Blue Oyster Cult Still Makes A Rare Stop in Tucson & Leaves A Burnin’ Impression (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

Blue Oyster Cult (BOC) made a rare stop at Tucson’s Rialto Theatre on July 5th for a night of hard rock goodness. This is not just a ‘nostalgia’ band, unlike many bands still performing for more than 50 years. The band still maintains energy and electricity that could set an example for some of today’s younger performers.

The founding members, Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom, still have it even though they are in their 70s. Dharma and Bloom are backed by longtime musicians, Richie Castellano on keyboards and guitar, Danny Miranda on bass, and Jules Radino on drums and percussion. Each performer gave an outstanding performance.

The band, Of Limbo, opened the show with their brand of metal madness for the evening. Of Limbo are originally from Australia that presently resides in Long Beach, California. The band was formed by brothers Jake Davies on lead vocals and guitar and Luke Davies on guitar and vocals. Herbie Brady on bass and Juan Paz on drums round out the band.

They are highly influenced by bands from the 70s through the 90s. Jake had a mesmerizing stage presence from the moment the band hit the stage and brother Luke was not far behind him. The 40-minute set was predominantly original rock tunes like “Let’s Get F**ked Up” and an added Billy Idol mashed up at the end of the set.

The rest of the evening was BOC all the way. The set was very minimal. There was no fancy strobe lights, no video in the background and that left fans with little room for distraction from the night’s performance of top-notch guitar work as the inventive quality of their music overcame any need for gimmicks.

Blue Oyster Cult’s musical style has been described as a broad spectrum, ranging from heavy metal, to psychedelic rock, to progressive rock. BOC took the stage with their melodic- psychedelic rock style opening with “Transmaniacon MC,” before highlighting the vocals of Dharma in their overlooked gem, “Golden Age of Leather.” Their focus entirely on the music was exactly what the fans wanted.

The biggest fan cheers came for a surprisingly early but ever popular ‘Burning For You.” The performance of “E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)” displayed the technical ability of the band as Radino’s drum solo during the song was amazing. The poetic lyrics showed how they pioneered the “progressive rock” genre as Bloom swapped places behind the keyboards with Castellano.

From behind the keys, Bloom offered the audience a vote for the next song, “Shooting Shark” or “Harvest Moon” and there was slightly greater applause for the prementioned track. It was a night of jamming, including an incredible bass solo from Miranda during “Buck’s Boogie.” The guitar shredding was especially impressive when it broke down into a jam between Dharma and Miranda. Dharma plays that headless guitar with cheese-shaped holes like there is no tomorrow; his solo demonstrated what a fluent and underrated guitar hero he is.

The set was a judicious blend of staple favorites and choice cuts that reminded us that the veteran New Yorkers have created a unique and quirky body of work. There was the obligatory performance of ” “Godzilla,” and “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” After all, the cowbell has become a mandatory musical instrument.