kind of worried that BOC was in for a rough night, but as soon as Woody took to the sound booth, everything was crisp and clear! I heard Eric's guitar more than I ever had before, and heard parts of Richie and Kasim's backing vocals I had never heard.
A pretty standard set, but it looked like EB threw in or changed the order of The Vigil, because you could see him giving the "V" hand signal to everyone right before.
This was the first time I got to hear Buck's new guitar on Last Days, and I definitely heard the different tone. I was very surprised they cut out the bass and drum solos, because the crowd was really into the whole show, but maybe it was a time issue.
The guys were having a great time on stage, and Richie even remarked on facebook what a fun show it was. Buck was very generous with his picks... think he threw out about 3 or 4. And I was honored the Jules threw me a drumstick after!
Never knew standing on a dirt racetrack could be so much fun!
I made the 4 hour trip to Yakima WA from Keizer OR for show number 42.
The band played their hearts out even though they were all cold and wearing their jackets.
The wind was blowing hard and Jules played hard to keep warm. Richie and Buck killed it on Last Days of May.
I met up with fellow BOC fans from the Northwest: Chris Conn, Cheryl Peterson, and Chuck Lunday.
We were all in the front row. The sound was not the greatest due to the equipment but a great show all in all.
We had a blast singing all of the songs. Some of us got set lists and guitar picks. Eric Bloom handed Chris a pick.
I got another set list, they made some changes.
Here is the set:
Here is the correct setlist for the Sunoco Performance Theater at Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, PA October 3, 2015 show:
[Danny Miranda subbed for Kasim Sulton on bass at this show.]
(8:09-9:45) = (96)
16 October 2015: The Warehouse, Fairfield CT setlist:
Was at the Variety Playhouse show. Pretty sure the setlist was:
Set list from the 10-31-15 Halloween show at the Rocksino:
Here is the lineup and setlist for this concert.
Opening act: Vanilla Fudge.
BOC Line-up:
Eric Bloom
Buck Dharma
Richie Castellano
Jules Radino
Kasim Sultan
Start time: 9:30pm
End time: 11:00pm
Set list:
Technical difficulties with Buck's guitar just before the solo in Last Days of May. Richie Castellano jumped in and played the solo while Buck was getting his guitar fixed. Buck was able to come back at the end of the end song and add his own solo.
This concert was in South Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. There were fans from New York and North Jersey at the concert.
FWIW, Vanilla Fudge was pretty good.
Below is tonight's set list. Danny Miranda was on bass and Eric mentioned that Kasim is doing a project with Todd Rundgren and Danny will be filling in for a bit.
Great show with lots of band and audience interaction in this intimate venue.
It was the best way to ring in the new year!! True to form, The Boys were GREAT!!! BOC FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!