One of the only three surviving original members of the band was there with a shiny red P-Bass in hand to help bring you back to the classic Seventies hit. Out comes the acoustic for the next one, “Fooling Yourself.” Tommy takes a minute to announce their original bass player, Chuck Panozzo. His guitar work is such a sweet contrast within the hard rock guitar riffs of his counterpart. Tommy just keeps ripening as a musician as time goes by.
The man can sing, he can play, and at any point during your ninety minutes together you think he is not pulling his weight, you better guess again. “Too Much Time on My Hands” was second up in line and Tommy Shaw decided to keep the bar raised high. Lawrence Gowen nailed the difficult vocal line with ease as he is just a natural performer. They took the song and performed it very close to the original recording. They opened up with the title track from the album that bought them their first airplane, “The Grand Illusion.” It was the first offerings and it was a perfect way to kick it all off. They brought along a baker’s dozen of ditties and they hit you right between the eyes with every single one. Styx played The Venue at Hammond, Indiana’s Horseshoe Casino and the show was just incredible. Your ear to ear grin was proof that you had a great time. The show has been over for hours and the adrenalin is still running through your body.
