Concert Reports
United We Rock Tour
REO Speedwagon, Styx, Don Felder
06/25/2017, Vina Robles Amphitheatre, Paso Robles
Rock legends REO SPEEDWAGON and STYX, along with very special guest star DON FELDER—formerly of the Eagles—have joined forces for the “United We Rock” U.S. summer tour, which made a stop at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre on June 25.
All Photos: Ray Soto / Central Coast Rocks
REO Speedwagon Styx Don Felder
Summertime was made for memories and live music, and on Sunday June 25 at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre generations of music fans collided with a star filled Summer night to form brand new memories together during a cosmic Rock n Roll experience which made everything old new again. Dubbed the “United We Rock” tour, all three veteran bands on the bill brought decades of memorable hits forever ingrained in America’s music consciousness backed by a live Rock n Roll arsenal rarely seen today.
Former Eagle Don Felder got things going while the hot Paso sun was still up and had the sell out crowd on their feet from the first notes of his opener “Already Gone,” from The Eagle’s 1974 album On The Border. Felder’s setlist consisted of mostly Eagles tunes besides his own Heavy Metal from the 1981 movie of the same name and Seven Bridges Road a Steve Young Cover. Highlights of the former Eagles guitarist’s set, which many concert goers from the night considered the best on the triple bill included One of These Nights, Take It Easy (with Tommy Shaw from Styx on guitar, banjo, and vocals) and the set closing epic Hotel California (with Dave Amato from REO Speedwagon on guitar and Todd Sucherman from Styx on tambourine)
Rockers Styx kept things festive opening their set with Gone Gone Gone, the lead single from their just released sixteenth studio album The Mission. A concept album, it tells the story of a mission to the planet Mars in the year 2033.The album's storyline was written by Tommy Shaw and Will Evankovich. Radio Silence and Khedive from the new CD were also inserted into the band’s set which also featured the group’s monster hits The Grand Illusion, Lady and Too Much Time On My Hands. The band ended their energetic, well received set with a trifecta of Come Sail Away, Rockin’ The Paradise and Renegade
REO Speedwagon closed the show on this night of the tour with a hit filled setlist that showcased the band’s many ballads and rockers. From the opening Don’t Let Him Go the veteran band cranked out an up and down wave of emotions which showcased the group’s songwriting talents. Can’t Fight This Feeling, Tough Guys and Ridin The Storm Out proved that the band still resonates with today’s music fans. Keep On Loving You and Roll With The Changes closed out this memorable night
Midwest rock heroes REO Speedwagon and Styx have a rich touring and recording history together. In 2000, the bands recorded a live album and DVD called Arch Allies: Live at Riverport at Riverport Amphitheatre in Missouri. In 2009, the bands embarked on the “Can’t Stop Rockin’” Tour and marked the occasion with a single, “Can’t Stop Rockin’,” co-written by Styx’s Tommy Shaw and REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin. 2012 and 2013, REO Speedwagon and Styx hit the road together with the wildly successful “The Midwest Rock ‘n Roll Express” tour.
Most recently, in January, Styx and Don Felder shared the Las Vegas stage for an unforgettable five-night limited engagement, “Styx & Don Felder: Renegades In The Fast Lane,” at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Las Vegas. And, on the Rock Legends Cruise in February, Don Felder invited REO Speedwagon’s Dave Amato up for an amazing performance of “Hotel California.”
Everyone on the tour is ecstatic to crisscross the U.S. together again. In their own words:
"I called up Tommy Shaw last summer and we were both thinking the same thing: let's get the boys together, make some music, and have some fun. REO Speedwagon and Styx together is a head first plunge into the fountain of youth, an unstoppable force of nature. Add the amazing Don Felder to the mix and it's a thundering slam dunk!" – Kevin Cronin, REO Speedwagon (vocals, guitars, keyboards)
“Hitting the road with REO and Don Felder is gonna be an unforgettable evening of music for the fans and another chance to hang with these good time friends of ours who love the life as much as we do.” – Tommy Shaw, Styx (vocals, guitars)
“FORGET POLITICS!!! Since music is the universal language, Styx, REO Speedwagon and Don Felder have a SHOUT OUT TO THE UNIVERSE!!! UNITED WE ROCK!!! At a venue near you this summer!!!” – James “JY” Young (vocals, guitars)
“I’m so excited to be spending the summer on tour with my good friends STYX and REO. It’s going to be a ‘ROCKING’ summer filled with hit after hit and tons of fun for everyone. Come on out and party, dance and sing with us this summer. It’s going to be a blast.” – Don Felder
Ladies and gentlemen, we have liftoff.
STYX’s highly anticipated and critically acclaimed 16th studio album, THE MISSION, has officially launched into the sonic atmosphere around the world on the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe.
The first single, “Gone Gone Gone,” quickly rocketed up Mediabase’s “Classic Rock” charts.
THE MISSION--which was recorded over a two-year period at Blackbird Studios, The Shop, and 6 Studio Amontillado in Nashville--displays the best aspects of the ongoing in-harmony musical intersection of the six-man STYX team: the aforementioned guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer/percussionist Todd Sucherman, and bassist Ricky Phillips.
The new music was created to reflect the viewpoint of the six-person crew enlisted for the maiden voyage of Khedive, the first entry in a new fleet of nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft underwritten by the Global Space Exploration Program (or GSEP, for short). The Khedive team consists of The Pilot, a fully hands-on, seat-of-the-pants born leader; a First Officer who serves as the team’s big-brother figure; an Engineer who is skeptical of every phase of the mission but remains confident in his own abilities to make the best of any technical situation; and a Top-Shelf Trio of science, astrophysics, and survivalist experts.
THE MISSION has been racking up many early rave reviews:
“THE MISSION is right up there with the very best of Styx, a remarkable achievement considering it’s 45 years since they signed their first recording contract. No wonder guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw describes it as the band’s ‘boldest, most emblematic album since [1978’s] PIECES OF EIGHT.’” -- Classic Rock
“The concept album is an adventurous, 43-minute thrill ride chronicling the trials, tribulations and ultimate triumphs of the first manned mission to Mars in 2033. From the hopeful drive and classic STYX sound on tracks like ‘Gone Gone Gone’ and ‘Hundred Million Miles’ to the stargazing machinations of ‘Locomotive’ and the elegiac optimism of the closing track, ’Mission to Mars,’ THE MISSION succeeds in delivering the good from a band that continues to fire on all cylinders more than 45 years after signing their first recording contract.” Guitar World
STYX – Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitars), James “JY” Young (vocals, guitars), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Todd Sucherman (drums) and Ricky Phillips (bass), along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo—would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late '70s and early '80s, due to a fondness for big rockers and soaring power ballads. Over the course of their 40-year career they’ve released 15 studio albums, six best-of compilations and four live albums, garnering eight Top Ten singles. STYX has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Throughout their illustrious career, they’ve performed more live shows since 1999 than all of the previous years of its career combined. Two Super-Bowl appearances, Pollstar box office chart-topping tours with Def Leppard, Journey, Boston, and Bad Company (to name only a few), two more studio albums. September 2, 2016 marked the long-awaited release date of STYX: LIVE AT THE ORLEANS ARENA LAS VEGAS on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Formats via Eagle Rock Entertainment. It captures the band performing in July 2014 such fan favorites as: “Too Much Time On My Hands.” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” “Renegade,” and more. It also includes a special surprise visit from DON FELDER for a rousing performance of “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights).” It was released on CD July 24, 2015. STYX continues to conquer the planet, one venue at a time.
REO SPEEDWAGON – Formed in 1967, signed in 1971, and fronted by iconic vocalist Kevin Cronin since 1972, REO Speedwagon’s unrelenting drive, as well as non-stop touring and recording, jump-started the burgeoning rock movement in the Midwest. Platinum albums and freeform FM radio staples followed, setting the stage for the release of the band’s explosive HI INFIDELITY in 1980, which contained the massive hit singles “Keep On Loving You” and “Take It On the Run,” and spent 15 weeks in the No. 1 slot. To date, REO Speedwagon has sold 40 million albums around the globe, with HI INFIDELITY approaching ten times platinum status in the U.S. After nearly five decades since forming, Cronin and bandmates Bruce Hall (bass), Neal Doughty (keyboards), Dave Amato (guitar) and Bryan Hitt (drums) are still electrifying audiences worldwide with concerts featuring their timeless, two number one singles, “Keep on Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” along with hits and fan-favorites including, “Take It on the Run,” “Time for Me to Fly,” “Roll With the Changes,” “Ridin’ The Storm Out,” and more.
DON FELDER – former guitarist of the Eagles, New York Times best-selling author and four-time Grammy® Award winner—released his second solo album (and first since 1983), ROAD TO FOREVER, on October 9, 2012 and has been on tour throughout the U.S. ever since. To coincide with the launch of “The Soundtrack of Summer,” the album was re-released with four additional songs, ROAD TO FOREVER: EXTENDED EDITION, via INGrooves Music Group. FELDER’s ROAD TO FOREVER originally debuted on Billboard’s “Heatseekers” chart at #27. "Girls In Black," the album’s first single, reached the Top 30 on the Mediabase Rock chart while the second single, “Wash Away,” co-written by FELDER and Styx’s Tommy Shaw and featuring Shaw’s signature vocal sound, quickly jumped to #4 on the Mediabase Classic Rock chart. FELDER wrote or co-wrote all the songs and performs guitar and lead vocals on the album, which boasts a long list of iconic guest performers including: David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Steve Lukather, David Paich and Steve Porcaro of Toto, Randy Jackson, Styx’s Tommy Shaw and others. It was produced by FELDER along with Robin DiMaggio (Posse 2.0 bandleader on the “Arsenio Hall Show,” United Nations’ Musical Director).
www.ReoSpeedwagon.com
www.facebook.com/REOSpeedwagonOfficial
www.DonFelder.com
www.Facebook.com/DonFelderMusic
About Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Welcome to the Vina Robles Amphitheatre, where European Inspiration meets California Character and the stars always shine. Here, two of California's great compositions meet, as exceptional wine and intimate live music are paired to create an unforgettable wine country experience.
The 3,300 seat boutique amphitheatre is nestled on a picturesque, oak-dotted hillside in Paso Robles on California's Central Coast. With its opening in the summer of 2013, the Vina Robles Amphitheatre became one of the largest outdoor venues for arts and entertainment in San Luis Obispo County. Featuring a style reminiscent of the California missions, guests are able to immerse themselves in a unique and intimate concert adventure as they enjoy modern amenities and first class hospitality. The concert season runs from May through November and features top tier acts from around the world in all genres. Various seating options all within 150 feet from the stage, including regular, VIP and general admission lawn seating, make events accessible to anyone in the community. We look forward to sharing our love of wine and the arts with you soon. For more information about the Vina Robles Winery, Click Here
www.VinaRoblesAmphitheatre.com
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