August 17, 2013 - WZLX Presented Blue Oyster Cult At The Hatch Shell Boston

It was a balmy summer night on August 17, 2013, when WZLX took over the Hatch Memorial Shell on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston for a free concert with legendary American classic rockers Blue Oyster Cult. Warming the stage that night was local Boston rockers Ghosts of Jupiter with their potent twin-guitar attack.

Blue Oyster Cult released its first album in 1972 and some consider the group too long in the tooth to be truly potent onstage, but those skeptics probably haven't seen the band in recent years. The 2013 (and current) lineup featured two original members - Donald Roeser (A.K.A. Buck Dharma) on lead guitar, who also sang the band's two biggest hits "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "Burnin' For You," plus Eric Bloom on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards. Blue Oyster Cult tour incessantly (or at least did until Covid 19) and a typical show is a marvel of showmanship and instrumental mastery.

Back in August 2013 when the group hit Boston for their show on the Esplanade, the members were in mourning; three days earlier they had announced the passing of their founding keyboardist Allen Lanier. The musician had retired from BOC in 2007 and eventually fell victim to COPD. Lanier had written or co-written several notable songs for the band including "In Thee" and "Searching for Celine" and they ended their set by dedicating "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "In Thee" to his memory.

It was a beautiful night and several thousand people showed up for the concert, including many younger fans of classic rock, whose exposure to Blue Oyster Cult was probably limited to the "more cowbell!" sketch on SNL If they were Cult virgins, they caught a good one; the group rocking it out and shining for the entire night. BOC demolished the Hatch Memorial Shell like Godzilla wandering through Tokyo while clanking on a giant cowbell. Now there's a visual!

Blue Oyster Cult's show August 17, 2013 (according to setlistfm.com

Setlist

1.The Red & the Black

2.Golden Age of Leather

3.Burnin' for You

4.Career of Evil

5.Shooting Shark

6.Black Blade

7.Then Came the Last Days of May

8.Godzilla (with bass & Drums Solos)

9.(Don't Fear) The Reaper

10.In Thee


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