July 31, 2021

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Classic rockers Styx are out supporting their great new album titled Crash Of The Crown.  Tommy Shaw and the boys made a stop at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater to a nearly sold-out crowd to play some tracks from the new album as well as some fan favorites.

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The crowd was on their feet upon hearing the opening strands of "Blue Collar Man."  The party kept rolling with keyboardist Lawrence Gowan's stage theatrics and great renditions of "Grand Illusion" and the band's first Top Ten hit "Lady."

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Original member James Young got to take over lead vocals on "Miss America."  Then it was Tommy Shaw's turn to take center stage and play two acoustic tunes "Sound The Alarm" from the new album and "Crystal Ball" from 1977's Crystal Ball album. 

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Other new songs like "Reveries" and "Crash of the Crown" fit nicely in the set with the other classic songs.

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The last portion of the show was reserved for the big guns.  "Fooling Yourself," "Too Much Time On My Hands" and "Come Sail Away."

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After a brief exit, the band returned to encore with "Mr. Roboto" and "Renegade." 

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Styx proved that they are still on top of their game.  The musicianship, singing and stage presence of the band is outstanding.  They are all true professionals, but still look like they are having fun performing.

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Pittsburgh legends Donnie Iris and the Cruisers warmed up the crowd with a 50 minute set of classic tunes.

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The spry seventy-eight year old Iris still has an amazing voice and is very active on stage.  Opening the show with "Agnus," long time fans sang along to every word.  "Tough World," "Do You Compute" and of course, "Love Is Like A Rock" found their way into the middle of the set. 

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Surprisingly, his biggest hit "Ah, Leah" was not the last song played.  Instead, he closed the show with his first hit song "The Rapper" with a little bit of Deep Purple's "Hush" thrown in for good measure.

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Overall, it was an outstanding evening of classic rock and roll in one of the area's best venues.

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan

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