We’re finally turning the corner on the weather out here. Last week seems to have been our last opportunity to enjoy cooler days before the summer heat takes over. Even as a lifelong SoCal girl, I’ve never liked the heat.
But in spite of the heat, Sunday evening brought me out to Pinewood Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater in Lincoln, which is just under an hour outside Omaha. I went to see Styx. They’re probably one of the first bands people think of when asked to name American prog bands. This was my first time seeing them in nearly 15 years, with the first time being in August 2011 at the Los Angeles Greek Theater, when they were co-headlining a summer tour with Yes. Despite that having been my first time seeing both bands, I remember we came away feeling as though Styx had bested Yes with a performance that felt much more energetic and engaging, even though we were primarily there to see Yes. Walking into this show, with nearly a decade and a half having passed, I was naturally curious to find out whether Styx could still perform to the same degree as they did then.
Pinewood Bowl is a smaller outdoor theater surrounded by a calming backdrop of evergreen trees, with foldout chairs being placed in designated sections. I was in the first row of the center “Elk” section, where I quickly ran into the same problem I encountered at David Byrne’s show earlier this month, in that the incline leading from to the stage was not steep enough to allow a good view of the band when people were in front of you.
This was a double-header show, too, with their opening act being the band Cheap Trick, whom I have to say, gave a rather lackluster performance. Even the people sitting around me were turning to their friends/partners to note how they appeared to sleepwalk through their performance. The one word I could think of when I was listening to them was “generic.” The whole set consisted of power ballads with some very contrived lyrics, boring music, and often less than impressive vocals to boot. I do make sure to keep in mind the obvious stuff, like that they’re older and not going to sound just as they did 40+ years ago. That said, those factors don’t change my feelings that this was a weak performance.
Now, Styx, I’m happy to say, were the complete opposite. To put it simply, watching them felt as if no time had passed at all. I was a little too far away to get a good enough look at the band to confirm the lineup, but after doing a quick search, I can say that we had Tommy Shaw, James Young, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan, Terry Gowan, and Will Evankovich. If my memory is right, Chuck Panozzo made a brief appearance on stage at the Greek back in 2011. However, he did not appear at this show. This tour was in support of a new album called Circling from Above, which I have added to my Spotify playlist, so some of the set was, of course, dedicated to playing new material, but they played plenty of older, more recognizable material from albums like Pieces of Eight and Paradise Theater. Yes, I know they write their own share of ballads and material of that nature, but I find their musical approach more interesting since it incorporates more complex musicianship and unexpected compositions. Tommy and Lawrence can absolutely still nail those strong vocals, too. I’m glad that they’re still performing so well and appearing to enjoy it. I think that’s the best we can hope for with these aging rockers, if you’ll pardon the expression.
My seating circumstances did not allow for many photo ops, but I did manage to snag some decent shots.
I’m going to go all out and say that I think Styx should be invited to perform on Cruise to the Edge. It amazes me that that hasn’t happened. I think they would be a big hit, and after watching them, I could totally picture them rocking the pool stage or one of the main theaters. They do have a song called “Come Sail Away,” after all!
The Girl in the Scarf 
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