Styx’s debut ‘Mission’ show slingshots band, fans to outer space
Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw performs a solo during Sunday's concert at the Pearl Concert Hall at The Palms in Las Vegas. The band performed its 2017 concept album, "The Mission," in its entirety for the first time.
Styx plays "Radio Silence" during the band's first-ever full concert performance of "The Mission" album on Sunday at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas.
Styx plays during the band's first-ever full concert performance of "The Mission" album on Sunday at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas.
Following the conclusion of this weekend’s first full concert presentation of their masterful 2017 concept album “The Mission” before a soldout crowd at the Pearl Concert Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas, the members of Styx could be forgiven for being as exuberant as college kids who’d just aced a final.
Because in many ways they had.
Coming down from the concert’s immediate afterglow, guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw was in a reflective mood some 90 minutes after the show.
“For us, it’s a gift to our fans,” Shaw said of “The Mission” concert treatment. “And for me, after all we’ve been through and not doing new music (for 14 years), that we could record new music … and one day this happened? It just blows my mind.”
Attempting to tackle any concept record in concert is a bit of a gamble, but Shaw said that Sunday’s reception bodes well for future “Mission” destination performances.
“The fact so many people showed up … because this was a test,” Shaw said. “It could have been half full, and it would have been a bummer. This way we’re encouraged to do more.”
That should be great news to Styx fans everywhere, and not just the lucky 2,500 that filled the Pearl to capacity for the maiden launch of “The Mission” live experience. Ever since the space exploration-themed concept album dropped a year and a half ago to mostly critical appeal, the overriding question orbited around the possibility of doing the record justice with a full concert treatment.
That query moved from possibility to reality on Sunday, as Styx not only nailed the countdown and launch of “The Mission,” but also completely stuck the landing with a flawless opening set.
From the pre-show music — which subtly featured songs with space themes, such as Elton John’s “Rocket Man” and The Killers’ “Spaceman” — to a member of the road crew putting finishing touches on Todd Sucherman’s drumkit while wearing some kind of spacesuit, the stage was certainly set for an intriguing journey.
Styx has been taking the stage for several tours now to the taped intro “Overture,” the mostly instrumental song which kicks off “The Mission.” But it was amazing how much more oomph and impact the song had when actually performed live by the band, which powered into the number following a taped launch countdown.
That immediately led into the incendiary “Gone Gone Gone,” fueled by James Young’s lead guitar and Lawrence Gowan’s energetic vocals and irrepressible stage presence. “Light it up, let’s get this show on the road” indeed.
Original bass player Chuck Panozzo — who makes sporadic unannounced appearances with the band as his health allows — was on hand to deliver the thumping bottom end to “Hundred Million Miles From Home.” The song also featured a tasty talkbox guitar solo from Shaw, the first song he’s ever recorded using that effect.
It was during “Hundred Million Miles From Home” and the ensuing “Trouble at the Big Show” that the uniqueness of this concert began to really hit home as these songs have not been played live previously, except for being road tested a few times in the past couple weeks to, as Shaw termed it, “get the stank off them.” Both are standout tracks and translated fantastically to the stage. Young especially owned “Trouble at the Big Show,” not only with his lead vocal turn, but also with two guitar solos — one of them an extended section that embellished and enhanced what was on the record. That was one of few notable instances where the band really deviated from the recorded album version of things.
Bassist Ricky Phillips shone brightly during “Locomotive,” with his parts powerfully pushing the beat behind the acoustic first half and Shaw’s plaintive vocals. Shaw’s guitar solo in the middle is not only a stellar moment in the song, but also an emotional peak in the album’s arc itself, as he switches from acoustic to electric for the remainder of the tune.
Styx was joined onstage throughout the entire “Mission” set by Will Evankovich, who produced “The Mission” and co-wrote most of the songs on the album. Evankovich, also a member of The Guess Who, mostly took up an unobtrusive background station between Gowan’s keyboards and Sucherman’s drum kit. He complemented the band’s arrangements with background vocals and added punch with electric and acoustic guitars, and mandolin on “Ten Thousand Ways” and “The Red Storm.”
As Evankovich said after the show, he “knows where all the bodies are buried” in terms of all the musical components of the songs, and was thrilled the band asked him to sit in and add some extra punch to the mix. It was great seeing him perform with the band, but his unintroduced presence no doubt spurred some scattered “Who’s that guy?” quizzical looks in the audience.
Styx presented “The Mission” straight through, without breaks and without speaking to the audience between songs. That was definitely the right call as it allowed audience members to embrace a ride-along aspect, losing themselves in the powerful music, storyline and immersive imagery on the big screen. The crowd reaction proved quite interesting to observe. There wasn’t the typical dancing in the aisles party atmosphere that you’d see at a normal Styx show — until the second greatest hits set, that is, when everyone cut completely loose.
Perhaps the best way to describe the audience’s vibe during “The Mission” performance is by calling it a “reserved intensity” — kind of like being fully engrossed in a compelling movie.
I asked Shaw afterward if that kind of reaction took a little bit getting used to from a stage standpoint, since it seemed so out of the ordinary.
“We believe in the record and we know what it is,” Shaw said. “We know if we play it in front of people, they’re going to know how to react.”
Great thought obviously also went into the video accompaniment on the giant screen behind the band. One can only imagine all the whiz-bang, high-speed, slingshot-to-outer-space graphics that could have been thrown up there in a misguided bid for increased wow factor. But instead, the reverent imagery and videography was restrained to a captivating, but calming, slow evolutionary roll, serving to augment rather than distract, resulting in the perfect complement to the live music.
Drawing on all its hyperbolic pop glory, “Radio Silence,” which the band has been playing on tours since its release, served as a powerful close to Side I of the album. That symphony of fear gave way to the elegant optimism of “The Greater Good,” showcasing Gowan’s keyboard prowess and featuring an inspiring guitar solo by Shaw.
With giant red Mars sandscapes on the screen behind him, Gowan continued rocking into “Time May Bend,” which then acquiesced to the peaceful, soothing full band vocals of the beautiful “Ten Thousand Ways” interlude.
Everyone was primed and ready for “The Red Storm,” a prog-rock monster that is one of album’s main highlights. With intensity slowly building to a frenetic middle section and finishing on delicate piano notes, “The Red Storm” was the all-encompassing ride “Mission” fans were hoping for. The song is recognized as an incredible drum showcase for Sucherman, and to make sure no one missed his most dynamic fill section, Young held an extended point on him as if to say, “Check this out!” Shortly thereafter, Young was at center stage soaring through an impressive solo of his own, head arched back, wailing notes into the void.
“The Outpost” with its amazingly catchy chorus and the trippy “Mission to Mars, the first song written for the record, closed out the album proper. In a slight surprise, the band added a variant reprise of “Overture,” with Panozzo returning to the stage, to close the whole experience with a reminder of where everything started. Something like that would be great for any future reissues of the album.
The album itself runs for 42 minutes, and the “Mission” set clocked in at a trim 45.
The second set had an entirely different feel — it was more like a celebration to all that transpired before. Opening with “The Grand Illusion,” a string of hits followed, including “Blue Collar Man,” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Lady,” “Miss America,” “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Come Sail Away” followed by an encore of “Mr. Roboto” and “Renegade.”
All told, the whole evening produced just shy of two hours of inspiring live music in a pretty intimate setting in a format Styx will certainly revisit. From Las Vegas to Mars and ultimately Cloud 9, Styx fans were treated to quite a ride this weekend. “The Mission” show ranks right up with the top Styx concert experiences of all time.
Styx
The Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms
Jan. 20, 2019
First Set: “The Mission”
Overture
Gone Gone Gone
Hundred Million Miles From Home
Trouble at the Big Show
Locomotive
Radio Silence
The Greater Good
Time May Bend
Ten Thousand Ways
The Red Storm
All Systems Stable
Khedive
The Outpost
Mission to Mars
Overture Reprise
Second Set
The Grand Illusion
Blue Collar Man
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Lady
Miss America
Rockin’ the Paradise
Too Much Time on My Hands
Lawrence Gowan keyboard medley
Come Sail Away
Encore
Mr. Roboto
Renegade
Performance time: 1 hour, 55 minutes