Telegraph Herald - Dubuque, IA


 
Friday, October 2, 2009
Fans sail away with Styx at Diamond Jo
Classic rock band performs its hits at the Mississippi Moon Bar.
Styx performs Thursday at the Diamond Jo Casino's Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque.
Photo by: Jessica Reilly
Styx performs Thursday at the Diamond Jo Casino's Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque.

Some were parents taking advantage of a kid-free night out. Others were enjoying a girls' night out. One couple was celebrating 15 years of marriage.

No matter the reason, it seemed most at Thursday night's Styx concert hoped to see the same thing: a good old-fashioned rock show. And the crowd of more than 900 at Diamond Jo Casino's Mississippi Moon Bar didn't appear to be disappointed.

Before the lights hit the stage, fans were on their feet -- screaming, whistling and waving their arms in the air.

"We want to be deaf by morning, and I'm quite sure we're going to be," said Rose Harris, who attended with her husband, Bob.

It was the Benton, Wis., couple's first Styx show, and they were there to hear the classics of days gone by. Just a couple of songs into the show, Bob heard his favorite Styx tune, "The Grand Illusion."

The classic rock band has produced more than a dozen Billboard top 40 songs. Styx hits include "Lorelei," "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto."

Sisters Sandy Allen and Kathy Borkenhagen traveled from Grinnell, Iowa, to take in the show, their second in as many months.

"We just think that bands that have been around as long as Styx put on a really good show," Borkenhagen said. "These are the songs we grew up with -- a moment in time -- and they're still great."

It didn't take long before fans like Jenny Dayton were on their feet, dancing. Dayton, of Des Moines, found out earlier this week that she would be going to the show. Her husband, Mike, surprised her with the tickets for their 15th wedding anniversary.

"It's way cool," she said, minutes before the show. "I didn't expect that."

A few songs into the show, keyboardist Lawrence Gowan shouted to the crowd, "This is a beautiful place, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little chaos!"

Then the band turned to another classic in the Styx canon -- "Lady" -- much to the cheering crowd's delight.


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