Doug Van Pelt

Boston Concert Review

[San Antonio, Texas] Saturday, June 21





"Just another band out of Boston" has taken the road for a pretty solid three months of touring this summer. Stryper's Michael Sweet has been tapped to be vocalist/guitarist for this 90-plus minute show of hits.


This year marks my 30th anniversary of seeing Boston live for the very first (and only other) time. It was quiet majestic. I was unexpectadly impressed with their sound. I was a young 15 years old, going to my first real rock concert outdoors at Anaheim Stadium with 81,000 people, if I recall correctly. I showed up right before the quadruple-bill started with Sammy Hagar. I was on the ground near home plate in the very back at first, slowing stepping into the "river" of people moving back and forth, snaking my way to the front, getting closer for Van Halen, closer still for Black Sabbath and then holding the outfield wall and stage barricade in my hands -- at front row and center. The late Brad Delp looked me right in the eye, playfully encouraging me to clap along during "Feelin' Satisfied," but I was too busy making a statement about how cool I was with my arms crossed, defying Delp like he was a school teacher or something.


Well, 30 years later and I'm finally clapping along with my hands over my head, as if making up for that misplaced act of defiance. (I needed that act, though. It was a necessary building block for my carefully-built wall of coolness that I've relied upon for so many years...) Only this time it wasn't Brad Delp coaxing the crowd to clap along, but the "Home Depot guy," who was singing a good half of the songs, along with Michael Sweet.





Tommy DeCarlo's story is one of rock and roll dream-come-true legends (like the movie Rock Star), where a fan was singing the band's tunes and the band took notice (via his myspace page).


Dude does a real good job. Gary Phil, who I remember Sammy Hagar (it all seems to come around full circle, wow) busting onstage at that show in 1978, before they had a little guitar battle during the old Montrose song, "Bad Motor Scooter." This guy later joined Boston and was one of three guitarists, wailing away with those clean tones (Scholz, Sweet, and Phil).





The night went by fast after Styx rocked the house. They had the large outdoor amphitheater crowd singing along to "Fooling Yourself" (The Angry Young Man) and "Come Sail Away." I'd never seen Styx before and was just happy that they'd either left "Mr. Roboto" off the setlist or we'd arrived too late to hear it. They were good, loud, energetic ... and pretty tight.





Boston arrived and jumped right in with hit after hit after hit. Almost everything off the self-title debut album was played. The title track to Don't Look Back, "It's Easy," the ballad "A Man I'll Never Be" and the rousing "Party." Most of the material was clearly the classic old stuff, but later hits like "Amanda" and "Cool The Engines" were played, too.


While DeCarlo looked a tad uneasy but still very upbeat, Sweet looked like he was having a ball, playing guitar and scooting all over the stage. Later he stepped up to the mic in a quiet point in the show and stated that they dedicated the next song to the one and only Brad Delp. It was "To Be A man."





It didn't blow me out of the water like that first show did (I've gone on record before stating how that outdoor baseball stadium show sounded as astonishingly clear and crisp as listening to a compact disc through headphones), nor did it take me past the level of being stoked to revel in the great songs. It was a good show, but I wasn't really disappointed that it wasn't great. The flaws weren't obvious. It didn't suck by any means. It might've been a minute degree in the direction of laid back. I don't know. It looked like all the amplification (six full stacks of speakers adorned the back of the stage) was being powered by the trademarked Rockman system that Scholz invented. My friend joked that it almost seemed as if it'd be morally wrong to have any other amplification system on the same stage with those.


I was surprised to hear "Foreplay" and "Longtime" performed prior to the 90-minute set's ending. After they left and the obligatory encore seemed imminent, it was anyone's guess what song(s) they had left in their quiver to bring out. "Smokin'" was about the only sizable tune not played that night, and that's what they did for an encore.


Afterward Michael Sweet admitted that it was early into the tour and they still "obviously had a few kinks to work out." The historical significance and the prominence of seeing Stryper frontman Michael Sweet on this stage, though, seemed to speak volumes about his talent and God's favor upon the man. It's nice to know that this guy is not only for real when it comes to being a follower of the Way, but recognized and appreciated (instead of being marginalized or deemed cheesy and irrelevant like some "Christian rock footnote" in the history of rock and roll. In a way, this tour legitamized the guy's voice and talent. I couldn't help but feel blessed and fortunate to witness the event.





...And special thanks to Mr. Sweet, who hooked me up with killer 7th row center seats! It makes a good show even better to see it up close.




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