Filmed while on tour in July of 2014, the Blu-ray shows off some of the band’s well-known hits. Interspersed between the eight-song concert are interviews with the band and crew members detailing their adventures and lifestyle on the road. Topics covered range from what they do during their off hours to the inner workings of the business and how the technology has changed their experience of being away from home and their family. The line-up for the concert is Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitar); James “JY” Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Todd Sucherman (drums); Lawrence Gowan (vocals/keyboards); Ricky Phillips (bass, backing vocals); and Chuck Panozzo (original bassist as a guest performer).
Styx has been around since 1972 and they have plenty of wonderful and memorable songs. Unfortunately, there was a fallout with band members in 1999 leaving Dennis DeYoung out of the band. While breakups are highly likely as people have different ideas and concepts of what their direction should be, the remaining members usually go on with the songs featuring different performers. Instead of having someone else singing some of the songs DeYoung sang, Styx just completely leaves them out of the rotation.
And those songs are hugely important for Styx fans. Granted the songs that Tommy Shaw sang are great with “Too Much Time on My Hands” being my personal favorite, but it’s just not Styx without their biggest charting hits like “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” “The Best of Times,” “Lady,” and “Mr. Roboto.”
The Blu-ray is presented in 1080i High Definition/ Widescreen 16×9 (1.78:1) video with an LPCM Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio Soundtrack. The video is clear and bright with a great amount of detail. For a concert, it’s actually too sharp and clean. Maybe it’s because there isn’t any pyrotechnics or smoke machines being used but the clarity gives a strange texture to the performance making it feel more like a television show than a concert. The audio sounds good and has a nice surround sound that hits all the highs and lows and doesn’t distort during playback no matter what volume it’s set at.
The Blu-ray contains three Bonus Features: The first is the concert without any of the interviews in-between, more interviews with the band and staff, and a still photo gallery.
Song Listing:
- Too Much Time On My Hands
- Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
- Light Up
- Crystal Ball
- Superstars
- Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) – Featuring special guest Don Felder
- Rockin’ The Paradise
- Renegade
- Genki Desu KR (Credits)
