Boston
The Zoo Amphitheater
Oklahoma City, OK
June 25, 2008
by Jeb Wright
Set List:
The Star Spangled Banner | I Had
a Good Time | Rock And Roll Band | Peace of Mind | Long Time
Segue | Cool the Engines | Feelin' Satisfied | Don't Look Back |
Something About You | Amanda | The Launch | Walk On| More Than a
Feeling | To Be a Man | Hitch a Ride | Don't Be Afraid |
Foreplay/Longtime
Encore:
Party | Smoking
The Zoo Amphitheater was
packed to the seems on a hot and sticky Wednesday night in
Oklahoma City as thousands of fans welcomed Boston to town,
anxious to see if the new additions to the band could fill the
shoes of the late Brad Delp.
After an energetic opening
set by Styx, Boston took the stage as band leader, songwriter,
producer and creator of Boston, Tom Scholz played an
instrumental version of our National Anthem. As the guitar
showcase ended, newbie Tommy DeCarlo, plucked fresh from his job
as credit manager at Home Depot, took the stage and
performed "I Had a Good Time" from the band's Corporate
America album. This was a tease as Delp never went for the
high note in this song and actually sang it in a lower
register. We would have to wait to see what the new guys were
made of.
Next up, the band kicked
into the classic "Rock and Roll Band" from the debut album.
DeCarlo, though visibly nervous, was playing in front of the
biggest crowd of his young career. When he hit the mark, the
crowd cheered their approval. For the more aggressive vocal
sections of the song, Michael Sweet jumped in and dropped
everyone's jaw. In fact, Sweet did his best to steal the show.
On loan from his band Stryper, Sweet has great stage presence, a
rock n' roll attitude and is a stellar vocalist.
The evening continued with
many of the band's biggest hits being met with standing
ovations. Highlights included "Peace of Mind," "Cool the
Engines," "Feelin' Satisfied," "Don't Look Back," "Something
About You" and "Amanda." Scholz was stellar on both guitar and
keyboards. During "Foreplay" he intensely and meticulously
played the keyboard and when the final note was played, and the
band went into "Long Time," he smiled a broad smile as if to
say, 'I nailed it."
The entire band, including
DeCarlo, once he got used to the big crowd, was totally into the
performance. While he needs to work on his stage presence, his
vocal abilities compared to Delp's are spooky good. Guitarist
Gary Pihl played his ass off and Kimberly Dahme on bass is as
talented as she is beautiful. Scholz kept command of the team
and lead the band through an amazing show. Scholz had a web cam
mounted to his keyboards that was displayed on the jumbo-tron.
The up close and personal look really gave a great perspective
of what it is like to play in the band. His wry sense of humor
also came through as his T-shirt simply read, "It's okay. I'm
with the band."
Boston closed the main set
with "Longtime." For the encore, Scholz introduced the band and
then kicked into "Party" from the second album followed by "Smokin'."
The capacity crowd stayed, cheered, sang along and celebrated
the music of Boston till the last note was played and the house
lights came on.
A year ago this
concert seemed like it would never happen as the death of Delp
appeared to end the band's future. Delp is missed but today's
Boston is more cohesive than ever. They sound great live and
their energy is renewed as the entire band is playing with both
a sense of purpose and pride. They may call themselves just
another band out of Boston but in 2008 they are firing on all
cylinders. Boston on tour in 2008 should not be missed. Check
out
www.bandboston.com for tour
dates. |
.jpg)
