Blue Öyster Cult - London Review

This month has been absolutely crazy in terms of gigs - and there are still two more to go before May finishes. Despite what many seem to think, on the surface at least, live music in the UK is thriving - and I think that I am on course to break my previous record in terms of gigs attended this year. The next few months are somewhat slower, but I still have quite a bit planned, but up to this point things have been crazy - with February and May being particularly hectic. This is demonstrated in the fact that, last night, I went to my 24th gig of 2025 so far - and I returned to London only a week or so after last leaving. I have been up and back to Manchester since then, too, and will be heading to Bristol on Wednesday. I am actually looking forward to a handful of quiet weekends before a fairly busy week in June which takes me to London and Birmingham kicks off - but I am sure that by then I will be well-rested and ready to tackle yet more live music. Turning back to last night, though, the reason for the bank holiday trip to London was to catch the rock legends Blue Öyster Cult at the London Palladium - which kicked off a relatively brief European tour. I had seen the band once before, but that was in 2019 - and it was at the gig which I became a proper fan. I had been a casual Blue Öyster Cult fan for a few years at that point, and decided to catch the band on their 2019 UK tour to 'tick them off' so to speak - but the I enjoyed the show far more than I was expecting to, and I have become a much bigger fan since. I had tickets to see them with Deep Purple a few years ago, too, but that tour was delayed due to the pandemic - and by the time the tour actually happened the dates were not convenient for me and I got my ticket refunded. It is a shame, as that double bill would have likely been excellent, but it was inevitable that I would end up missing out on some things during that period - especially given that basically everyone was touring at the same time in 2021 and 2022. As such, then, prior to last night I had only seen the band live once before - so when they announced this lone London date last year I picked up a ticket immediately. Whilst Blue Öyster Cult have been semi-regular visitors to the UK over the years, they are not a band with a clockwork European touring schedule - and as is the case with so many bands of a similar vintage a 'next time' is never a guarantee. Like so many bands from the 1970s, too, Blue Öyster Cult seem to have undergone something of a resurgence of late - at least here. When I last saw them, I remember seeing tour shirts being worn from UK tours from the 2000s where the band were playing very small venues - but I saw them pack out the Eventim Apollo. The Palladium is smaller than the Apollo, and the Apollo show was part of a proper UK tour, but the Palladium is a prestigious venue that perhaps the band wanted to play - and if the show was not sold out then it was very close to being so. The upcoming European tour is not that long, either, and I do get the impression that the band are very slowly winding things down given their age. That being said, though, they did actually play a show at the pretty small Islington Assembly Hall the night before the Palladium show under their original name Soft White Underbelly - as something of a tour warm-up. I am not sure why I did not go to both shows, but for London-based Blue Öyster Cult fans the double-bill was a real treat - and with two different setlists played a lot of the band's lengthy catalogue was on show over the weekend.

This was my third visit to the Palladium and, despite its legendary status, it is not somewhere that I am a huge fan of. I enjoyed sitting in the Stalls on my first visit - but sitting the the Golden Circle is not as much fun, largely as there is so little legroom. My seat last night was much better than the one I had in the front row of the Golden Circle when I saw Lindsey Buckingham in 2022, though, where I felt very uncomfortable - but it was still hard to sit in the seat last night, and I am not even especially tall. Notwithstanding this, though, the view from my seat was excellent - and the sound throughout the night was also largely very clear. Before Blue Öyster Cult's set, though, the large crowd was treated to half an hour from blues rockers When Rivers Meet - a band that are certainly rising stars here in the UK at the moment. Both times I have seen Blue Öyster Cult live now they have had bluesy bands supporting them, which seems odd to me, but I enjoyed When Rivers Meet's time on stage even if their very organic and retro slide-driven blues is not really my thing. I had seen them before, when Grace Bond (vocals/mandolin) and Aaron Bond (vocals/guitar) supported King King as a duo a few years ago, but since then they seem to have risen up the ranks somewhat - and they are pretty popular here now. My views on their set last night were very similar to how I felt when I saw them previously - which is that they are very good at what they do but after a while all the songs start to sound very similar. They sounded more powerful and less overly retro with a full band behind them, though, but the ever-present slide and a very soulful approach to vocal melodies does mean that their overall sound is quite limiting. Grace is certainly a great singer, and she really strutted around the stage with ease, and Aaron can deliver some excellent slide riffs - but I just wish that there was a bit more variety in what they do. The use of slide mandolin was interesting, though, with Grace adding some melodic leads over the grungy guitar riffing on occasion, and some of the choruses were pretty hooky - but the overall stomping grooves started to wear thin after a while, at least for me. This is a band that is doing well for themselves, though, so they are clearly striking a chord with some. It is great to see a new UK band doing well, and I am sure that their newly-released album will be a success, but they are not really for me - even if I am glad to have now seen them in a full-band setting so that I could properly experience their sound.

It was not long to wait before the lights went down again and the five current members Blue Öyster Cult took to the stage. There was little standing on ceremony throughout, and for the next couple of hours the veteran band delivered a career-spanning set which included a number of crowd-favourites, newer numbers, and the odd deeper cut - with each track received a strong reception from the large crowd. Opening with the boogie blues of Dr. Music, the set got off to a rocking start. The one complaint I had with the sound was that Eric Bloom's (vocals/guitar/keyboards/percussion) voice was a bit low in the mix at times - but otherwise the sound was raw and powerful. In truth, Bloom's voice is not what it was - even compared to 2019. His scratchy vocals have always been a big part of the band's sound, but he sounded a little weak throughout the show - which I had expected to be fair. He is 80 now, so he did the best he could, and on some songs he sounded better than others - and in truth it was just great seeing him up there in seemingly good health and having a great time. Buck Dharma's (vocals/guitar) voice has fared a little better, and generally sounded strong - and he stepped up to the microphone for Before the Kiss, a Redcap which came in second. When Career of Evil followed it up, though, I was a little concerned that I was about to see the exact same setlist as in 2019. Blue Öyster Cult are generally very good at mixing things up night to night, though, so after the identical opening three numbers the show diverted off in a number of different directions - and I actually ended up hearing a lot of different songs this time. Some early highlights included Golden Age of Leather, with the whole band harmonising well during the a cappella intro, and the tough That Was Me from the band's latest proper album. Bloom actually sounded pretty powerful throughout the riffy garage rock anthem - and the set was well-paced to allow him and Dharma around the same amount of vocal time each.

The first real anthem of the night then came in the form of Burnin' for You, with the duelling lead guitars of Dharma and Richie Castellano (vocals/guitar/keyboards) bringing a huge cheer from the receptive crowd - before the quirky chorus was sung back at the band with real gusto. In fact, a couple more of Dharma's 1980s poppy singles where wheeled out at this show, with both Shooting Shark and Dancin' in the Ruins being dusted off - with the latter in particular seeing plenty of movement even up in the cheap seats. Bloom made sure to make his presence felt, though, during the riffy E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) and Castellano also got in on the act during the oldie Hot Rails to Hell. As was the case during the 2019 show, Castellano impressed. He handled most of the keyboards during the show, but also regularly stepped out with his guitar - and he took a few solos during the night to support Dharma. He is a great singer and writer, too, as Tainted Blood later showcased - which he owned vocally and also delivered a big guitar solo during. Perhaps the overall highlight of the show, though, was a relatively rare outing of Astronomy. The song is a fan-favourite but is not played live all that often these days - so the proggy piece was welcomed with open arms, and it became a real workout for Dharma towards the end as he delivered a searing guitar solo. The final two songs of the main set are ever-presents of any Blue Öyster Cult set, though, with the rumbling hard rock of Godzilla and the melancholic anthem (Don't Fear) The Reaper receiving, unsurprisingly, some of the biggest cheers of the night - with the latter being introduced with a lengthy guitar solo from Dharma. The band took their bows after it, but thunderous clapping and cheers brought them back for three more songs - and the first song of the encore saw them really dip into the vaults for a rare outing of the poppy and strange Teen Archer. The garage rock vibes of Harvester of Eyes then saw the band back on more familiar territory, though, with Bloom delivering a strong vocal, before everything came to a close with a lengthy version of Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll - with Bloom again singing and plenty of soloing from both Dharma and Castellano. It was a powerful end to two varied hours of music - and the large crowd certainly went away happy. The setlist was:

Dr. Music

Before the Kiss, a Redcap

Career of Evil

Golden Age of Leather

That Was Me

Burnin' for You

Cagey Cretins

Shooting Shark

E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)

Hot Rails to Hell

Dancin' in the Ruins

Astronomy

Tainted Blood

Flaming Telepaths

Godzilla

Guitar Solo

(Don't Fear) The Reaper

-

Teen Archer

Harvester of Eyes

Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll

Despite Bloom showing his age, which is to be expected and, in fairness, he is still a great character and presence on stage, Blue Öyster Cult really delivered last night at the Palladium. The show in 2019 might have been a bit better overall in terms of power and performance - but the setlist last night was excellent and it was great hearing so many different songs live. It was a real mix of vibes throughout and the band delivered in a historic venue. It is hard to know if there will be other chances to see Blue Öyster Cult live or not - but of not then I am glad that I got to see them twice.