Near Sellout Crowd At North Charleston Performing Arts Center Enjoy A Trip Back to 1970's & 80's

Jeff Walker,  Entertainment Writer / Concert Review

With roughly nine memorable rock radio staples between them, legendary classic rockers Kansas and Blue Öyster Cult (BOC) rolled into town Saturday (Oct 18) night offering up one hellacious double bill concert. The two rock icons from the 1970's and 80's performed for over two hours before a near sold out crowd (mostly baby boomers) at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center.

With original members Buck Dharma and Eric Bloom still on board, BOC opened the show sending out their mix of progressive, hard, and psychedelic rock, with diehard fans singing along to every word. Their 10 song setlist began with 'Dr. Music' off their sixth studio release 'Mirrors' from 1979. They followed with the bluesy rock track 'Before the Kiss, a Redcap' from their 1972 self-titled debut.

Buck invited the audience to sing-along and lift their beers high on 'Golden Age of Leather', which was a nice segue into one of their biggest hits, as the crowd jumped to their feet for 'Burnin' for You'. BOC's second biggest hit comes from their 1981 album 'Fire of Unknown Origin', and was the band's first introduction into music videos, and subsequently one of the earliest videos played on MTV.

BOC continued to revisit several of their albums, offering up 'Shooting Shark', off 'The Revolution by Night', a song Dharma wrote with inspiration from famed punk rocker Patti Smith. They followed by blowing the roof off the PAC with 'Godzilla'. Considered a guitar classic, the track exploded on mainstream rock radio formats when it was first released in 1978 off the 'Spectres' album, and has been influential to hard rocking bands ever since.

The crowd was easily getting into it by the time BOC got to '(Don't Fear) The Reaper' which had everyone young and old singing in unison to the band's biggest solo hit from 1976. It was preceded by a guitar intro by Dharma. Much like their other two recognizable songs, BOC played extended versions of 'The Reaper', proving they are definitely a band to see live, and one that thrives heavily on guitar.

Feeling much like a closing number, Blue Öyster Cult ended their 45 minute set lighting it up with another raucous number, as 'Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll', prepped the stage for their travelling partners. Dharma and Bloom, who are 77 and 81 respectively appear to be in good shape, move around the stage with ease, and still know how to energize concert goers.

The stage was set, or in this case reset for Kansas. While founding members Rich Williams and Phil Ehart are still listed as active members in the band, due to recent health concerns the two have been absent in recent years from the stage, leaving the 2025 tour without any original members in the line-up, with seasoned vocalist Ronnie Platt (formerly of Shooting Star) the longest touring member, having taken over as lead vocalist in 2014.

The seven member group wasted no time giving Kansas fans a trip down memory lane, opening with 'Point of No Return', the title track from the band's 1977 quadruple platinum album of the same name. From that moment on it was a non-stop parade of high energy rock n' roll peppered with a half dozen classic rock radio hits.

In the third and fourth position Kansas offered up 'Play the Game Tonight' followed by 'Fight Fire With Fire' with Platt recalling they were two of the earliest videos the band shot for MTV, with Platt jokingly adding 'remember when MTV played music', which brought a resounding applause from the crowd.

Filling in their 14 song set with a few album cuts the boys gave diehards another epic sing-along portion, when they struck the familiar chords to 'Dust in the Wind', the band's biggest hit overall peaked at song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978, making it Kansas's only single to reach the top ten in the US.

'Dust' definitely kept the crowd enthused during a few lesser known tracks, paving the way for the big finale. 'Miracles Out of Nowhere' off 'Leftoverture' (1976) paved the way for their most iconic song off the same album, as they concluded one hour and 20 minutes with 'Carry On Wayward Son'. Despite not making the Top 10 (stalled at 11) it has become the bands signature song and a classic rock radio staple.

Rock n' roll fans got every bit of bang for their buck Saturday night at the North Charleston PAC. Kansas and Blue Öyster Cult delivered, taking many in the audience back to their high school and college days, while allowing those under 50 in attendance an awesome opportunity to see two of rock's most enduring bands and enjoy some time honored songs.