The NEW SHOW
During the very brief setup time (this crew DOES rock), we listened to the music playing over the sound system. Between songs there was a voice that Kelly had told me to listen for, and sure enough - "No deviance, Kilroy..." One of the songs played was Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns and Money," not that there is a message there at all...
Soon Alice Cooper's "School's Out" starts playing, which is the cue for us to get ready - this is the last song played before the show begins. Most of the stage set, including Lawrence's keyboard, is still draped in black cloth. At the end of "School's Out," the lights go out and the audience's screams blend in with the scream at the end of the song. Out of the darkness, four tall letters - S T Y X - rise up from the floor on the upper platform of the stage through the smoky lighting as a slow pulse fills our ears. The lights go down again, and as the crew scrambles across the stage removing the coverings, the band moves in from the sides of the stage. Todd takes his place at his drum kit, and the other four line up with their guitars across the raised back of the stage, each striking a pose in silhouette as the pulse plays louder and louder. I had heard so much about this opening and had been promised it would blow me away - it exceeded all descriptions - it is truly breathtaking and it serves its purpose - by the time the music begins, the anticipation is incredible!