50 Years? STYX Proves They Are Timeless

All images and review by : Belinda Reedy-Hinton

Lately, the expectations of seeing decades old artists have been lower. STYX Proved me wrong.

Originally, I was going to do a single article that reviewed the Live and Unzoomed Tour as a whole, but quite frankly, that wouldn’t be fair to the artists or the reader. So brace yourself, I’m about to surprise you.

As Tommy Shaw pointed out, this year marks the 50th year since STYX signed a fateful recording contract. Well, to be specific, Chuck Panozzo, who made a few song appearance, his late fraternal twin brother , John and former member, Dennis DeYoung signed the original contract. What a glorious golden anniversary for them.

STYX certainly set the standard for the epic story telling music so easily identified as the seventies era. With everything old being new again, STYX is riding that wave and owning it. Maybe it’s the combination of a generation which shared music experiences with their children or even the side effect we shall attribute to Jimmy Fallon and his love of recreating music videos, but either way, it’s opening up a new world for quality musicians to continue to explore.

Every single note was spot on. They didn’t even bother to key down their high range notes. They didn’t have to. They harmonies were a thing of beauty. Incredible, and frankly sometimes unattainable for younger musicians, this band was in perfect sync. Lighting was perfect and their stage presence never waned.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve sat for the entirety of a show, danced along and then risked being stuck in exiting traffic. Even with a rule the venue imposed, making all photographers carry their equipment out before taking our seats, I returned from the parking lot. I just couldn’t walk away. I highly recommend catching STYX on this run and I dare you to not sing along.