Despite having collected their albums since the ‘70s, on Friday, October 17, I attended my first Blue Öyster Cult (BOC) concert. They were part of a dual concert, headlining for the higher-charting band, Kansas. This is the first of two blogs on the event, focusing on BOC.
As you would expect, the crowd consisted of fans who were in their 20s in the ‘70s and ‘80s. We had grown up with BOC and they had aged with us. Two of the original members, Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma, headlined the group with new members who had replaced the Bouchard brothers and Alan Lanier. These members have recorded new albums with Bloom and Dharma, so it was legit.
As expected, Eric’s voice showed its age, but we weren’t there for an album, we were there for a small party, so the Township Auditorium was the perfect venue. The show started right at 7:30 as advertised, and the next hour was a sprint through nine of their popular songs and one well-placed bluesy guitar solo by Buck Dharma. To the crowd's delight, the band hit seven of its albums, mixing the tempo and reminding us of the long history of the band. The guitar solos in the songs were lively and not overdone. The crowd appreciated the reasonable volume, allowing the instruments and vocals to blend well.
We enjoyed “Dr. Music” from the Mirrors album to start off the night. Second was “Before the Kiss, A Redcap” from their first self-titled album. Third was “Golden Age of Leather” from Spectres, which encourages a sing-along of the opening chorus “Raise your glass of beer on high…”, on which the crowd joined in. “Harvest Moon” from the Heaven Forbid album was a nod to lesser-known hits. Then, there was a run of the more known top 40 like “Burnin’ For You”, “Hot Rails to Hell”, “Godzilla”, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, ending with “Cities of Flame with Rock and Roll” from the Tyranny and Mutation album.
I am reminded that their first album, Blue Öyster Cult, sold 100 thousand copies. Tyranny and Mutation sold 200 thousand and Secret Treaties, my favorite, sold 300 thousand. Then, they released their first live album, On Your Feet or On Your Knees, and the world found why this band had such a following: they know how to play live music. The fourth album, Agents of Fortune, went platinum with “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, and they have been touring and making music ever since. It was a party and we all had fun.