Styx, Kevin Cronin, and Don Felder Were Spot on in St. Louis Friday

 

–by Thomas Schmidt

–photos by Sean Derrick/Thyrd Eye Photography

Friday night’s “Brotherhood of Rock Tour” at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre could have very well been named the “Brotherhood of Harmony Tour”.  On this night, you had three different sets of musicians in Styx, Kevin Cronin, and Don Felder performing their music with the outstanding harmony that goes with it.  Whether they were performing past hits associated with their group they’ve performed with or new, original music, the harmony and blend was outstanding.

To open the show, Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles, came out and treated the audience to spectacular harmonization of familiar hits such as “Seven Bridges Road”, “Take It Easy”, and “Hotel California”.  He also did not disappoint with a new song entitled “Hollywood Victim”.  Don performed his solo well on “Hotel California” with the other lead guitarist to make a harmonically pleasing duet.

Kevin Cronin, formerly of REO Speedwagon, opened their set with the album High Infidelity, performed in its entirety.  There are so many hits on this album.  Each one was executed superbly.  Hits like “Don’t Let Him Go”, “Keep on Loving You”, ”In Your Letter”, “Take It on the Run”, and “Time for Me to Fly” just reinforced my idea of the harmony that REO Speedwagon churned out with all of their hits.

The band is essentially the same lineup Reo Speedwagon finished their career with last year and they did not let me down as the pitches were spot on, the blend and balance were perfect, and the excitement that came with the performance was exhilarating.

When it came time for “Ridin’ the Storm Out”, the video screen behind the band showed rain and lightning, so you knew what was coming, but they held on to the pitch just making you wonder when you’d finally get to hear the siren and know that the song was starting.  It was such a thrill to hear that cranked out again, just as it had been in the early days of the band.

Kevin Cronin thanked the audience and radio station KSHE-95 for their support for getting their band off the ground.  Kevin introduced the last two songs “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and “Roll With the Changes” as the two songs that REO performed at Live Aid many years ago.  Again, the harmony was sweet all the way through to the last song.

Styx opened their set with the title track from their album The Grand Illusion, which they then performed in its entirety.  This was my first time seeing Lawrence Gowan at the helm of the keyboard.  He is certainly the showman!  He knows how to command attention from the keyboard and away from it.

Of course, “Come Sail Away” was the crown jewel of the whole set, in my opinion.  Gowan executed the solo flawlessly and without effort.  Of course, the vocal harmony was beautiful and executed with brilliance just like they did when the songs were first recorded.  It was great to hear Tommy Shaw’s vocals and guitar work.

Bassist Chuck Panozzo made an appearance on bass and was introduced describing how the band began in his basement.  James Young did a wonderful job on guitar and his solos.

After The Grand Illusion album, Styx performed a new song called “Build and Destroy” which came from their latest album Circling from Above. This song contained their hallmark sound of harmony with keyboard-heavy material.  There was a video screen behind them accentuating the lyrics of the song about AI (Artificial Intelligence).

They performed other hits from their past for the 2^nd half of their set.  Hits like “Rockin’ the Paradise”, “Lady”, “Too Much Time on My Hands”, “The Best of Times”, and “Blue Collar Man” rounded out the night.  As expected, they rocked all of these songs with the energy of the younger version of themselves.  They performed two encore pieces with “Mr. Roboto” and “Renegade”.

All of the acts seemed to have a great time up on stage and interacted with the audience.  Styx had a marvelous stage presence to bring to a conclusion a wonderful evening for the “Brotherhood of Rock” Tour.  It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since REO Speedwagon and Styx first performed together at this same amphitheater which resulted in the fabulous live album Arch Allies: Live at Riverport.

Be sure to check out the gallery of photos from the night after the setlists below.

 

Styx Setlist:

The Grand Illusion:

The Grand Illusion

Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)

Superstars

Come Sail Away

Miss America

Man in the Wilderness

Castle Walls

The Grand Finale

The Hits:

Rockin’ the Paradise

Too Much Time on My Hands

Lady

Build and Destroy

The Best of Times

Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)

Encore:

Mr. Roboto

Renegade

 

Kevin Cronin Band Setlist: (All REO Speedwagon songs)

Hi Infidelity:

Don’t Let Him Go

Keep ON Loving You

Follow My Heart

In Your Letter

Take It on the Run

Tough Guys

Out of Season

Shakin’ It Loose

Someone Tonight

I Wish You Were There

The Hits:

Keep Pushin’

Time for Me to Fly

Ridin’ the Storm Out

Can’t Fight This Feeling

Roll With the Changes