Mr. Roboto Stayed Home, Thank God.

Last night, Styx , oh yes...Styx, the super-power, progressive-rock, megahit-machine, magic-making group from the 70-80s, performed for one night at the Mountain Winery up in Saratoga.

There were 3 original members on stage including Tommy Shaw who was one of the lead singer/songwriters. Dennis DeYoung, the falsetto singer, is in some sort of tiff with the band and and was not there - however - they luckily found another keyboard/singer who pretty much sounded exactly like him - so the night was still a success.

Most people remember Styx from their pop days from big Billboard hits like "Babe" and mainstream pop-rock songs their album Paradise Theatre. However, They were a really great rock group prior to their big pop success. Which is what made the concert great.

They played only 2 songs from Paradise Theatre, "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Snowblind"... and the rest of the setlist was from music prior to this album. And they ROCKED. Tons of classic 70s guitar solos, power drums, and long hair. In fact, they didn't even play the song "Babe" or "The Best of Times" which now I'm glad - cuz they were too schmaltzy. They also avoided all Styx music AFTER Paradise Theater... and if any of you remember "Mr. Roboto" then you can understand why.

Most people don't know that Styx was actually formed back in 1961 under another name... changed to Styx and started releasing albums under that name in 1972. So they actually have quite a body of work that spans the entire 1970s. And you could tell their whole vibe during the concert was about getting back to those roots of being a "rock band".

Wow - just saw Boston a few months ago... and last night I saw Styx. I might just need to scalp a ticket for the Foreigner concert tonight....and I'm not kidding... they are playing tonight at the Mountain Winery. What? I'm just sayin...