BOC: Live at the Middle East - 11/10/99

[John A. Swartz]

> ya know,
> i saw boc earlier in the year at the middle east in boston; i didn't
> go to
> this recent show because i had just seen 'em, and at the very same
> venue. now
> i see the set list from the other night and I WAS ROBBED!!
>
> songs not played at the middle east last time:
>
> dominance and submission
> harvester of eyes
> joan crawford
> lips in the hills
> then came the last days of may
> before the kiss, a redcap
> golden age of leather

Nope - GAOL was not done

>
> what's up with that? 5 of my all-time-fave boc songs are on that list.
> also:
> there were no songs played in their stead! take the set list from the
> other
> nigth and subtract the above list and that's the set i saw.

Not quite true - here's the setlist from that earlier Middle East gig,
which I was also at:

Burnin' For You
Cities on Flame
ETI
Harvest Moon
Buck's Boogie
Take Me Away
Flaming Telepaths
See You in Black
Astronomy
ME-262
Godzilla
Reaper
Encore: The Red and the Black


So, at the previous show, we got Flaming Telepaths, See You in Black,
Astronomy, and ME-262 instead of the songs you mentioned.  It WAS a
shorter setlist than the recent show.  I don't know all the reasons for
this - whether Bolle in the audience made a difference, or whether the
fact that there was only 1 opening band instead of 2 (getting BOC
onstage by around 10:15 instead of close to midnight), or whether the
band is just playing a bit more (a lot of fans will tell you that they
are playing better than ever these days).


> All that being said, I wasn't too pleased seeing him on stage with
> BOC!  It's apples and oranges, and I don't particularly dig seeing
> BOC play covers like 'Slow Down' nor do I like seeing a blues-tyoe
> guy jamming with BOC.  Just doesn't jibe with my twisted sense of
> aesthetics...

Ah, lighten up Theo!  ;-)
Seriously though, I think BOC uses "Slow Down" to be able to break out
of their "traditional" role a bit, which is cool - remember that BOC (as
the SFG and earlier) was a huge cover band.  Albert has listed some of
the songs that they used to cover in the early days.  Also, I've seen
the band jam with various local musicians on this tune, which is cool -
Savatage guitarist Al Pitrelli (2 years before temporarily joining the
band in Allen's absense) did it at a gig in Florida, and the guitarist
from Anthrax did it last year in New Jersey.

Besides, as a major fan of the blues, I don't mind seeing BOC jamming
with a blues guy - hell, I wouldn't mind seeing BOC whip out an old B.B.
King or Muddy Waters tune just for kicks...

John