BLUE ÖYSTER CULT @ Gila River Casino 7/2/07

I *finally* got a chance to see these guys last Monday night! They are currently on tour with STEPPENWOLF doing what appears to be the "casino circuit", because that's the venue I saw them in. Even though it was only Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma from the original band, it was still a real treat since I've wanted to see these guys since the early 80's and never had a chance.

BÖC went on first, which surprised me because I expected them to go on last. It worked out well though, because I wasn't that into seeing STEPPENWOLF anyway (I'd seen them before in 1984) and I didn't want to be out all night. (I left right after BÖC was finished and made it a semi-early evening.)

Buck was in top form and was quite the shredder actually! His voice also sounded really strong. Eric seemed a little tired, but he had his moments when the old warrior showed through and it was still cool to see him. I'm not entirely sure he isn't having some health problems, because he seemed really stiff when he moved around.

They had two young guys on drums and keys/third guitar who did quite well and played the old standards with conviction.

They also had this hotshot longhair bass player who really seemed to be tearing it up and close to the end of the show, Eric introduced him and it was friggin' RUDY SARZO! He then launched into a bass solo in the middle of "Godzilla" which included an off the cuff rendition of "School Days" by Stanley Clarke! WAAAAY COOL!

They played all of their hits of course, plus a few oddities. Lemme see if I can approximately re-create the setlist:

This Ain't the Summer of Love
OD'd on Life Itself
Burning for You
Shooting Shark
The Vigil
Golden Age of Leather
Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll
Then Came the Last Days of May
Godzilla
(Don't Fear) The Reaper

When they launched into "Golden Age of Leather", I was one happy BÖC fan! That is one of my FAVORITE songs by them and I never expected to hear it live! The only other song I really would have liked to hear was "Veteran of the Psychic Wars", and maybe some more tracks from the first three albums like "Transmaniacon MC", "Before the Kiss, A Redcap", "Hot Rails to Hell", "The Red & The Black", "Dominance and Submission" and "Astronomy". But that's ok, "Golden Age" more than made up for the lack of these other songs!

All in all, a good show that I've waited years to see and that I thouroughly enjoyed!

AWESOME! Glad you finally got to see them man!

When I saw them, Allen Lanier was still with them. (He recently took a
hiatus for some reason..)

They are pretty good at mixing up their set lists. When I saw them
they played "Astronomy", "The Red and The Black", and "Dominance / Submission" ..

The show I saw was one of the best concerts I've seen in YEARS.
It was in a tent, on St .Patricks day, and their was NO BARRIER, so
I was right up front and the sound WAS KILLER!

Been jamming IMAGINOS nonstop!

Cool man! Imaginos is some good stuff!

I wish that Allen had been with them this time. He was integral to their sound too, I believe. Him, Eric and Buck formed a powerful triumvirate. Not that the Bouchard brothers weren't just as essential to the sound, but Allen was more up front as a personality, IMO.

But Rudy being there on bass was cool in it's own way, so I can't really complain!

I'd go see them again, but I'm just glad I finally got to check 'em out at least once.

Cool. Sounds like a good show. I would have loved to have caught BÖC in their heyday.

I saw them twice back in the day. On "Cultosaurus Erectus" and "Fire Of Unknown Origin" tours.

Been listening to more of them lately.Especially "Psychic Wars",really been digging that one.Replace "psychic" with mental and some of that song sounds almost like it could relate to spiritual battles, IMO.Didn't really understand til I got Imaginos, that BOC were mostly about a mythology that they created,thought they were just odd random songs.Appreciate the stuff more with that knowledge,being a writer, I can relate to literary mythologies.Also been jamming to "Subhuman" a lot too.Once again ,the first album I heard by them is my fave,Secret Treaties.

Rockin' "Fire of Unknown Origin" right now!

My Two favorite songs by BOC "Dont Fear the Reaper" and "Burning For You"

Bet it was a great show

My Two favorite songs by BOC "Dont Fear the Reaper" and "Burning For You"

Bet it was a great show

They are so good you had to say it twice....

Have Cultosaurus Erectus in my CD player today. Probably one of my favorite BOC albums.

ult

I have been listening to Heaven Forbid quite a bit lately and
it's kinda of addicting! The styles vary quite a bit, yet some songs harken
back to the old days. I do miss the crazy/esoteric lyrics of Sandy
Pearlman and Richard Meltzer because they really did add to the
songs for sure!

Hey Trog, have you heard Curse Of The Hidden Mirror ? I have
heard mixed reviews of it. Interesting that they used an old
STALK FORREST GROUP song as the title of the album..

Yeah, I have Curse... but it's nowhere near as good as Heaven Forbid. Kind of inconsistent.

I have the STALK-FORREST GROUP "album" on mp3.

*bump*

I still don't have enough time to tell you how much I LOVE BOC!!!

But, in case you didn't already know, I will tell you my name came from 7 Screaming Diz-Busters!!!

I've seen them over 7 times!!! HAHA! AND they AlwaysRReady2Rock!!!

screaming7s wrote:

But, in case you didn't already know, I will tell you my name came from 7 Screaming Diz-Busters!!!

Oh...so that's what your name means!

Cool!

Thanks for the Awesome avatar Trog!

I was once and sometimes still known as criss3o! Still Love the name, I am Chris, my last name begins with O and 3 is my fav #!

BUT, it was also my E-Mail and I could never sign up for a mailing list because it would go to criss30 not 3o! So, when I made the jump from EZBoard I decided to make a clean break!

Almost equal to 3 to me is 7, both for spiritual reasons!

I struggle with addictions and temper, but I also try to show others how Christ has Saved me from myself despite myself! Hence, Screaming (My Temper and My Desire for Faith) & 7 (To me 7 symbolizes God, 777 is the opposite to 666)

Add to that my LOVE for BOC and 7 Screaming Diz-Busters being one of my absolute favorites and you get screaming7s!

Totally dig all the BOC albums up to Agents of Fortune, after that they lost their edge and never quite got it back again. I do always enjoy watching them live though, saw them recently in a local casino and they rocked. They have a special meaning to me because i met my current wife at a BOC gig in 2004.