“Ah, Jesus! I wish you could see this. The light’s coming up. I’ve never seen a painting that captures the beauty of the ocean at a moment like this.” – Gordon Gekko
If you remember the scene from Oliver Stone’s 1987 classic, “Wall Street,” in which Gordon Gekko is trying to articulate the grandeur of a sunrise to Bud Fox over the telephone, you’ll get an idea of what a sold-out crowd in Lewiston experienced on Friday night when Styx took the stage. Call it a celestial coalescence of man and nature that reinforced the widely held notion that there’s no better outdoor stage in Western New York than the one thrust against the backdrop of the Niagara River Gorge. The sun peaked at the exact moment the band threw itself into “To Those” from 2021’s “Crash of the Crown” and we were on our way.
“Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” “The Grand Illusion,” and “Lady” were flawless as usual while “Miss America” and “Crystal Ball” remained the tracks most likely to linger in your consciousness during the drive home. Perhaps a lesser band would be shackled by that kind of predictability, but this catalog is loaded with hits and Styx transcends the static through each member’s passion for the art of performance.
Lawrence Gowan dazzles with his spinning keyboard, Tommy Shaw is an ageless wonder whose singing and soloing continue to stun, and James “JY” Young is clearly reveling in the fact that the group he joined back in 1970 is still operating at the height of its collective powers in 2023. The arrangements are so tight that the contributions of bassist Ricky Phillips, drummer Todd Sucherman, and new guitarist Will Evankovich can easily get taken for granted, but I assure you that they’re all integral pieces to the puzzle.
What made this evening slightly different from their two previous appearances at the venue is the fact that they had stellar new tracks such as “Our Wonderful Lives” and “Khedive” to incorporate into the set, which could have been the first time that many people in attendance were able to hear anything from “Crash of the Crown” performed live post-pandemic.
Because no trip to the region would be complete without dipping into Gowan’s solo career, they performed a fiery version of “A Criminal Mind” from 1985’s “Strange Animal” that left the Canadian music nerd in me brimming with enthusiasm.
Georgia’s Jet Black Roses kickstarted the evening with one of the finest sets I’ve seen from an opener in quite some time, so the tone was set early on and the only thing left for Styx to do was seal the deal.
Music N' Other Drugs 
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