Date April 4, 1981Band Styx Tour Paradise Theater Venue The Spectrum City Philadelphia, PA Who saw this show with me? Tom Hartman
Notes I was a BIG Styx fan. They had four really great consecutive albums: The Grand Illusion (77) , Pieces of Eight (78), Cornerstone (79), and Paradise Theater (81). Then they jumped the shark with Kilroy Was Here in 1983 and I never paid any attention to them again. But between 1977 and 1981 I was a hardcore Styx fan. So, you can imagine how excited I was to see one of my favorite bands live at The Spectrum at the height of their popularity and creativity. Unfortunately, the show itself did not live up the hype I built up in my mind. To put it bluntly, the concert was boring. It was the only concert I ever saw where I fell asleep. At home their music was exciting, electric, and jumped out of my speakers. That night their music sounded contrived and artificial. Even the stage banter sounded phony to me. Check out James "JY" Young's introduction to Miss America and you see what I mean.
Setlist
1. 1928/Rockin' The Paradise 2. Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) 3. The Grand Illusion 4. Lights 5. Lady 6. Crystal Ball 7. Snowblind 8. Too Much Time On My Hands 9. Great White Hope 10. Best of Times 11. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) 12. Miss America 13. Babe 14. Renegade 15. Come Sail Away Encore 16. Borrowed Time 17. Half-Penny, Two-Penny/A. D. 1958/State Street Sadie
