MariaV: It was our last chance to visit New Lennox Commons for this year, since the '2^nd Annual Summer Triple Play 2010' was on its end with the appearance of a rock dynamite duo by BLUE ÖYSTER CULT and KANSAS and we couldn't miss it. The weather started to chill pleasantly, so, we took our jackets and prepared ourselves for a music journey four decades back to enjoy those two rock veterans who seemed to be very loved here few minutes after 6 o'clock we reached once again at the amazing open-air place o n the middle of the New Lennox village and a lot of people had already gathered with the necessary blankets, chairs and beers to watch the night's openers, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT.

MariaV: The mighty quintet from Long Island with the two main members from the original line up, Eric Bloom and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, stepped on the cosy stage of New Lennox Commons to test their guitars (the chemistry between those guys just can not be hidden) and a few minutes before our watch clocked 7, the dream-team seemed ready for traveling us with their all time classic tunes and we just couldn't wait anymore! The opening "The Red & The Black" gave us the perfect starting spin for the rest of the hour and BLUE ÖYSTER CULT seemed to be in the right rock mood to give us a great time. The people that were standing in the front lines were above middle-age and when the first notes of "Before The Kiss" were spread in the air, became warmer and started clapping unstoppable. "Burnin' For You" came next and everybody enjoyed the amazing solo when 'Buck' touched his guitar like a toy. Watching his hands one could think he was born just for playing the guitar and the ease of his fingers was totally remarkable. "Then Came The Last Days Of May" was the other surprise for me, since I have never listened it live and it was really a great moment. But the highlight of that BLUE ÖYSTER CULT appearance was the classic "Godzilla" with Eric narrated the story of 'the monster', in the beginning of the song and the crowd's applaud did not stop at all, during this one. Rudy Sarzo on bass showed us some of his 'on fire' skills, playing a short medley of songs of bands he has participated in the past like WHITESNAKE, DIO and Ozzy Osbourne. Finally, the trademark of the band, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" closed this wonderful night (with the big absence of "Astronomy"-but we couldn't have it all) and everything looked like it has just begun…

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT setlist:

1. "The Red & The Black"
2. "Before The Kiss"
3. "Burnin' For You"
4. "Shooting Shark"
5. "Then Came The Last Days Of May"
6. "Godzilla"
7. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"

DimK: To tell you the truth I am not a big time fan of KANSAS but I have a sincere respect of their music. So, after having watched the impressive show by BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, I decided to lay back and enjoy some American Hard Rock under the perfect weather of New Lennox.

After the kind of long wait, the set was ready to welcome the US rock legends in front of a 35+ audience that was already in the mood to party (bless the beer for that!). The lights went out and the intro of "Magnus Opus" (I will aside the rest of the title) brought one by one the most experienced musicians on stage. The sound was amazing and the minimum stage lights more than expected in creating the perfect mood for this progressive rockers. The gig opener is almost an instrumental and showed everyone what the term 'experienced musician' means. The music was performed flawlessly by KANSAS who seemed to be in a top mood. David Ragsdale was moving up and down the stage playing the trademark violin melodies, while guitar veteran Rich Williams was literally teaching how to play with your heart and soul the six strings. His moves seemed so smooth when he was changing from acoustic to the electric guitars, while changing his sound by using the large set of pedals placed in front of him. I mean, he made it look so easy… The guitar / violin duo got us into "Musicatto" without pausing and everyone was moving and singing the main beautiful melody creating magic that night! I tell you, no one can call himself a progressive Metal fan without having at least a couple of KANSAS albums in his/her collection. These gentlemen know the exact meaning of 'progressive' and how it supposed to be played. It was time go way back time with "Belexes" that comes from KANSAS debut album released in 1974. Steve Walsh left for while his keyboards and stepped in the front to sing some lines with his signature vocals earning the inevitable cheer from everyone as a small token of appreciation for his long and successful career.

Despite my initial intention to lay back and watch I found myself driven by the KANSAS' on stage mood and totally enjoyed not only a professional performance but also an honest one. It is always a pleasure to watch veteran musicians who have had their share of publicity and fame in huge arenas and stadium having such a great time in this small town. "Hold On" was a real nice treat that everyone enjoyed to the maximum singing almost all the lyrics just before the massive hit "Dust In The Wind". The hard rocker "Child Of Innocence", the groovy "Fight Fire With Fire" (love the chorus lines)and the concert closer "Cary On My Wayward Son" were some of the show's best moments that left everyone satisfied to the maximum.

DimK: So, this was the end of New Lennox Commons festivities and could not but to say 'yes' to the guy beside who asked me "that was a great show; will you come next year?"

KANSAS setlist:

1. "Magnus Opus"
2. "Belexes"
3. "Musicatto"
4. "Point Of Know Return"
5. "Miracles Out Of Nowhere"
6. "Hold On"
7. "Dust In The Wind"
8. "Song Of America"
9. "Child Of Innocence"
10. "Icarus"
11. "Portrait (He Knew)
12. "Fight Fire With Fire"
13. "Carry On My Wayward Son"

(Photos by the wayward son)