As Styx begin their U.S. tour, Tommy Shaw has given us a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like hours before the show with them. You can watch the Ultimate Classic Rock exclusive video above.

Shaw recorded the two-minute video yesterday at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Fla. He starts a bit out of breath, the result of playing Frisbee in the sweltering June heat. From there we see roadies setting everything up as Shaw makes his way backstage, where Def Leppard's Joe Elliott makes a brief appearance. It ends up in the dressing room Shaw shares with fellow Styx guitarist James “JY” Young and bassist Chuck Panozzo, where we see their outfits, some practice amps and a few guitars.  “That’s it,” he says to seal things up. "And the day’s just getting started.”

Styx’s tour, which sees them on a triple-bill with Def Leppard and Tesla, runs through Oct. 4 at the Bismarck Civic Center in Bismarck, N.D. Styx and Def Leppard previously toured together in 2007 and, as Shaw told us, they got along incredibly well.

“[F]rom day one when we met them, they put our minds at ease and their dressing room doors were always open," he said. "They were in our dressing rooms and it was just a very funny, happy place, but very professionally run. Then there was the music, good God, they are so f–-ing good! My daughter was in her early 20s when we toured with them and she came out and she flipped. She had no idea they were that good and she became an instant Def Leppard fan and still is.”

On July 25, Styx will release Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas, a 12-song CD recorded last summer. The disc includes such hits as “Renegade,” “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Rockin’ the Paradise,” and features former Eagles guitarist Don Felder on “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights).”

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