Styx: Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas

What's it like being part of a touring rock band in your 60s? This 2014 concert documentary suggests that you have to work at making it fun, although the original and otherwise longtime members here of arena rock group Styx—founded in Chicago in 1972—also sound grateful to be working (if a little resigned to the travel and longing for family life). Although former lead singer Dennis DeYoung left the band ages ago, the current lineup features several of the classic band's key personnel, including Tommy Shaw (vocals/guitar), James “J.Y.” Young (vocals, guitar, keyboards), and Chuck Panozzo (bass guitar), with Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards) taking over DeYoung's duties. Interspersed with comments about sharing cramped quarters on a bus, how one gets exercise, or finds distraction or solitude, are nine live songs (less than an hour's worth) from the Vegas performance. Missing are DeYoung hits like “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” and “Lady,” but what there is here will likely please some Styx aficionados, even if this FM radio-friendly classic rock evokes images of oak paneling in your parents' bong-friendly basement. For all others, this is Styx at its most bombastic and silly, with such confections as “Rockin' the Paradise,” and the weird, two-headed beast that is the jingle-jangle-meets-Celtic-hints of “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).” There are moments of interest, such as the Deep Purple vibe of “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” which features an unexpected guest (former Eagles guitarist Don Felder), and the briefly lilting power ballad “Crystal Ball.” Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is a strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)