Styx Announced Long-Time Bassist Was Leaving the Band, Then Played Their Catalog of Hits to a SOLD-OUT crowd at The Toyota Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut on March 22, 2024

March 25, 2024
International Concert Reviews, International Galleries
by Jody Wilk Photographer/Writer

The iconic classic rock band, Styx put on a stellar performance for a Sold-Out crown at The Toyota Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, Connecticut. The doors opened an hour and a half before the 8:00 pm show started, which was nice and there wasn’t much of a line to get in. They have such a lineup of killer hit songs, that I knew almost everyone in their 18-song set. I was slightly surprised when I saw that there was an opener, because when I was approved to cover the show, I was told it was just Styx. It was nice to see Jay Psaros as the first act. He also opened for Styx when I covered them at The Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater back in 2021.

Jay Psaros brought his New England brand of Folk/Rock to the stage to a well-receptive group of Styx fans. Jay is a solo artist and songwriter who has opened for such bands as Styx, Three Dog Night, Gordon Lightfoot, Grand Funk Railroad, Foreigner, Collective Soul, and many more. He has had his music in several movies, including “Christmas on Ice” on Lifetime and “Dog Gone” on Netflix. Jay brings passion and lots of feeling to his songs. He played six original songs and a cover of Prince‘s “Purple Rain”. Jay has six albums published with the most recent being Long Time Coming, which was released in 2023. He opened his set with “Whiskey in The Rain” off the 2016 self-titled album before playing two songs from Long Time Coming. Psaros finished his set with “Rise When You Fall” off of Live at Home released in 2020. You can catch him at many shows this spring and summer, both as a supporting act and as a headliner.

Jay Psaros

Setlist:

1. Whiskey in The Rain

2. I’m Not the Only One

3. These Times

4. Bar Room Singer

5. Purple Rain (Prince cover)

6. The Ballad of Morris Garvey

7. Rise When You Fall

Styx always puts on a fantastic performance including all their hit songs and tonight was no exception. The fans were on their feet for the entire show. The “Grand Illusion” was the first song of the night. It was fun to watch Lawrence Gowan dancing around his keyboard that spins 360 degrees. Tonight’s show was the first since Ricky Philips, their long-time bassist, had announced that he was leaving the band. Terry Gowan, Lawrence’s brother, was the new bassist performing this show, along with founding member Chuck Panozzo who still tours with the band, but only plays on some songs. Next up were a few more hits, including crowd favorites, “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Lady”. These guys always have such a full sound on stage with 3 guitarists and a keyboardist, it sounds like a huge production. I was kept on my toes watching around the stage to see who was singing and who was playing leads, it was such a spectacle to see.

After “Crystal Ball”, Lawrence addressed the crowd regarding Tommy Shaw‘s singing abilities. “How is it possible that this man can hit those high notes with such loose pants on?”. He was referring to the fact that Tommy recently had an injury from a bicycle accident and had to wear loose pants to accommodate his knee brace. This made sense as to why he wasn’t doing his signature jumps and running around the stage. He did look like he was in pain but was able to pull off a great performance like a true showman. Lawrence then introduced each band member to a huge applause, including the newest member of the band, his little brother Terry. Then, Tommy had to tell a story that Todd Sucherman told him about when he came back from Princess Diana’s funeral. “It was a solemn thing to hear about, he was like you know, the one bright thing to hear about it was… I met this guy; he was a piano player that was playing there. He was this really cool guy. Guess who he was? Mr. Lawrence Gowan.”

Lawrence then donned his gold sequined jacket and black top hat before rolling into “Rockin’ the Paradise”. They ended the regular set with “Come Sail Away”, which received a thunderous, standing applause from the entire crowd. For their encore set they started with “Mr. Roboto”. Lawrence was under-lit at his keyboard giving him a sinister look for the initial notes of the song. The crowd helped sing the beginning of the song. “Dōmo arigatō misutā Robotto, Dōmo arigatō misutā Robotto” in a deep tone and then continued to sing the rest of it along with the band. I think the fans knew what song they would end with because they began to sing the intro to “Renegade” before the band did. At the conclusion of the song, the entire band came to the front of the stage to thank the everyone and pass out guitar picks before they took a bow for the cheering fans.

Styx thoroughly amazed their Connecticut fan base as always. The newest addition to the band, Terry Gowan, did a fantastic job holding up to Styx’s high standards of their live performance. The crowd was on their feet for the whole show and sang along to their favorite songs. Styx already has tour dates around the United States booked through the end of August, so don’t miss an opportunity to catch a show near you.

Styx is:

James “J.Y.” Young – Guitars, lead and backing vocals, occasional keyboards

Chuck Panozzo – Bass, Occasional backing vocals (does not perform full set)

Terry Gowan – Bass (first show as replacement for Ricky Phillips who just parted with the band)

Tommy Shaw – Guitars, lead and backing vocals, occasional mandolin and banjo

Todd Sucherman – Drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals

Lawrence Gowan – Keyboards, lead and backing vocals, occasional acoustic guitar

Will Evankovich – Guitar, backing vocals, occasional mandolin and keyboards