Whilst this site concentrates on my collection of Live
Soundboard and Radio shows occasionally I will post other stuff.
I found this review I’d done of when I saw BOC back in 2008
and thought it would fit here.
If anyone does have a copy of this show in any quality I’d
love to hear from you.
Blue Oyster Cult- Review-Holmfirth 12th June 2008
It's been a long time coming..
I first got into BOC some 26 years ago and due to the band very rarely touring
in the UK and concentrating mostly on their home turf of the states the chances
to see this band live was
very few and
far between.
To be honest they are/were the last band that I really wanted to see live that
I never had had the chance to see.
Last night after a long wait I finally got to see the band play live.
The picture dome in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire UK was the setting (A strange one
for sure, not exactly the rock capital of the UK) and with a maximum capacity
of probably not much more than 1,000 I didn't expect the turn out to be great.
However when I was there I appreciated it so much, and found it to be a perfect
venue for the band.
I ended up front row in the gallery overlooking the stage
and got an awesome view.
Many bands from the 'classic' eras of rock/metal are still going with varied
success, and some of them really need to give it up as they sound terrible and
just don't know when to stop.
Turnouts for some of these classic bands when they tour the
UK is low or tours cancelled altogether and I feared this may be the swansong
in this country at least for BOC and they may be a shadow of their former
selves.
After last night I was gladly proved so very wrong.
The place was packed to the rafters, probably not capacity but at worst a
minimum of 900+ came out to see this classic band.
Now only Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma remain from the original line up but to be
fair to them and BOC they were always the main focal point for me and chief
writers anyway.
Sure, things have been hugely toned down as the years have passed, and whilst
the flashing whip and mirrored guitars are a thing of the past, the band simply
let the music do the talking, and it talks..Volumes.
The band kicked off with 'Summer of love' and settled into a slow groove,just
testing the audience to gain reaction and to set the tone for the evening. When
the song finished and the applause was deafening you just knew you were in for
a great evening.
The thing with BOC is that they are ultimate musicians. The band have a huge
wealth of albums to choose material from, and they are the only band that I
know of that simply can play anything on request from their back catalogue and
randomly slot and swap songs night after night.
So far on this UK tour they have played over 30 different songs over 4 nights. And
tonight was no different.
The set list was always going to be a problem for me as I’ve
got so many fave tracks. To be honest if the band had played for 3 hours it
wouldn’t have been enough.
They simply plucked old opener 'Stairway to the stars' up out of nowhere next
and really got the crowd going. 'Burnin' for you' is up next one of my all time
faves, then 'Teen Archer' and then the shock of the night...
Cultosaurus Erectus was released in 1980 and is my fave studio album of BOC.It
was my introduction to Blue Oyster Cult.’Black Blade’ was the first song I EVER
heard of BOC. I love this album and rate it very highly even after all these
years after.It has stood the test of time. I really wasn't expectin to hear
anything from it tonight. So when Eric Bloom simply walks to the mic and just says
'Unknown tongue' you could have knocked me over with a feather. The track is
rarely played live at best and to hear it was something I'll never
forget.Stunning.
Richie Castellano takes over on guitar from Eric to free him up to sing 'Cities
on flame' next. Which has one of the greatest riffs ever written through it.
Buck Dharma is on fire tonight too and his solo spot in this song just shows
that whilst this band have been going for well over 30 years and they are still
a force to be reckoned with.
A 10 minute long 'Shooting shark' is next where again Ritchie shows just how good
he is. Eric is now sat quietly down on the keyboards. Not for long though as
the 'Secret Treaties' album is now vistied with 'Career of Evil' and then
'Harvester of eyes' with its AMAZING riff takes hold of Holmfirth and the crowd
once again is revelling again.
'Last days of May' follows this and comes in at well over 10 mins long with an
unforgettable guitar dual battle (for a long time too) from Buck and Ritchie.
Good ole 'Godzilla' is up next and showcases bass player Danny Miranda who is
going to be Queen's touring bassist as of next week.
This guy was phenonemal on bass. And his solo spot then drops into a quick
Queen medley from the band, featuring 'We will rock you,Another one bites the
dust' and the end of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' but not for long before Godzilla
reurns and then the place erupts as 'Don't fear the reaper is produced'.
For the encore Eric introduces ‘black Blade’!! I couldn’t believe it, my First
BOC song ever is being played!! All i needed now was my all time fave 3 songs
playing (Divine wind, Dominance and submission and Red and the Black) when the
band launch into a second and sadly encore of ‘Red and the Black.It’s fast, it’s
heavy and almost frantic. It’s wondrous and closes the best show I have ever
seen and witnessed by ANY band ever. I met Buck after the show (Why didn’t I
get a photo?!!) and Eric too. We sat and talked in the dressing room. Words
cannot express how i felt.
I've waited years to witness this band, I’d have loved to have seen them more
over the years but this really
was worth
the wait.
As I left the the building I saw people shakin their heads
in disbelief simply not believing just how
good these musicians are.
It was quite simply a master class.
I just wonder if there's any chance of Blue Oyster Cult coming back to the UK
after this reaction from the british public, time will tell?
I HOPE SO.
Here's the setlist..
1.Summer of love
2. Stairway to the stars
3.Burnin for you
4.Teen Archer
5.Unknown tongue
6.Cities on flame
7.Shooting shark
8.Career of evil
9.Harvester of eyes
10.Last days of May
11.Godzilla
12.(Don't fear) The reaper
13.Black Blade
14.The Red and the black
