The packed house at Englewood, NJ’s BergenPAC is primed for tonight’s Friday, September 27, 2019 live rendition of The Grand Illusion album by Styx, performed by one of the group’s founding members — singer/songwriter/keyboardist, Dennis DeYoung.

As we wait for the show to begin, we chat with Michael from Bloomfield who says, “The Grand Illusion album was a groundbreaking effort for Styx — it’s the recording where everything came together for them.”

Noting, “I’ve been a fan since 1977,” Michael recalls, “I had neighbors who were older than me. We would listen to records in their basement, and one of them was The Grand Illusion,” before adding, “After four decades, the music still holds up. In fact, I brought my son, Troy, with me tonight to experience it live. He’s a musician, and I always try to take him to concerts which feature great frontmen like Dennis DeYoung.”

Comments Troy, 15, “I was raised on groups like Styx and Rush, so I’m looking forward to tonight’s show.”

Craig from Pompton Plains remarks, “I’m a huge Dennis DeYoung fan. I love him — he’s an amazing songwriter.”

Todd from Edison agrees adding, “I grew up with the guitarist in Dennis DeYoung’s band — Jimmy Leahey. I’ve seen them play three or four times now, and they’re terrific.”

Kathy from Cedar Knolls declares, “I’m one of the biggest fans of Styx — I’ve been following them since I was seven years old. At first, I heard their songs on the radio, but as I got older, I started to buy their albums. Now, I know every version of every song, and I’ve seen them over 100 times in various configurations — in fact, on one tour, I saw 35 shows.”

Continuing, “I even met a young man at a Styx show 19 years ago — and now we’re married!” Kathy concludes, “I find this music to be so meaningful on so many different levels — Styx and Dennis DeYoung are such a large part of my life.”

Lastly, we chat with Rebecca from Somerville who says, “I’ve seen Dennis DeYoung and his band many times.”

Notes Rebecca, “Guitarist August Zadra sounds like Styx’s original guitarist Tommy Shaw. He’s been with the band for ten years, and he’s amazing. Guitarist Jimmy Leahey plays all of the James Young parts, and he’s terrific, too. Also, Dennis’ wife, Suzanne, sings backup. All of the musicians in the group fit so perfectly together — they gel so well — and Dennis DeYoung, at the age of 72, is just as theatrical as he was when he was younger. All in all, it’s such a cohesive group — they look and sound so great, I can’t wait to hear them again tonight.”

The lights dim and a half-dozen musicians enter a stage which is set with a large raised metal platform with steps leading up to it from the ground level. As drummer Michael Morales, keyboardist John Blasucci, bassist Craig Carter, and backup vocalist Suzanne DeYoung take their places on the upper level, guitarists August Zadra and Jimmy Leahey take their places on the lower level.

Lights flash and an announcement is made: “Welcome to the 40th Anniversary of The Grand Illusion album released in 1977. We are going to play the album from start to finish. Welcome to The Grand Illusion!”

A wall of sound captures the audience’s attention as frontman Dennis DeYoung enters the stage and his band of talented musicians launch into the The Grand Illusion’s title track.

DeYoung’s legendary voice sounds as clear as ever as he sings, “Welcome to the grand illusion/Come on in and see what’s happening/Pay the price, get your tickets for the show/The stage is set, the band starts playing/Suddenly your heart is pounding/Wishing secretly you were a star.”

The audience immediately becomes a part of the show as stage lights shine above them, illuminating the crowd and engaging them directly.

DeYoung sparkles on the keyboard, expertly recreating the era-defining sounds which listeners originally heard on Styx’s The Grand Illusion LP.

As August Zadra solos on guitar, his wild and wailing sound is flooded in red lights, adding to the theatrics of the band’s overall performance. Then, Zadra and Jimmy Leahey duel side by side for the cheering throng.

The crowd hurrahs, and lights dance to the waltz-like tempo of the album’s second track, “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).” On this number, DeYoung and Co. provide a cornucopia of sound and lights that generate the feel of a kaleidoscopic merry-go-round of rock.

The audience grooves to the music and several in the crowd excitedly scream while guitarists Leahey and Zadra rock out and DeYoung’s keyboard swirls to the percolating rhythm section.

Zadra handles the lead vocal on “Superstar,” his powerful voice ringing clear as he’s featured under the hot white light. Then, he and Leahy duet on their guitars as DeYoung exclaims, “Superstars! We are superstars. You and I are superstars” to the agreeing crowd.

Dennis DeYoung’s keyboard playing has the audience standing and singing along as they instantly recognize the introduction to Styx’s 1978 Top Ten hit, “Come Sail Away.”

The crowd happily sings along with DeYoung on the song’s famous, “Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me” refrain.

The performance takes the audience on a magical ride as it morphs, builds, and sails away in a frenzy, the crowd standing and cheering — all encouraged by showman DeYoung — as the music rolls to a stop and the crowd goes wild.

DeYoung announces “Side 2,” and the group launches into “Miss America.” Dazzling white lights morph into a myriad of red, white, and blue lights as the sound of Michael Morales’ pulsing bass drum gets the crowd clapping along.

Leahey sings lead on this hard-driving tune as Morales dances at his set, drumming the beat with his whole body. High-energy background vocals, crunch guitar chords, and even strains of “Here she comes, Miss America” are heard before the tune ends with a screaming hair guitar solo.

The tempo slows and the dynamics settle down several notches as August Zadra plays acoustic guitar and sings lead on “Man in the Wilderness.” Strobing lights flicker over the audience while the song builds. Zadra and Leahey draw listeners into the performance with guitar power chords that accompany the melody while DeYoung plays a descant above on his keyboard with it’s own unique countermelody.

Heads bop to a guitar solo by Zadra and then to a guitar duet by Zadra and Leahey that creates a wave of sound that builds with passion and intensity before the number concludes with a fluttering flute-like keyboard ending.

Next up is “Castle Walls” which starts with a single Craig Carter bass note line before John Blasucci’s keyboard joins in and DeYoung croons center stage with passion and feeling, “Once in a dream/Far beyond these castle walls/Down by the bay where the/Moonlit water falls/I stood alone while the minstrel sang his song/So afraid I’d lost my soul.”

DeYoung’s voice cries and pleads as the band’s sparse accompaniment marches along and Suzanne DeYoung’s background vocals join him prior to a Leahey solo. DeYoung takes to the keyboard and two keyboards fill the theater with rolling sound which is dramatically punctuated by flashes of moving light as Morales’ drums crash and boom on the stage.

Soon, Craig Carter’s bass line returns, along with a screaming solo by the two guitarists, and all the musicians add their unique parts to the destiny of the composition, the performance ending in a wave of sound that echoes over the enthusiastic audience.

The crowd cheers and DeYoung says “Hey, here we go!” as the drums speed up to rock and roll and the band kicks in on “The Grand Finale.”

Audience members stand and sing, “So if you think your life is complete confusion/Cause your neighbors got it made/Just remember, please, it’s a grand illusion/And deep inside we’re all the same.” Guitars duel as DeYoung pantomimes playing the keyboard, waves to the crowd, and shouts, “Thank you!” to the rising and cheering throng.

As audience members hoot and holler, DeYoung steps to the edge of the stage to say, “Oh man! Where were you in 1977 on 07–07–77? I told the band, ‘If this album doesn’t break for this band, nothing will!’ — and it allowed us to come from Chicago to the East Coast and play for you people.”

Adding, “How are you all doing? I’m doing great — thanks for coming!” DeYoung announces, “This next song is from our 1975 album, Equinox — come on, it’s happy time!”

DeYoung’s voice rings high and true as he takes the lead on “Lorelei.” While he sings, “Lorelei, let’s live together/Brighter than the stars, forever,” audience members start to dance.

DeYoung’s theatrics command attention as he croons back-to-back with Zadra, who plays guitar while six-part-harmonies fill the theater.

Zadra impresses with an rapid guitar solo which involves strategic bending of the strings before handing the spotlight off to Leahey.

As the pair duets, DeYoung stands in between them mimicking them on air guitar. Then DeYoung actually plays Zadra’s guitar with his right hand while Zadra plays it with his left.

The crowd hoots and hollers and DeYoung exclaims, “I’m feeling blue tonight!” as the group starts to perform “Blue Collar Man.”

DeYoung plays a bluesy syncopated keyboard intro that whirls and swirls around into a progressive organ solo. He morphs into a rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Little Fugue” before playing a series of arpeggios which are punctuated by colored lights as the band joins him in an inspiring performance that lifts listeners to their feet.

Audience members dance in the aisles as yellow laser spotlights zero down onto the crowd from the stage.

Zadra plays a down and dirty rock guitar solo while singing, and DeYoung directs the audience to join in on the “I’ll take those long nights, impossible odds/Keeping my back to the wall” refrain as he plays the organ before Zadra proudly holds up his guitar at the conclusion.

DeYoung takes a little time to chat with the audience, telling jokes along with sharing his personal story. Recalling, “In 1972, we finally got a record deal,” DeYoung explains, “I had been in a cover band, but for the record deal, I had to write a song,” announcing, “This is the first song I wrote and sang on a record by myself.”

Here, DeYoung impresses with a spectacular rendition of “Lady.” His voice sounding bright and resonant on his 1975 Top Ten power ballad, DeYoung sings, “Lady, when you’re with me I’m smiling/Give me all your love” before the song changes to a march feel. The band is tight as they march their way through the “Lady of the morning/Love shines in your eyes” refrain and DeYoung pretends to do a flamenco dance much to the delight of the crowd which responds with enthusiastic hoots and hollers.

Lights swirl and band members engage in robotic moves as they perform Styx’s 1981 Top Ten hit from their album, Kilroy Was Here, “Mr. Roboto.” On this classic ’80s pop tune, band members encourage the crowd to clap along as the music swells and DeYoung dances with a robot mask while the crowd sings, “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto/Domo domo.”

Joking as he points to the mask, DeYoung exclaims, “He loves New Jersey — he told me yesterday!” before singing up an octave and ending with the audience joining in on the “I’m Kilroy! Kilroy! Kilroy! Kilroy!” coda along with the band.

A whirl of sound ends the number and begins the next one — Styx’s 1981 Top Ten hit, “Too Much Time On My Hands.”

Featuring synth bass and synth ostinato, audience members stand, dance, and double clap on the break after happily joining August Zadra as he sings the well-known, “Is it any wonder/I’ve got too much time on my hands?” lyric.

Zadra solos — at times, even with one hand — as he dances around the stage.

The double-time ending builds with a frenzy of color and sound to avid cheers from the crowd.

DeYoung exclaims, “What a band! Let’s meet them!” and after introducing each member of the ensemble, he explains that he wrote the group’s next song solely as a birthday present for his wife “but the record company put it on our album and it went to #1.”

Revealing that he met his wife — back-up singer Suzanne DeYoung — “when she was 15 and I was 17,” DeYoung proudly announces that “In January, we will be married 50 years.”

DeYoung’s voice is clear and tender as he sings his beautiful 1979 love ballad, “Babe.”

Crooning, “You know it’s you, Babe/Giving me the courage/And the strength I need/Please believe that it’s true/Babe, I love you,” DeYoung has the audience cheering and applauding with emotion.

After announcing, “This next song is is from Styx’s 1975 Equinox album. It’s the first song I ever wrote about this great country,” DeYoung explains, “It starts with Prelude #12,” pointing out, “No one ever plays it live.”

As DeYoung suggested, “Suite Madame Blue” begins with “Prelude #12” where Jimmy Leahey plays harmonics on his 12-string guitar. While he strums, the crowd cheers, and then Zadra — playing an electric double-neck guitar — joins him as DeYoung sings, “Suite Madame Blue, the future is all but past/Dressed in your jewels, you made your own rules/You conquered the world and more, heaven’s door.”

The power ballad builds in intensity as DeYoung sings and ultimately holds out a note for an astonishingly long time before switching over to play keyboards.

The swirling music envelops the crowd as the music changes into a hard-rocking experience with shocks of light illuminating the stage while DeYoung dons sunglasses and the group chants the “America, America, America, America” refrain. On the coda, the spotlight shines on drummer Michael Morales as he ends the song with a sharp cymbal blast.

The crowd roars and DeYoung thanks the audience before he and the group segue into Styx’s 1981 Top 5 hit from their album Paradise Theatre, “The Best of Times.”

The audience happily joins in singing on the “Tonight’s the night we’ll make history” lyric and DeYoung holds hands with his wife, Suzanne, as they create beautiful music together.

Leahey’s guitar rings out on this feel-good anthem as the entire audience stands, a community of hope both in feel and sound, the music bringing light and harmony to the audience’s common experience.

DeYoung exclaims, “Tonight can last as long as we keep alive the memory of paradise! Did you have a good time?”

The crowd responds with a resounding cheer, at which point DeYoung announces, “It was 50 years ago this year…” as he and the band conclude their set with The Beatles’ “The End.” The entire band rocks out on the “And in the end/The love you take/Is equal to the love you make” coda, before DeYoung bows center stage, pointing to and acknowledging his musicians as the crowd stands and cheers.

For an encore, Zadra is featured playing one-handed on the neck of his guitar, articulating the intro to “Renegade” as Morales’ bass drum pulses. Zadra sings the slow vocal intro before Morales’ drums drive the tune into an upbeat rocker where DeYoung plays tambourine, Leahey plays a wah-wah guitar solo, and Zadra spins around the stage with his guitar.

As the performance progresses, DeYoung moves up to share Blasucci’s keyboard with him while Zadra and Leahey duel.

The entire band eventually segues back into a reprise of “Come Sail Away” where DeYoung takes his rightful place center stage, thus providing a glorious ending to a glorious concert.

As audience members make their way out of the BergenPAC auditorium, we chat with several in attendance who share their thoughts on tonight’s performance.

Declares Margaret from North Vale, “Dennis DeYoung was absolutely wonderful! I’ve seen him three times before and his show tonight was just fabulous — can you believe he’s 72, the way he jumps around? — and his light show was amazing!”

Continuing, “We love that he comes to BergenPAC,” Margaret explains, “This venue is so great — I love it here — there’s not a bad view from any seat in the house.”

Bob from River Edge agrees adding, “We love this theater — we see so many performances here. We have eclectic musical tastes — everything from Black Sabbath to Itzhak Perlman — but we loved Dennis DeYoung’s concert tonight,” noting, “I especially enjoyed watching the electric guitarists — and the drums were so powerfully played, too.”

Carole from River Edge recalls, “I first saw Styx in 1977 when I was in college, but I have to say: Dennis DeYoung was amazing tonight.”

Adding, “His show was so great,” Carol notes, “and I was genuinely impressed that he and his bandmates played for two hours without a break — they are truly expert musicians!”

We also chat with several members of the Class of ’84 from Oakland, NJ’s Indian High School — all here to tonight to enjoy a Dennis DeYoung concert as a prelude to an upcoming official class reunion.

Remarks Joanne about tonight’s performance, “I really enjoyed Dennis DeYoung and his band — they have tremendous energy!”

Classmate Eileen agrees adding, “For me, the show tonight brought back great memories of hanging out with my friends at the roller rink.”

Colleague Rich sums up this evening’s experience stating, “To have all these friends together listening to this great music from our high school days was a beautiful experience!”

Lastly, we chat with a pair of Dennis DeYoung fans from Dumont — Judy and Greg.

Recalls Judy, “I’ve seen Dennis DeYoung six times. I love him, so any time he’s in the area, we go.”

Greg agrees declaring, “It was a great show! Dennis DeYoung has a phenomenal amount of energy, plus he wrote all of Styx’s greatest hits. His band is fantastic — and, in fact, I think I like these guys better than Styx,” before concluding, “We’ve seen them a number of times now and one thing I can always say about them is: they’re always amazing!”

To learn more about Dennis DeYoung, please go to dennisdeyoung.com. To learn more about upcoming concerts at BergenPAC — including Toto on October 16, Tommy James and the Shondells and Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals on November 1, Ruben Stoddard Sings Luther Vandross on November 6, and Paul Anka Sings Sinatra on November 12 — please click on bergenpac.org.

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