Blue Öyster Cult - London Review

I have been lucky that, over the past twelve or so years that I have been regularly going to gigs, I have managed to see nearly all of the big-name hard rock and metal bands that it is still possible to see live. There are some notable exceptions, which hopefully one day I will manage to cross of the list, but I have done pretty well over the years. Therefore when an opportunity arises to see one of the 'big names' in rock and metal who I have not seen, and making the concert is logistically and financially possible, it is an opportunity that must be taken. One such opportunity arose last year when the American rockers Blue Öyster Cult announced a UK tour. I have been a casual fan of Blue Öyster Cult for a number of years, without ever really crossing over into actual fandom. I enjoy many of the band's albums, and really appreciate their unique and quirky sound, but have never really had the time to properly immerse myself in their extensive catalogue. Despite still touring a lot in their native America, Blue Öyster Cult have not really made it over to the UK all that often in recent years. I think the band's stock had fallen quite far over here - and a tour shirt I saw in the crowd from 2002 that saw the band playing venues like Bilston's Robin 2 certainly demonstrated this - but they seem to be enjoying a bit of a resurgence of late. A handful of shows in 2016 and 2017 went down well, and drew crowds, so the band went all in and booked a proper UK tour for 2019 that saw them take in some venues that the 2002 Blue Öyster Cult could only dream of while they were sitting backstage in Bilston. I opted for the London show, which was booked into the seemingly ambitious Hammersmith Apollo - a real haven for bands of Blue Öyster Cult's generation. Everyone wanted to play the Apollo (or the Odeon as it was then), and it seems that Blue Öyster Cult wanted to recapture some of that 1970s spirit. I was worried that the venue might have been a bit over-ambitious for the band - that same 2002 tour shirt had them down at the now-demolished Astoria which was much smaller than the Apollo - but my fears were unfounded. While initially the crowd seemed a little thin on the ground, but the time Blue Öyster Cult hit the stage at 9pm the place was pretty much full! This is a testament to the band's pulling power over here at the moment, and it was great to see so many turn out to catch them.

Before Blue Öyster Cult took to the stage however, the growing crowd was treated to 45 minutes of upbeat blues rock from The Temperance Movement - a band I was already a big fan of and had seen live a handful of times previously. In fact Facebook had earlier in the day reminded me that it was a year to the day since I had last seen them live - when they headlined the O2 Academy in Bristol - so I was more than ready for another dose of their feel-good music. Despite suffering from the classic support act muddy sound syndrome, The Temperance Movement put on a high-energy set that seemed to go down well with most of those around me. I thought that a back-to-basic boogie blues rock act was a strange choice to support Blue Öyster Cult's pro-prog/metal stylings, but the combination ended up working. The mid-paced strut of Only Friend was a great opening piece, before Paul Sayer (guitar/vocals) started to whip up a storm with the frantic riff of Caught in the Middle. The band seemed really on fire from this point on and frontman Phil Campbell, who seemed uncharacteristically reserved early on, started his trademark frantic dance moves and shook his tambourine into oblivion. All of the songs played came either from the band's 2013 self-titled debut album or last year's excellent A Deeper Cut, with songs from the latter just about dominating. Older numbers like the furious energy of Take it Back saw a lot of movement down near the front where I was, and the band got to show their gentler side with songs like Another Spiral - although sadly this song was not the vehicle for a lengthy Sayer solo as it had been on the band's own tours last year. The real highlight of the set for me however was the second slower number, the title track of the band's most recent number. A Deeper Cut saw Campbell armed with an acoustic guitar as the rest of the band slowly built up a musical tapestry around him. By this point some of the early sound gremlins had abated a little, and the song was heard clearly throughout the Apollo. It rightly received a large cheer, and this encouraged the band to launch into their final number, the southern rock-esque Built-In Forgetter which just rocked the house and brought the band's short set to a close. The Temperance Movement are a band I have loved since 2013, so getting another chance to catch them live was a real treat - despite it being much shorter than usual. I hope to see the band again soon. The setlist was:

Only Friend
Caught in the Middle
The Way it Was and the Way it is Now
Ain't No Telling
Take it Back
Another Spiral
Midnight Black
A Deeper Cut
Built-In Forgetter

After a half an hour change over, the lights went down and Blue Öyster Cult walked out to huge cheers and the Game of Thrones theme tune blaring over the PA. With relatively little fanfare apart from this, the band immediately launched into the riffy Dr. Music with frontman Eric Bloom (vocals/guitar/keyboards/percussion) taking the lead with his quirky voice and buzzing guitar rhythms. This was a high energy start to the night, and what followed was nearly two hours of the band's trademark rock music, played with the passion and humour you would expect from the band. Bloom and fellow original member Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser (vocals/guitar) traded lead vocals throughout the evening, with the latter probably just about having a larger share of the microphone, while the whole band contributed to the chorus harmonies that make up a big part of the band's sound. An early example was the hard-hitting Career of Evil, with Bloom's voice leading the charge while the rest of the band crashed in for the chorus. Despite the first three songs hitting the spot, it was Roeser's Burnin' for You that got the biggest cheer early on. Roeser and Richie Castellano (vocals/guitar/keyboards) teamed up for the iconic intro guitar harmony, and Roeser's subtle voice really carried the song. Castellano is the real unsung hero of the current Blue Öyster Cult line-up, moving between guitar and keyboards (often mid-song) to help flesh out the sound. His Hammond organ playing really bulked out some of the material, and a couple of flashy synth solos showcased his own virtuosity. Much of the material showcased was from the band's 1970s heyday, but there was occasional diversions from this - such as a rare outing for Harvest Moon from 1998's Heaven Forbid and a couple of choice cuts from the 1980s. Harvest Moon and the The Vigil made for a spacey mid-section to the show, before Roeser and Castellano launched into the muscular riff of E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) which unsurprisingly brought a big cheer as Bloom sung the sci-fi lyrics.

The last third of the set was made up of many of the band's well-known songs, although it did get a little bogged down for a while with some lengthy instrumental pieces. Buck's Boogie has long been Roeser's centrepiece, but to then follow it up with Then Came the Last Days of May which was stretched out to include lengthy guitar solos from Castellano and then Roeser again seemed a little much. Castellano's shredded solo was extremely impressive, but I was quite glad when the set got back onto firmer ground with Flaming Telepaths and then a ever-present Godzilla. Godzilla of course went down a storm, and the crowd helped Bloom out with the vocals as he beamed from behind his shades. Another lengthy guitar solo from Roeser followed, that made use of live looping techniques, before he began to play the iconic guitar intro for (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Of course the place went wild, and Roeser sang the haunting song with ease. It has quite a different vibe from the rest of the band's material, but it proved to be a perfect closing number. It was the song that many were waiting to hear, and they were not disappointed by what they heard. There were calls for the band to come back on stage, and they obliged with a three-song encore that opened with a personal favourite of mine in Joan Crawford. It was a real treat to hear the song live, and this was followed up with Castellano taking the lead vocals on Hot Rails to Hell and Bloom stepping up to take on Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll which brought the show a close. The latter was dragged out with more soloing, but this was the band's victory lap so no-one minded. A huge cheer erupted as the band finished, and the packed out Apollo was pleased with what they had just witnessed. The band seemed really pleased with the reaction too, and posed for a picture with big grins on their faces. The setlist was:

Dr. Music
Before the Kiss, a Redcap
Career of Evil
Burnin' for You
O.D.'d on Life Itself
Harvest Moon
The Vigil
E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
Buck's Boogie
Then Came the Last Days of May
Flaming Telepaths
Godzilla
Guitar solo
(Don't Fear) The Reaper
-
Joan Crawford
Hot Rails to Hell
Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll

I had gone into the Apollo a casual Blue Öyster Cult fan, and I left a big fan. I can Blue Öyster Cult's albums featuring a lot in my listening habits going forward, and I am looking forward to expanding my collection and picking up the albums I am missing. I hope this UK tour continues to be a success for the band so that they can return again in the not too distant future.