The outdoor summer concert season is underway now and the month of June started off with another huge classic rock show. Styx, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and Tesla are currently out on tour together which started last week in Southern California followed by the second night of the tour making a stop in the Bay Area at the Concord Pavilion. Styx returns to the Bay Area after a successful and fun performance last year at the “L&T Ball.” I was personally looking forward to this show since last year I was busy recording fans in the crowd that I miss most of Styx’s set.
Due to a long day at the station, by the time I got home, I needed a nap. When I woke up I figured traffic going out to Concord was going to be insane so I decided to wait until it died down. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the Concord Pavilion I missed Tesla and Joan Jett’s sets. Luckily for me, since I got to the concert so late I was able to park up close by the box office and made the short walk inside. At first I was nervous that I missed the entire concert because as I was walking in, I saw a lot of people coming towards me and walking out. I look closely and realized a lot of them were wearing Joan Jett shirts, I guess all they wanted to see was her live and then leave.
I stopped by The Bone booth and saw a lot of listeners come by. I always love hanging out with the Boneheads, even one guy was nice enough to buy me a beer, thank you again to that awesome dude. I made my way to my seat as Styx kicked it into their first song “Gone Gone Gone” followed by “Blue Collar Man.” I looked around and saw a packed house at the Concord Pavilion. Everyone was up on their feet dancing and singing along to every song. Tommy Shaw, J.Y. Young and the rest of the guys in the band looked like they were having fun on stage. I forgot how many hit songs Styx has, but it was great hearing them going into one classic track into another.
Towards the end of their set, Lawrence Gowan covered Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” into “Come Sail Away” which made me think of Eric Cartman from South Park. For the encore, Styx came back out to do “Mr. Roboto” and ended the night with “Renegade.”
Overall, it was such a fun night. While I was bummed I missed Tesla and Joan Jett’s sets, I was happy to see Styx crush it once again for the Bay Area crowd. I can’t wait for the next rock show.
Here are some photos Baby Huey took from Styx’s set:
Here are some videos Baby Huey filmed from Styx’s set:
