Blue Oyster Cult Rocks Its Fans at D.C. Concert

Blue Oyster Cult's music "just never gets old," as they proved in a lively Washington, D.C.-area concert last night (Oct. 9) at the State Theatre.

One would be hard-pressed to find any of the hundreds of fans who walked, shuffled or occasionally stumbled from last night's show that would disagree with that very statement, made by an audience member just before club security forbade him from taking his adult beverage out of the club.

Yes, it was that kind of evening - filled with guitarist Don "Buck Dharma" Roeser's classic riffs ricocheting off the walls, as band mates jumped on the fast rolling musical express and fans fueled the energy with fist pumps, dancing and partying like it was 1976.

The beautiful thing was that the music and vibe were as timeless as the wine-loving fan opined. Sure, when Bloom looked down on the front row of the audience and autographed an offered album, there were reminders of the decades that have passed since the band was formed as the U.S. answer to Black Sabbath. "Who is this guy with the Afro?" Bloom laughed of his image on the album's jacket when he handed the signed copy of the band's third album - the 1974 release "Secret Treaties" -- back.

But right from the start the musicians were on fire, making it clear to the all-ages crowd that they were ready to rock. The band has played the DC-area a handful of times in the past few years, yet this was unquestionably their most fun-filled, riff heavy concert in recent memory.

Whether they played some of the songs devotees love such as 'The Red and The Black,' or 'Me 262' or radio favorites including 'Cities on Flame with Rock & Roll' or -- of course -- '(Don't Fear) The Reaper,' - during which they paid special tribute to Apple's recently deceased co-founder and visionary Steve Jobs - the band was literally and figuratively amped.

Bloom told Ultimate Classic Rock in the week prior to the show that the band often mixes up the set list when they're on stage to satisfy the fans.

"I cull the set list every night," Bloom told Ultimate Classic Rock. "Actually, I will even change it in the middle of the show if we need new energy. I can do that with just a hand signal. I've seen so many bands over the years do the same show night after night after night, unless that band is the Who, it just doesn't work."

While the fans, that ranged in age from teens to seniors, didn't appear to need any extra fuel to get their motors running, Bloom and his band mates - that included bass player Jon Rogers filling in for permanent bassist Rudy Sarzo, who is currently touring with the Ronnie James Dio tribute band Dio's Disciples -- took fan requests including for 'The Vigil.' Rogers, as fans know, is a former BOC bassist. He is now an Emmy Award winning television director, which makes his seemingly flawless playing, even on some of the band's lesser-known materials, all the more exciting.

Energy was a two-way street with the band openly joking with the audience. When the club vibrated with the loud signature stomping opening to the fan favorite song 'Godzilla,' Bloom jokingly asked if the noise was made by "the Gov. of New Jersey," who is, of course, the corpulent Chris Christie.

As the band left the audience with what Bloom said was an unrehearsed rendition of the Beatles classic 'If I Fell (In Love With You)' -- as a special birthday tribute to John Lennon -- and its own 'Hot Rails to Hell' -- it was clear Blue Oyster Cult's absence in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame is to be mourned.