Review & Photos by Joe Schaeffer
Styx are back on the road after lockdown with their 2021 album Crash Of The Crown re-energizing the band’s live shows. Their set at the Agua Caliente Casino showcased several tracks from the new record, including the night’s opener, “The Fight of Our Lives.” The title track, “Save Us From Ourselves,” “Sound The Alarm” and “Lost At Sea” were sprinkled in throughout the night’s repertoire.
The band, who started back in 1972, currently consists of guitarist and vocalist Tommy Shaw, guitarist and vocalist James Young, keyboardist and vocalist Lawrence Gowan, drummer Todd Sucherman and bassist Ricky Phillips. Original bassist Chuck Panozzo still tours with the band, and popped up during portions of the show. For this tour, Styx has been joined onstage by Crash Of The Crown producer and co-writer Will Evankovich, who plays guitar. The mainstay of any Styx show has always been their musicianship and tonight was no exception.
Many of the night’s songs, of course, came from the band’s catalog of gold and platinum releases. With fan favorites like “Blue Collar Man,” “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Rockin’ The Paradise,” the audience responded — up on their feet, singing and clapping along.
The main set ended with a stunning rendition of “Come Sail Away,” as the crowd stood and sang along to the lyrics. After a short break, the crowd enticed the musicians back to the stage for a two-song encore that featured a spot-on rendition of “Mr. Roboto” and “Renegade,” two fantastic classics to give the audience a show to remember.
Of note on this particular night, raffle tickets and CDs were sold to help raise money for Southern California Bulldog Rescue, a dog shelter in the Palm Springs area. The winner of the raffle received a guitar autographed by the members of Styx. Talk about a show to remember — we can only imagine how the winner feels.
