I have now seen at least a dozen concerts at Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown, and this was definitely the best attended of them. I would have estimated the crowd at 1,000 people, but the room is advertised to hold 1,400 and it was filled. There were a few teenagers, many people my age or slightly older, and lots of children of the ’60s. I have been critical of the long, boring waits between acts at this venue before, but they did an excellent job this night. Striking and setting the stage took on average 25 minutes, and in the meantime they showed footage from Woodstock ‘99 on a large screen lowered in front of the stage. Just before the headliners, they switched to the infamous “more cowbell” sketch. Doors opened at 7:00 and I arrived around 8:00 but was still able to find a great spot at the front of a riser about 12 feet, 45 degrees to stage left. I had apparently missed two opening acts that were not well-received.
I did see three other openers, all of which were quartets. I believe they all played original music. (The songs from the last one sounded familiar, but I feel the same way about all music in that style.) I did not catch the first band’s name, but I think they may have been the Brendan Quinn Band. Their sound was purely blues-rock, but none of their songs were based on a blues progression. They were not bad, but nothing you could not hear in a pub in every community. The next band was Voice Of Reason, which played in a style like thrash metal but slowed down 20%. They had a powerful, operatic vocalist who sounded a lot like Bruce Dickinson to me. The rest of the band played like face-melting clockwork, but it was strictly rhythm. I would definitely see them again, but hope they add some serious lead guitar. I did not hear the third band’s name either, but they played modern rock. Not my thing, but they did it well.
The headlining Blue Oyster Cult came on just after 10:00, and played until 11:40. Instead of current member Richie Castellano on keyboards, guitar, and background vocals, former bassist Danny Miranda was featured in that role for this show. Allen Lanier he is not, but he filled in well enough. Rudy Sarzo looks almost exactly like videos from playing with Ozzy 25 years ago: rail-thin with overly long, spindly limbs and an impressive mane of hair. The rest of the band look like fairly typical, doughy middle-aged men. My memory of the setlist and rough order is: “This Ain’t The Summer Of Love”, “Before The Kiss, A Redcap”, “Burnin’ For You”, “Buck’s Boogie”, “The Vigil”, “Shooting Shark”, “Then Came The Last Days Of May”, “Black Blade”, “Godzilla”, Guitar Solo, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, and encore “The Red And The Black”. The only adventurous choice was “The Vigil”, but it was surprising to not hear “Cities On Flame”. I cannot complain about the length of the show of any of the choices, but I sure would have liked to have heard something from one of their two most recent albums and one of their audience sing-alongs such as “I Love The Night” or “Golden Age Of Leather”.
During the first two songs I was concerned that Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser was having an off night. Fortunately, after that he retuned his instrument (one of those strange looking guitars with no headstock and tuners at the bridge) and played like a man possessed for the rest of the show. On most songs he completely abandoned the solos he had recorded back in the day for blistering new ones. He especially killed on extended versions of “Burnin’ For You” and “Then Came The Last Days Of May”, but was fantastic throughout. Sarzo also put his own stamp on the songs rather than copying Joe Bouchard note-for-note, and it sounded good in most places. Due to the large proportion of the concert given over to the more radio-friendly portion of their catalog, I think Buck had more lead vocals than Eric Bloom. Between that, Buck’s incredible lead guitar work, and Eric’s pedestrian rhythm playing, it really seemed like the band is now Buck’s vehicle and Eric is as much in the background as the replacements filling out the band.
As I might have expected from seeing one of my very favorite bands, this was one of the best concert experiences I have ever had, well worth the 2.5 hour drive each way.