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Blue Öyster Cult

Live In Rockford, IL, August 2008

Review by Gary Hill

Say what you will about Blue Oyster Cult, but the band always delivers. I have never seen a BOC show that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. The lasers and the giant Godzilla prop maybe long gone, but the music is still vital and strong.
Sure it would be nice to hear some new music from the guys (in my interview with Eric Bloom – see it in this issue – he said that there might be some forthcoming – depending on label interest) but the classics have always been killers and time doesn’t change that.
     

This may not be the same band who tore up the stadiums in the 1970’s (of that lineup only main men Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom remain) but this is no has been reunion band. These guys have stayed together non-stop since their beginnings in the late 1960’s and seem to still live by their old “On Tour Forever” motto.

     

The group tore through a smoking set of their classic songs. For many in attendance the highlights were the big radio songs, “Burning For You,” “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and “Godzilla,” but that was only one part of the story. They treated their Rockford faithful to “Hot Rails,” “E.T.I.,” “Buck’s Boogie” and more. Personally I would have loved to have heard my favorite BOC song again (“Astronomy”) but you couldn’t quibble with the set list. Their current bassist is Rudy Sarzo who is best known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake and Quiet Riot. In the midst of “Godzilla” they cut into short snippets of well known hits from those artists.

     

All in all this was a smoking Blue Oyster Cult show – but you can’t expect any less from these guys. It might not have been the best show I’ve seen of theirs, but then again, perhaps it was. That’s how consistent this group is – and without being clichéd or boring.  

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This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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