BLUE OYSTER CULT
with special guests

9 Days and Gov't Mule

Echo Lake Park, Mountainside, NJ
Review by Dave Merrill

It took me a while to find Echo Lake Park. By the time I got there, "Nine Days," were already playing. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, perfect for an outdoor show. Echo Lake Park was a perfect site for a show too. The stage was set up at the bottom of a hill. The hill inclined comfortably up and around the stage, like a stadium would be set up, affording everyone a good view. There were lots of spectators already, even though it was only about 1:00 in the afternoon.

"Nine Days," sound a lot like, "The Gin Blossoms," pretty much straight up rock and roll with no frills. Their vocals are clean and strong. The band consists of two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards. They're definitely a band to watch. A lot of the people there were already familiar with them. I heard them play about five songs before they finished their show at 1:30. All the songs were strong and catchy. At the end of the show, they directed the audience to buy their CD at the WDHA table. They were only charging $5 for it! I saw a lot of people get up and form a line. Soon after, there was an announcement that they had sold out of CD's, but would take orders.

Between bands, WDHA had contracted comedians to keep the momentum going. This was a great idea, because it was taking a while for roadies to set up for Gov't Mule. It was about eighty degrees, so it's hot under the sun where most people have set up their lawn chairs and blankets. Fortunately, there were beautiful trees around the perimeter of the area. The crowd was pretty mellow, mostly families and couples, some older bikers. There were people of all ages and types. A DJ got on the mike to tell everyone to take their garbage with them, so to leave the park cleaner than when they arrived. It was a spirited message well received, so it seems that most people will comply.

"Gov't Mule," finally took the stage a bit later than planned. The lead singer didn't play an instrument for their first song, but he picked up a guitar for the second one. They're a three piece band, guitar, bass and drums. The music was rough and loud, sounding like southern rock from another decade. For their fourth song they played, "Ghost," from their new CD. There was a long guitar solo. The drummer really got into the song, attacking his kit fiercely. They started to lose the lead singer's voice in the din of the instruments. The bass player and guitarist conferred with each other on sound, resulting in his mike being turned up, but it could still use more volume. The drummer almost seemed not to belong here, given his spikey blond hair and his band mates' long shaggy hair, ponytails and mustaches.

I have to admit, I wasn't really impressed by "Gov't Mule." Their songs wound on for an incredibly long time. I can stand through just about anything, but I started to feel like it would never end. They did a cover song last, which went on as long as any of the other songs. Finally, they began to disassemble their gear. A DJ got on the mike and announced that this is the largest, best attended Rock the Park they've ever done. Comedian Louie Ramie took the stage shortly after. He was pretty funny. While Ramie performs, roadies set up the stage for "Blue Oyster Cult."

Finally, one by one, the members of, "Blue Oyster Cult," Eric Bloom, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, Alan Lanier, Bobby Rondinelli, Danny Miranda, came on stage. The started out running with their early eighties hit, "Burnin' for You." They sounded as good as they always have. Next up is one of their older songs, followed by "ETI."

They moved into some new material with "Harvest Moon" from their new album, "Heaven Forbid." This is a great song, which reminds me of classics like "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" or "Burnin' for You." It would have felt comfortable on an album like "Mirrors." An instrumental tune followed. "Harvest Moon." "The Summer of Love came next amid yells for the band to do older material. It always bothers me when people do this. A band that has been around as long as "BOC" deserves to play as they choose. Understandably they're closer to their newer material. I find they're always careful to do songs from all eras of the band anyway.

Bloom moved to the keyboards for their next song. They launched right into it, drowning out the calls for old material with something from, "Mirrors," called "The Vigil." It's one of my favorite "Blue Oyster Cult" songs; it sounded awesome! I can't believe people were complaining. They eased into another song off the new album, "Live for Me." It's better live than on the album, if that's possible. As the song ends, cries for old material rang out again. This time Eric Bloom heard them and yelled," We're just getting started! We'll get to those." Then they jumped into another new song, "See you in Black." Finally, they decided to appease the crowd. There is no better way to do that than with their song, "Then Came the Last Days of May," from their first album. The new version was awesome. Danny Miranda's bass playing sounded great on the song. The song sped up gradually to a climax, finally slowing for the last verse.

Bloom intoned into the mike, "Sounds like somebody big is coming. . .could it possibly be? Yes, it's the original. . ." Slamming footstep noises opened the song, "Godzilla." Miranda did a bass solo in the middle of the song. He really is good! Rondinelli followed it up with a drum solo. They closed the set with the classic, "(Don't Fear) the Reaper." This is an amazing song. As far as I'm concerned it holds up today against just about anything. They still perform it well. "BOC" left the stage at this point. The crowd went wild with cheering and stamping for them to come back for an encore.

Finally, they did come back. Roeser explains that the next song was written by Larry Williams. It's a cover tune, which I recognized but couldn't place. They did a lead guitar solo and a piano solo during the song. Things got hectic as they invited a couple of their roadies to play the song with them. You don't often see this happen, particularly with such a seasoned band. It's obvious they like to give everyone a chance in the spotlight. It was quite a treat! Then, Bloom, Roeser and company said their good- byes and thank-yous to the crowd. Again, one by one, they leave the stage. The roadies begin to dismantle all the equipment. Blue Oyster Cult puts on a great show. Their performances have a lot of energy. You'd never know they've been around for so long.